ASL%20Cultural%20Presentation.pptx
Summary:
Audism is the belief that you are superior to someone simply because you can hear and they cannot. This causes a lot of people to have negative ideas about the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Audism occurs between the deaf and the hearing and also between groups of deaf people.
Not all deaf and hard-of-hearing people know sign language and participate in deaf culture. It is completely based on personal preference. Most deaf people do not lip-read well. Deaf people can absolutely drive and sometimes drive better than hearing people because they are not as easily distracted. Deaf people do not read Braille. The deaf can get married and have children, but it is possible that they pass their deafness onto their children. Most deaf people are not mute, but many of them just choose not to speak. Hearing aids don't completely restore hearing, they just amplify sound, and that is also a personal preference: some deaf people like them and some don't.
The deaf community is typically very distrusting of the hearing community. A hearing person can definitely become part of the deaf community, but if you do not try, they will notice and they will not try either. You have to be able to express yourself, especially if you are communicating using sign language.
Sometimes the deaf have a hard time understanding more theoretical or religious ideas, because they grew up bilingually. They sometimes need to see something signed and see it written in English before they really understand it. The deaf are also able to "whisper" by signing very quickly and moving their hands very little or by moving their hands lower down on their body, instead of up near their face.
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