September is Deaf Awareness Month and a time to bring awareness, celebrate the culture, and achievements of the Deaf community. National NSSLHA is committed to promoting accessibility and inclusion in communication sciences and disorders, by sharing insight and resources to students so they can become future clinicians who provide culturally responsive care.
In honor of Deaf Awareness Month, we are highlighting the voices of Dr. Grushkin and Dr. Zarchy. Dr. Donald A. Grushkin is a professor and researcher in the Department of ASL and Deaf Studies at California State University Sacramento. He is Deaf and has shared his expertise through many publications and presentations on Deaf culture linguistics, education, and awareness. Dr. Razi Zarchy (he/him) is a speech-language pathologist with 12 years of experience working with Deaf children and their families. He is now the Maryjane Rees Speech and Language Center Coordinator at Sacramento State. Dr. Zarchy is a co-author of ASL at Home, a family-centered curriculum based on young children’s daily routines.
What are some things about Deaf culture that you think every speech and audiology student should know?
Dr. Grushkin
First, contrary to popular belief, culturally Deaf people do not consider themselves to be disabled; rather, we consider ourselves to be members of a cultural group which communicates in a language (and modality) which happens to be different from that of the majority (American Sign Language in the US and Canada). As members of a cultural/linguistic minority, we do not feel the need to be “fixed” or assimilated through audiological and oral language-based interventions such as cochlear implants or speech therapy, just as people of other ethnic minorities would reject attempts by members of the majority culture to “fix” biological or cultural traits comprising and valued by the minority culture.
Due to the long history of linguistic and cultural oppression by people in the speech and audiology field (starting with Alexander Graham Bell), as well as our own personal experiences with audiological and speech intervention/therapy, Deaf people have a deep distrust of the speech and audiological professions and the personnel inhabiting these fields.
There will often be times where a Deaf person (including younger Deaf children), will give clear signals that they do not enjoy or desire speech and audiology services. These signals should be attended to and respected, although it is understandable that this may run counter to the desires of their parents. However, if the Deaf person’s desires are considered of primary importance, this will go a long way towards establishing trust for people in the audiological and speech professions.
Many people think Deaf culture is anti-oral or anti-hearing. This is far from true. While many of us do resist the push for acquisition of oral speech skills or auditory amplification, many of us do recognize that for some people, these can be beneficial. What Deaf culture IS against, is the push for solely oral speech and auditory amplification interventions for young Deaf children, leaving them highly vulnerable to language deprivation, which we know cannot truly and fully be overcome after the prime language acquisition years have passed.
Dr. Zarchy
CSD students should know that in Deaf culture, people view deafness as a cultural and linguistic identity. Our profession tends to pathologize hearing differences and focus on the negatives of deafness as something to overcome, not a way of being. I recommend learning more about the medical and social views of disability: the medical view sees the disability or difference as a problem that needs to be solved, while the social view sees the disability as a part of the person’s identity, and it’s our society that needs to become more accessible.
How can students begin learning about Deaf culture and ASL in ways that are respectful and effective?
Dr. Grushkin
One of the best ways to begin learning about Deaf culture and ASL is to take an ASL course, preferably taught by a culturally Deaf instructor. Students can also take, where available, courses on Deaf culture at their local universities or community colleges. Barring this, students should read books (especially those written by Deaf authors) on Deaf culture and ASL.
Dr. Zarchy
My top recommendation is to take ASL classes. If you don’t have time in your regular schedule, take a summer class at a local community college. In those classes, you’ll learn about ways that hearing people can get involved in the Deaf community.
What common misconceptions should students be aware of?
Dr. Grushkin
As stated earlier, students should be aware that Deaf people reject being categorized as “disabled” and in need of any sort of “cure”. Moreover, students need to understand that there is NO current “cure” for being Deaf – cochlear implants, despite the hype, only provide a partial sensation of hearing, and people who have been implanted typically meet with only partial to limited success (which is too often variably defined in limited and not truly useful ways), and even with an implant, a person should still be considered as a Deaf, not “hearing” person. Related to this point, people with implants are still subject to language and communicative/social deprivation that is often unnoticed and not measured by caregivers and educators.
Another issue relates to oral speech clarity. Too often, Deaf people who have managed to attain clear, intelligible speech, are deemed to be easily assimilated (mainstreamed) with hearing people. However, as noted above, whether using a CI or hearing aid, Deaf people with clear speech are still Deaf – while their speech may allow hearing interlocutors to understand them, being Deaf means that in many cases and situations, Deaf people are still unable to easily understand nonsigning hearing people and therefore remain unable to be easily or fully integrated among hearing people due to their inability to access orally spoken communication.
A major misconception has long been that the acquisition of a signed language will hinder or delay the acquisition of oral speech skills, despite the nearly as long research base which shows that acquiring a signed language does not prevent oral speech acquisition; to the contrary, it has been shown to facilitate the acquisition of oral speech. A related concern now within the audiology/CI field revolves around “neuroplasticity”, especially in connection with the “auditory cortex” which has been shown to be “rewired” for vision in people exposed to signed languages from a young age. However, Laura Pettito, among others, has indicated that the auditory cortex should be more accurately viewed as a “pattern recognition” cortex, which means that rather than serving one linguistic modality (oral speech) alone, it can also accommodate language input in the visual modality (signed languages) as well. Consequently, the “need” for early cochlear implantation and audio/verbal therapies pushed by many CI and audiological/SLP professionals is obviated and should not be used as a pretext for depriving young Deaf children of exposure to signed language.
Dr. Zarchy
Students should be aware of audism, which is discrimination and prejudice against individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. We have a long history of perpetuating audism and oralism, which is the push/hyperfocus on oral (spoken) languages as superior to signed languages. This has caused generations of harm. Instead, we need to view deafness as a valid way of being, and signed languages as fully equal to oral languages. Relatedly, we also need to stop using the word “non-verbal” to refer to Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals who use signed languages. “Verbal” means “language,” so someone who uses a signed language IS verbal!
What resources (books, videos, organizations) would you recommend for students who want to deepen their understanding of Deaf culture?
Dr. Grushkin
Some recommended books:
- Lane, H., The Mask of Benevolence
- Padden & Humphries, Deaf in America: Voices from a culture
- Lane, Hoffmeister & Bahan, A Journey into the Deaf-World
- Fox, M., Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals about the Mind
Organizations:
- LEAD-K https://www.leadkfamilyservices.org/
- Language First https://language1st.org/
- National Association of the Deaf https://www.nad.org/
Dr. Zarchy
I recommend reading True Biz by Sara Novic and Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco. Another book that’s coming out soon is Articulate by Rachel Kolb. These are all Deaf authors who tell amazing stories while giving an honest look into the lives of Deaf people.
Dr. Grushkin and Dr. Zarchy have shared inclusion starts with listening, learning, and valuing the voices of the Deaf community. They also shared that students can learn through ASL, Deaf Culture classes, and resources in order to grow into more culturally aware clinicians. As future clinicians, it’s essential to move beyond a medicalized view of deafness and instead embrace Deaf culture as a rich, valid identity. Start by learning ASL, reading Deaf authors, and listening to Deaf voices.