Introduction
Throughout the history, the deaf community has faced a number of challenges and suffered discrimination. They have been challenged by the non-recognition and non-acceptance of the status of ASL (American Sign Language) as a foreign language in numerous states in the United States of America. Second, they have little or no opportunities of acquiring education. Similarly, they have negligible access to get jobs. Even though there have been improvements over time, this unfortunate community still faces a lot of obstacles in today’s contemporary times. However, the deaf community has been successful in overcoming many difficulties to advance in the society as equal and fruitful citizens.
Challenges and Achievements
As mentioned, deaf people had to fight for the ASL’s survival as they used this sign language for communication. It is a bitter truth that people all over the world view deaf people and the sign language used by them inferior as compared to the normal people and normal languages. For the same reason, the members of deaf community had to go through the abusive treatment. This is because they were widely viewed as imperfect due to the absence of their sense of hearing. As they are not able to speak too, many people associate deaf people to be possessed by demons. Some biblical literature also refers to them as dumb and mute. In the times gone by, the families of deaf people used to hide or lock them in asylums. The henchmen of Adolf Hitler castrated many deaf people during World War II as the subjects of medical experiments. In the modern times, religious leaders have made attempts to heal the assumed sickness that deaf people have. They are accused of having a lack of faith due to which miracles do not heal their impaired ability of hearing.
A lot of deaf people and their supporters have tried to fight against the oppressive challenges faced by the said community. It seems that their efforts have not remained fruitless as deaf people are using signing to communicate with one another persistently. Although the assumption that deaf people are demonized has lost its validity, this community is still going through a lot of difficulties hurled into its way by the hearing community.
Deaf people have struggled to attain equal opportunities in the employment and educational fields. They have also fought for their cultural recognition. One of the best examples in this regard is the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that has proved to be a milestone. This civil rights legislation has prohibited discrimination against the deaf people. It also guarantees that this community has the similar opportunities as normal people to become a privileged section in mainstream American society (“Introduction to the ADA”). International Sign Language (ISL) is also an achievement of deaf people. It is not anyone’s mother tongue. It consists of a set of individual signs agreed on an international level. The purpose behind its development is to allow basic communication among deaf people (Trask & Millar, 2010).
History is brightened with deaf peoples’ contributions. The names of Cadwallader Washburn (adventurer/artist), LeRoy Colombo (lifeguard), Frank Turk (youth advocate), Greg Gunderson (racer), Heather W. McCallum, and Raymond Luzcak are worth-mentioning.
Conclusion
Even though deaf community is still marginalized, the members of this community are still active in every field of life that include business, technology, medicine, law, sports, and the performing and visual arts. Today, deaf people are in the limelight due to their excellent creative skills in almost every field.
References
Introduction to the ADA. (n.d.). ADA.gov. Retrieved October 16, 2014, from http://www.ada.gov/ada_intro.htm
Trask, R. L., & Millar, R. M. (2010). Why do Languages Change?. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
