Myths about Deaf

Deaf people don’t want to be deaf

Deaf people actually like being deaf. They are not hoping for some miracle cure that will make them hear. They consider it more peaceful than being able to hear everything all the time. And they are being in their own culture. They don’t want to belong to a community of hearing because that’s foreign for them.

All Deaf people can read lips

Lip reading is an amazingly ineffective way of communicating. It’s estimated that lip readers can understand only 30% of the conversation taking place. That’s like missing two of every three words being spoken! In situations where the Deaf person is familiar with the speaker or the conversation is easily predictable (such as at a checkout stand) comprehension goes up to 60%, but that’s still almost every other word missing from the exchange.

Deafness is genetic

There is a type of Deafness that is genetic, and some Deaf people do have Deaf children, however 90% of all Deaf people were born to Hearing parents and will also have Hearing children. There has been no proven scientific basis for the Deafness in general.

Deaf People can read Books and written text well

Many Deaf people (especially in third world countries) do not have much exposure to language prior to entering school, which makes learning to read much more difficult. This is not to say that Deaf people cannot read. Some Deaf people are proficient at reading. But a majority of the Deaf worldwide are functionally illiterate, and the quickest way to reach them is not to teach them to read, but instead use their heart language – sign language.

Sign Language is universal

The website 'The Ethnologue' –an encyclopedic reference work cataloguing all of the world’s 6,909 known living languages - lists just 130 ‘Deaf sign languages’, although there are more known around 300 but undocumented sign languages.

Sign Language is bad for Deaf people

It’s our big misunderstanding that “Sign Language is bad for the Deaf because, if they will rely on it too much and it will make them unable to communicate with Hearing people.” Study after study has shown that keeping Sign Language away from Deaf people does nothing except keep all language away from Deaf people, and it can have numerous negative effects on their ability to learn. Even Deaf adults who have never learned to speak still live in a world that is mostly Hearing, and have developed incredible skills for making themselves understood. On another note, Doctors are continually saying how good Sign Language is for Hearing babies, why would this not be true for Deaf babies as well?

All Deaf know Sign Language

Not all deaf people sign, because of little or no exposure to signed environments! Many use other communication methods like speech- reading, or using pen and paper. Those who have good communication with other Deaf or those who had their education in Sign Language can Sign in their respective sign Languages. Others just sign Home-Signs that is not understandable to other Deaf.

Deaf people can’t drive

Deaf people drive cars all the time.In fact, some studies have shown that Deaf people are actually better drivers than Hearing people due to the fact that Deaf people have enhanced peripheral vision. If you think about it, nothing about driving really requires you to be able to hear. After all, there’s a reason emergency vehicles have both sirens and lights.