DEAF-INITIONS
By: Lyn J. Wiley
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IMPORTANT NOTE: Many people consider the
following terms to be offensive. Therefore, to show
respect, these terms should not be used.
TERMS THAT RELATE TO HEARING LOSS AND TO THOSE WHO HAVE A HEARING LOSS
Acknowledgements:
For their invaluable contributions to this list of definitions a
special thank you to: Dr. Bill Vicars, President of
ASL University; Jolanta Lapiak, Handspeak; Dr. Lisalee D.
Egbert, Coordinator for the Deaf Ministry, Department of
Evangelization, Archdiocese of Baltimore; and Rosie Malezer.
NOTE: The term hearing loss refers to varying
deficits of hearing: mild, moderate, severe and profound.
Living with limited hearing means different things to
different people. Each person's experience is as unique as
a fingerprint; there is no such thing as a typical d/Deaf
person.
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Deaf (spelled with a capital D).
Those with a significant hearing loss (who have
various levels of residual hearing), who also:
a) use American Sign Language (ASL) as a cherished,
primary language
b) are proud members of the Deaf community
who respect and adhere to the beliefs, norms, values and
expectations of that community
b) are entrenched in the Deaf culture and
adhere to Deaf cultural norms, traditions, beliefs, values and
ways of being
c) share ideas about their connection to and
affiliation with the greater society, the populace nationwide
and worldwide
d) have a strong, positive Deaf-identity meaning
they a) value their personal existence (their Deafhood -
see below), b) value the Deaf Community, c) value the
Deaf culture (past, present and future), and d) value ASL
and all things related to the above a-d items.
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Deafhood
The experience of being Deaf. Deafhood is
sometimes referred to as the 'life journey' of a d/Deaf person.
Therefore, the experience of Deafhood varies wildly from person
to person.
Deafhood also refers to the collective experience
(past, present and future) of members of the Deaf community.
The term affirms and underscores the ideas that being
Deaf has great value for Deaf individuals, for the Deaf
community and for society as a whole.
* * Hearing people take note: Those who embrace and
celebrate their Deafhood see no reason for medical
intervention or a medical 'fix' for their hearing loss. They do
not view their limited hearing as a 'problem' or as a 'medical
concern' that needs attention.
The positive nature of Deafhood helps dispel the myth held
by many hearing people that Deaf people have a 'medical
problem' that needs to be 'medically monitored' 'improved-upon,'
or 'cured.'
On the contrary, the term 'Deafhood' underscores
that the vast majority of Deaf people are content and pleased to
be Deaf and proud to be members of their treasured Deaf
Community and Deaf culture.
For more information on Deafhood, go to an online
search engine and enter the keywords: Deafhood ASL University.
Or:: Deafhood definition. Or: Deafhood Foundation. Or: Deafhood
Handspeak. Or: Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of
Deafhood (Paddy Ladd)
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deaf (spelled with a lower-case d)
The term deaf refers to an audiological
hearing deficit, the physiologic condition of limited
hearing.
The term has nothing to do with the Deaf
culture, the Deaf community, Deafhood or anything related.
The lower-case 'deaf' simply indicates that
someone is unable to decipher speech on an everyday basis
due to limited hearing.
Lower case deaf people operate in the hearing
community, live in the hearing culture and consider
themselves to have a 'medical condition' referred to as a
hearing loss. In other words, deaf people are 'medically
deaf' but not affiliated with the Deaf community/culture.
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Congenital d/Deafness
Those with a loss of hearing present at birth due to
genetic or other factors that affected the hearing
apparatus of the fetus while in utero.
Pre-lingual d/Deafness (also referred to
as: early deafened)
Those of any age who a) were born with a hearing loss or who
b) acquired a hearing loss prior to the acquisition
of speech and language (meaning prior to one year of
age, the age at which language development typically
begins.
Post-lingual d/Deafness (also referred to
as: late deafened)
Those of any age, who acquired a hearing loss after
they acquired speech and language. Also see below:
Late-deafened Adult (LDA)
Note: Pre-lingual d/Deafness is far more common than
post-lingual d/Deafness.
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late deafened adult (lower case l
and d). Often referred to by the acronym LDA.
Those born with normal hearing who
acquired, post-lingually or after the onset of
adolescence (13 or older) a significant hearing
loss.
Some LDAs ultimately learn ASL and
affiliate with the Deaf community. The vast majority
do not.
Prior to their hearing loss, LDAs
learned/used English or some other auditory
language, attended hearing schools, associated with
hearing people and lived in the hearing culture and
world.
Most LDAs are not involved with the Deaf
community and have little or no understanding of the
Deaf culture.
LDAs typically go through a natural,
understandable process of mourning the loss of their
hearing after which they struggle, as needed, to
adjust to living life as an LDA.
For more information go to an online
search engine and enter the keywords: Association
of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA). And/or enter: HOH
LD News.
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d/Deaf
This inclusive term refers to all people who
are Deaf and deaf regardless their primary language,
culture, community affiliation, age-of-onset of hearing
loss etc.
The term d/Deaf is also used to refer to
those who are bi-lingual (skilled with English and ASL)
and bi-cultural meaning they can operate effectively in
both the Deaf and hearing cultures and communities.
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Profoundly d/Deaf
This medical term refers to those who cannot hear
anything even when sound is amplified to the highest levels.
There are, therefore, 'profoundly Deaf'
and 'profoundly deaf'
individuals.
Profoundly Deaf people operate in the Deaf community
and culture.
Profoundly deaf people operate in the hearing
community and hearing culture.
And, some profoundly d/Deaf people move back and
forth (with varying degrees of success) between the two cultures
and communities.
The following definition of 'profoundly deaf' is
used by some medical professionals: A hearing loss so severe
that one is unable to detect, in the better ear, any sound that
is below 95 decibels.
Other definitions of 'profoundly deaf' are in use as
well. For more information go to an online search engine and
enter the keywords: profoundly deaf definitions.
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Deaf/hh (spelled with a capital D and lower
case hh)
Dr. Vicars, Jolanta and Dr. Lisalee: I need help with a
definition for Deaf/hh. I have one but I am not confident it is
correct so I will wait to hear your definitions - thank you! -
Lyn
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deaf/hh (spelled with a lower-case d and
lower case hh))
This term refers to deaf people who do not use ASL,
have little or no affiliation with the Deaf community and
little, if any, understanding of the Deaf culture. These
individuals operate primarily or exclusively in the hearing
community and culture.
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Deaf-Blind (spelled with a capitalized D and
B)
This term refers to people who have the dual
deficits of both hearing and vision, of all types and
degrees. Limited hearing and vision may be present at birth or
may be acquired later in life. A number of different
definitions of Deaf-Blind exist.
For more information go to an online search engine
and enter the keywords: National Center on Deaf-Blindness
(NCDB) Library. Or, enter: Deaf-Blindness Center For Parent
Information and Resources. Or, enter: Helen Keller National
Center.
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Children of Deaf Adults (CODA)
This term refers to hearing sons and
daughters of any age, born to and raised by one or two Deaf
adults. CODAs, from birth, are members of the Deaf community,
they learn ASL as a first language and are entrenched in the
Deaf culture.
The vast majority of hearing CODA individuals
operate effectively in both the Deaf and hearing communities.
For more information go to an online search engine
and enter the keywrods: Children of Deaf Adults (CODA) Dr.
Bill Vicars, ASL University. Or enter: CODA International. Or
enter: Child of Deaf Adults Wikipedia.
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Children of deaf adults (COdA*)
Dr. Bill Vicars, President of ASL University, coined
the term COdA in 2015.
This term refers to deaf, hard of hearing and
hearing children born to and raised by deaf (lower-case deaf)
parents who do not use ASL and are not affiliated with the
Deaf Community or Deaf culture.
Kids of Deaf Adults (KODA).
This term refers to Deaf and hearing kids (18
years of age and under) who currently reside with one or
two Deaf parents or guardians.
By Dr. Bill Vicar's definition of COdA* we could
also consider KOdA* (kids under the age of 18 who reside
with one or two deaf lower-case deaf parents or guardians.
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GODA (d/Deaf and hearing grandchildren of one
or two Deaf grandparents)
By Dr. Bill Vicar's definition of COdA* we could also consider
GOdA* (d/Deaf and hearing grandchildren of one or two deaf
grandparents)
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SODA (siblings and spouses of d/Deaf
individuals)
This term refers to d/Deaf and hearing people who
grew up with (or are growing up with) one or more d/Deaf
siblings.
SODA is also used to refer to spouses of d/Deaf
individuals.
By Dr. Bill Vicar's definition of COdA* we could also consider
the terms SOdA* (d/Deaf and hearing people who grew up with (or
are growing up with) one or more deaf brothers/sisters. Or, who
are d/Deaf and hearing spouses of deaf individuals).
For more information go to an online search engine
and enter the keywords: SODA ASL University Dr. Bill Vicars.
Or enter: SODA siblings and spouses of Deaf adults.
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Deaf of Deaf (DOD)
Deaf and hard of hearing children born to and
raised by one or two Deaf adults. From birth, DODs are
members of the Deaf community, learn ASL as a first language
and are entrenched in the Deaf culture.
For more information go to an online search
engine and enter the keywords: Deaf children of Deaf
parents. Note: If you enter DOD only that will take you to
Department of Defense sites.
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HOH
This all-inclusive term refers to all people who
have a mild to profound hearing loss regardless their
culture, primary language and regardless the cause or
age-of-onset of their hearing loss.
There are several classifications of hard of hearing
as folllows:
hard of hearing people who operate exclusively or
primarily in the hearing community (d/hh)
hard of hearing people who operate primarily in the
Deaf community (D/hh)
hard of hearing people who move back and forth
between the hearing and Deaf communities (d/D/hh).
* * * * *
hearing
This term refers to people who have normal
hearing acuity. Some are skilled with American sign
language, the vast majority are not. Some are affiliated
with the Deaf community and knowledgable about the Deaf
culture, the vast majority are not.
The exceptions, mostly, would be those who are
CODA, KODA and SODA and in some cases GODA. As hearing
people, their long and close association with d/Deaf
parents/guardians or siblings, from birth, allows them
unique insight into the experience of being d/Deaf.
In addition, some hearing and late deafened
people spend years associating with the Deaf community,
experiencing the Deaf culture and learning ASL, activities
and skills which allow them entry into the wonderful world
of the Deaf.
deaf and dumb
deaf-mute
hearing impaired
For more information on these offensive terms go to
an online search engine and enter the keywords: National
Association of the Deaf Community and Culture Frequently Asked
Questions
Notes: