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The Cochlear Implants: The Deaf Culture In America

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“What a great example of how science (cochlear implants) is working to make the world a better place!” (Cooper-White). I do not believe this quote was at all intended to be offensive but it can be interpreted as such. While discussing the “miracle” the cochlear implant is considered to be, it is implied that Deaf people are an inconvenience and that they are broken and need to be fixed. Deafness is not a disability, a disability is considered to be a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements or activities. The ADA (Americans with disabilities act) goes on to add that a disability “includes individuals who do not have a disability but are regarded as having a disability”. This means that disabilities are not necessarily a set concept rather it is largely influenced by the attitude towards whatever “disability”. People that are Deaf have become a proud culture, refusing to consider themselves handicapped because they can do anything any hearing person is capable of besides hear.
The Deaf culture in America begins in the nineteenth century when French Deaf educators, Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc, came with the …show more content…
The deaf president now movement in 1988 took place at Gallaudet University where the students protested against the school board's decision to place a hearing man as the president of the university. The chair of the board supported the decision by making the claim that deaf people were not fit enough to function in the hearing world (Biderman 118). Rightly taking offense to the statements the Deaf community decided to rally together to prove that a Deaf person is capable of doing whatever he or she wishes. Deaf people often are automatically assumed to be inadequate in comparison to the hearing standards. The Deaf community's’ bonds have been strengthened through a common history and language, similar to any hearing

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