How ADA Laws Help Deaf Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Deaf culture is so tight knit, often outsiders don\u2019t fully understand the components or hallmarks of the culture.  This can lead to misinterpretations and miscommunications. It can also create problems for deaf individuals who don\u2019t have full access to the deaf culture.  This lack of access doesn\u2019t allow them to grow and network within Deaf culture and they tend to identify more with hearing individuals, which isn\u2019t a bad thing, but there are so many benefits for Deaf individuals to have strong positive connections to Deaf culture.  ADA laws help both Deaf and hard of hearing individuals connect to mainstream culture through the use of equal access to education, employment, local and state government, transportation, and telecommunications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest way ADA laws level the playing field for Deaf individuals is to make sure that all deaf individuals have access to a sign language interpreter.  Sign language is the communication method for members of Deaf culture, and without sign language interpreters, Deaf community members may feel marginalized when interacting with the public.  In fact, ADA Titles I through IV include specific stances on the level of access Deaf individuals should receive.  These stances allow Deaf individuals the same equal access to quality education-whether mainstream schools or Deaf only day or residential schools, protection against employment discrimination and allowances for accommodations, the same caliber of healthcare as hearing individuals, and protection against discrimination from law enforcement individuals due to communication.  All these stances state that if requested, a quality sign language interpreter should be used.  In telecommunications, sign language interpreters are utilized for local and state government announcements and closed captioning is on all entertainment or news programming. The ADA\u2019s ruling body\u2014the Department of Justice–works in conjunction with multiple federal agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Federal Communication Commission to make sure all components of the ADA are being followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deaf culture is a beautiful and storied culture full of amazing individuals and the destigmatizing of deafness. The ADA helps to provide protection of Deaf culture by making sure that Deaf individuals do not feel discriminated upon and provide equal protections to deaf individuals.  A major component of this is access to a qualified sign language interpreter.  If you ever need a qualified sign language interpreter, reach out to Unspoken Language Services, a professional sign language interpreting service that is helping to bridge gaps and provide an inclusive and accessible environment for all. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deaf Culture can be defined as the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements within the Deaf community.  Deaf culture grew from a network of Deaf and hard of hearing people attending residential and day schools for the Deaf and growing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deaf-community","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"yoast_head":"\n