Myths About Deafness
All Deaf
people can
read lips.
Some Deaf people are very skilled lip readers, but
many are not. Only about 30% of spoken English is
visible on the lips. This is because many speech
sounds have identical mouth movements. For
example: p and b look exactly alike on the lips.
All Deaf people are mute
Some Deaf speak very well and clearly; others choose not
to use their voice if they think that they are difficult to
understand or have problems gauging their pitch or
volume. However, most Deaf people do have the physical
ability to speak and therefore, they are not technically
“mute”.
People who are Deaf are
“Deaf and Dumb”
The inability to hear
affects neither
intelligence nor the
physical ability to
produce sounds.
Deafness does not make
people "dumb" in the sense
of being either stupid or
mute. Deaf people,
understandably, find this
stereotype particularly
offensive
All deaf people
use sign
language
Many Deaf people use Sign Language exclusively while
others us a variety of educational sign systems. Still
some who are “medically deaf” do not use sign
language
Deaf people are less intelligent
Hearing ability is
unrelated to
intelligence. Lack of
knowledge about
deafness, however, has
often limited
educational and
occupational
opportunities for deaf
people.
Deaf people can't use the phone
Special telecommunication aids (TTYs/TDDs) and
videophones have been developed for deaf
people
All deaf
people use
hearing
aids
Many deaf people benefit considerably from hearing aids.
Some may only be able to hear loud environmental sounds
such as a fire alarm or a car horn. Still others may not
benefit at all.
Deaf people lead totally different lives
than other people
Most deaf individuals occupy their time just
like hearing people. Of course, individual
differences exist.
Deaf people cannot appreciate
the arts because they can't hear
music, movies, etc.
Throughout history, deaf individuals have participated in and
contributed to the performing arts. Beethoven is one
example. Today there are deaf artists, dance troupes, and
actors. Captioning of movies and other audiovisual media is
helpful for deaf citizens. As long as there is rhythm and visual
image, deaf will be valued performers and patrons of the arts
Deafness is genetic. All
people who are Deaf
will pass Deafness onto
their children
There is a type of deafness
that is genetic, and some
deaf people do have deaf
children, however 90% of
all deaf people are born to
Hearing parents and will
also have Hearing
children.
Sign Language is bad for Deaf people because
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.
Sign Language is universal.
Actually, there are at least 70 signed languages existing in
the world at this time, that we know of, and all of them are
incredibly distinct. American Sign Language is used in the
United States, parts of Canada,and has loose relations to
French Sign Language.
Deaf people
don’t want to
be deaf, they
are hoping for
some miracle
cure that will
make them
hear
Most Deaf people actually like
being deaf
.
Deaf
people
can’t drive
a car
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 and are
less distracted.
American Sign
Language is spoken
English conveyed
through signs
Sign Language is not a manual code for the spoken
language. Deaf people do not sign word-for-word to form
grammatically correct sentences. Many students who Learn
Signed English do not realize it is Signed English they are
learning and not ASL
Deaf people are not sensitive to noise
Some types of hearing
loss and use of hearing
aids actually accentuate
sensitivity to noise.
Loud noises become
garbled and
uncomfortable.
All deaf people are part of Deaf Culture
Deaf Culture is an identity that must be embraced by the
individual. Members of Deaf culture choose to view their
lack of hearing as a different human experience, and not a
disability
Sign language is
just mime and
gestures
A signed language is
just like any spoken
languages, there are
words and unique
expressions as well
as sentence structure
and grammar.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing people
prefer to be called Hearing Impaired
“Hearing impaired" is considered by
many people to be politically
incorrect, because the word
impaired can sound derogatory and
imply something is wrong with
a person. The more accepted term is
“Deaf.“
Deaf People Read Braille
No, only blind people read Braille.
deaf people can see but cannot hear.
It is easy to learn sign language
Some exceptionally
language oriented people
can learn it in 2-4 years.
Others take at least 5-7
years. Fluency involving
all the intricate nuances
of the language takes a
while. There is so many
things that happen at the
same time in ASL that to
incorporate them all
flawlessly requires work.