Being Deaf

There are as many experiences of deafness as there are deaf people. This book brings together accounts of many different people, some of whom were born deaf and others who have become deaf after the acquisition of speech. The accounts have been collected in a variety of ways. Some of the contributors have written their own whilst others have elected to be interviewed, and the language of the interviews has ranged from spoken English to the sign-supported English, and British sign language. On some occasions sign language interpreters were used. The early accounts in the book about deaf children have been mostly written by their parents. "Being Deaf" is the course book for an Open University Diploma funded by the Department of Health. It will also be of interest to a wide readership, both professional and non-professional. Deaf people, and those hearing people who have contact with the deaf community, may find many of the themes in this book familiar. Those readers who do not know or mix with deaf people may be surprised by the complexity of the issues raised, and that being deaf is not a straightforward case of classification by hearing loss. Many of the accounts in this book deal with questions of identity and community, isolation and rejection, and overt discrimination. Some of the individuals in this book are part of the deaf community, where they share with other deaf people a culture and language (British sign language) that is unique to that community. Others identify more with the hearing world where they employ a number of communication methods which may include sign language, speech and lip-reading. What they all share is that they have had to learn to cope in a world that is all too ready to ridicule, ignore and oppress them. This is not, however, a collection of "victim" stories. There are many successes amongst these pages, and much for deaf people to celebrate.