If you do well in this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the historical perspectives on deafness and how they shape the identity of Deaf people.
• Describe how the ear works in hearing people and define audiological and speech terms often associated with deaf people.
• Describe the impact of cochlear implants on deaf people and describe the Deaf community’s view.
• Explain the difference between language and communication and the evidence supporting ASL as a bona fide language.
• Identify the most common cultural customs of the Deaf community.
• Describe the historical events beginning in the 1800’s through the present that shape the Deaf community.
• Describe the various educational placements available for deaf children such as schools for the deaf, self-contained programs, and mainstreamed classes.
• Define various signing systems created to help deaf students learn to read and write English, such as SEE, Contact Signing, and Cued Speech, and explain their impact on the students, on their education, and on their identity.
• Explain the impact of recent legislation such as IDEA, PL94-142, and the ADA.
• Describe the role of interpreters and their sometimes uneasy role in the Deaf community.
• Describe different organizations that serve deaf and hard of hearing people, both locally and nationally.
• Explain global perspectives on deafness and how deaf people are treated in other countries.