Deaf Awareness Month

Deaf Awareness Month is held annually in September. Its purpose is to educate and inform people about the culture, language, and diversity in the Deaf community. It is scheduled to coincide with International Deaf Awareness Week, which is generally held the last week of September.

According to federal statistics, at least six hundred thousand Americans have hearing loss that qualifies them for inclusion in the Deaf community. This community often faces unique challenges with regards to education, access to health care and public services, employment, and more. Deaf Awareness Month draws attention to these issues as well as to the culture of the Deaf community and the various forms of sign language and other types of communication they use. Deaf Awareness Month is separate from Deaf History Month, which is held annually between March 13 and April 15 to recognize events important to the history of the Deaf population as well as historic accomplishments of deaf people.

Background

Accurate statistics for the number of deaf Americans are difficult to come by because different organizations and agencies conducting surveys use varying measures for determining if a person is deaf. Some include any hearing loss that impairs everyday activities, such as conversation and watching television, while others are more strictly limited to total impairment of hearing. Some count people who are over sixty-five years of age and have become hard of hearing, while others focus on those who were born with hearing loss or acquired it from illness, injury, or other cause besides aging. In addition, most surveys rely in self-reporting by participants, allowing for personal judgment by the individual as to whether they see themselves as deaf.

Part of the difficulty lies in categorizing the degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss is generally classified as mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe. The ability to hear is measured in decibels (dB), with hearing from 0 to 25 dB considered normal for adults, and 0 to 15 dB normal for children. From there, ranges of 26 to 40 are considered mild hearing loss, 41 to 55 is defined as moderate hearing loss, 56 to 70 is moderately severe, 71 to 85 is considered severe, and more than 85 is considered profound hearing loss. For perspective, normal conversation with a person three feet away measures approximately 45 dB, and a person with hearing in the 0 to 25 dB range, considered normal, would hear it with ease. People in the mild to moderate range would find the voice soft and struggle to hear it, while those in the moderately severe, severe, and profound ranges would need it to be considerably louder to hear it or would be unable to hear it at all.

Statistical studies do not always distinguish between levels of hearing loss or define the condition with accuracy. However, according to the best available statistics, the number of deaf individuals in America is about 2.2 to nearly 4 out of every thousand. This results in an estimate of the range of the Deaf population between six hundred thousand and one million, with up to ten million affected by some level of hearing loss. Internationally, the United Nations estimates seventy million people worldwide are deaf; about 80 percent of them live in developing countries.

Overview

Deaf Awareness Month had its origins in 1951 with the establishment of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD). This group of 135 national associations for the Deaf founded a single world-wide group on September 23, 1951, when it held its first World Congress in Rome, Italy. Since 2008, it has been headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.

On September 23, 1958, the WFD celebrated the first International Day of the Deaf. This was eventually expanded to a full week and in 2021, the name was officially changed to the International Week of Deaf People. September 23, 2021, also marked the first official annual commemoration of International Day of Sign Languages, recognizing the more than two hundred forms of sign language used in Deaf communities around the world.

In the United States, it became customary for governors and other government leaders to proclaim September as Deaf Awareness Month. Unlike Deaf History Month, which is held annually between March 13 and April 15 and is bookended by two significant dates in the history of accomplishments by deaf people, Deaf Awareness Month focuses on the lives, cultures, languages, and challenges of America’s contemporary deaf population.

Different groups and government agencies celebrate the month-long commemoration in various ways. Deaf advocacy groups often focus on educational efforts such as producing videos and hosting seminars and events that promote a greater awareness of Deaf culture and the challenges individuals face. State governments often use the occasion to announce or promote initiatives that benefit those with some level of hearing impairment. These can range from screening events to detect hearing loss to information sessions about schools and programs for deaf learners to new opportunities such as driver education programs for people who rely on American Sign Language, or ASL.

Deaf Awareness Month is also a time when groups and organizations schedule opportunities for people to learn about sign language. While ASL is the form most commonly used in the United States, hundreds of forms of sign language are used around the world. Sign languages generally develop naturally among Deaf communities in various areas. While these languages are often regionalized to specific communities, they are not based on the spoken languages from that area, and multiple sign languages can exist for the same spoken language. For instance, different forms of sign language are used in the United States and Great Britain, even though English is the primary language spoken in both. Activities for Deaf Awareness Month often educate people about aspects of Deaf culture such as the varieties and intricacies of sign language and provide resources such as apps and websites where people can learn more. Other activities provide opportunities to learn sign language from a Deaf teacher.

Bibliography

“ASL Resources for Deaf Awareness Month – September 2021.” American Society for Deaf Children,10 Sept. 2021, deafchildren.org/2021/09/asl-resources-deaf-awareness-month-sept-2021/. Accessed 28 Apr 2024.

“Deaf Awareness Month.” Communication Services for the Deaf, www.csd.org/stories/deaf-awareness-month-2021/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

“Governor Abbott Proclaims September 21st-27th Deaf Awareness Week in Texas.” Office of the Texas Governor,23 Sept. 2020, content.govdelivery.com/accounts/TXGOV/bulletins/2a1f3c7. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

Guth, Danielle. “Deaf Awareness Month: 10 Things to Know About Being Deaf.” Hearing Like Me, 11 Sept. 2020, www.hearinglikeme.com/deaf-awareness-month-10-things-to-know-about-being-deaf/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

“International Week of the Deaf.” World Federation of the Deaf, wfdeaf.org/get-involved/wfd-events/international-week-deaf/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

“Quick Statistics on Hearing.” National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing. Accessed 28 Apr 2024.

“September is Deaf Awareness Month & International Week of the Deaf Begins September 20.” ARC Monroe, NY,16 Sept. 2021, arcmonroe.org/weekofthedeaf/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

“September is National Deaf Awareness Month.” Speech and Hearing Associates,18 Sept. 2014, speechandhearingassoc.com/september-is-national-deaf-awareness-month/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.