Social participation for minorities in the deaf community

Background:  Persons with deafness and low hearing disabilities can face discrimination in social interactions, whether or not such barriers are conscious or unconscious.  Additionally, the deaf community encourages its members to learn sign language and read lips as forms of communication, but not all follow these guidelines.

Purpose: To evaluate and bring awareness to the disparities within the deaf community with a focus on minorities. The assumption that all persons with deafness or low hearing know ASL and read lips can be a barrier to the daily activities of deaf persons.

Significance: The research evaluates the challenges faced by members of the deaf community.  

Methodology: We first analyzed preliminary statistics from the 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).  Participants included 3.8% with deafness or low hearing disabilities.  Out of the 3.8%, 46.5% were female and 53.5% are male. 67% were Caucasian, 16% were Hispanic, 8% were African American, and 7% Asian American. There were significant differences based upon race and deafness on assistance with activities of daily living that informed our follow-up study of social participation with a community outreach program for persons with deafness and low hearing.

Conclusions: We identified effective areas for involving persons with deafness and low hearing in social participation, health, and employment. We describe potential policies and ways to advocate for minorities with deafness and low hearing.