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SEN

Here you'll find advice from parents and teachers on special needs education.

Original poster

"deaf"or "hearing impaired"

58 replies

smartiejake · 18/06/2008 15:17

A colleague of mine was on a TA course the other day and was told off for using the term "deaf" to describe one of our pupils.
Not PC apparently. Not allowed to say blind either, that has to be sight impaired.

Funny thing is ALL of my deaf pupils refer to themselves as deaf and all the deaf adults I know also do not like the term hearing impaired.

Who are these do gooders who think they have the right to use a term that the people who they are referring to do not like?

Or am I mistaken in thinking this?

WHat do you lot with hearing difficulties or dcs with hearing difficulties prefer?

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Original poster
smartiejake · 18/06/2008 19:28

.

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Original poster
smartiejake · 18/06/2008 18:03

Yes I get your point about the difference between deaf and Deaf. Most of my pupils and their families fall into the little d camp.

I run a Unit which has to be referred to as a "unit for hearing impaired" (actually it used to be a partial hearing unit which is a less derogatory term IMO) but what I am confused about is that the powers that be say you are not -allowed- to use the term deaf (ie. it is not allowed)when that seems to be the label those with verying degrees of deafness prefer.

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Millarkie · 18/06/2008 18:01

I tend to use 'hearing impaired' when talking about ds because he did have some hearing ie. did not need aids, but his loss was great enough to have effects on his development ie. not learning to talk...but I'm pretty sure that when I was reading up on it, places like the NDCS website stated that a child is Deaf rather than hearing impaired, no matter how 'moderate' the hearing loss is.

bigcar · 18/06/2008 17:38

Personally, and I can only speak for myself, my dd3 is deaf. She has a profound loss one side and a moderate loss the other so has some useful hearing. I would say she is deaf, not Deaf,I think some people that consider themselves Deaf may be offended by being called hearing impaired, but I suppose that's a whole other debate. We belong to the National Deaf Childrens Society, Surrey Deaf Childrens Society, London South and West Deaf Childrens Society and often manage to read info on the Royal National Institute for the Deaf site, on balance I would have to say from my point of view that deaf/Deaf is a perfectly acceptable term to use. However, when dd3 starts school she will be going to a school with a hearing impaired base. May be it's just the current guidance with in education at the moment that requires these terms to be used.

I also have a good friend who happens to be blind, not visually impaired.

Original poster
smartiejake · 18/06/2008 17:20

No- all of the deaf children and families I have contact with use hearing aids and some have cochlear implants too. They have varying degrees of deafness too ranging from moderate to profound hearing loss. They all refer to themselves as deaf.

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missmama · 18/06/2008 16:30

I thought hearing impaired was somebody who used a hearing aid to help them to hear.
But deaf was somebody that could not hear no matter what.
And the same with blind being unable to see anything, but sight impaired was a difficulty with seeing.

Original poster
smartiejake · 18/06/2008 15:35

Come on someone must have an opinion?

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Original poster
smartiejake · 18/06/2008 15:27

Oh dear have I offended someone?

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