Diversity in the Deaf Community: Introduction

The Deaf Community is a diverse one and is a microcosm of the hearing community. There are Deaf people from all races, ethnicities, and religions. In addition, we have Deaf people with diverse gender identities, Deaf people with secondary disabilities, such as the Deaf-Blind, Deaf Families, and international Deaf people. Many of these Deaf groups also have their own sign language dialects.

Deaf people are not hearing people who can't hear. As a group, they are far more diverse than hearing peers. There are cognitive, linguistic, experiential, and social-emotional differences between Deaf and hearing students likely to affect academic outcomes. Sign languages and schools and programs for Deaf learners thus remain an important part of the continuum of services for this diverse population. Many mainstreamed Deaf people who enter NTID or Gallaudet start to discover their identity and learn sign language, giving them a sense of belonging. It is akin to the 'coming out' of LGBT individuals during the college years, when stronger identity development occurs.

If interested in general multicultural or diversity and deaf issues, you can use these keywords [deaf* AND (multicultural OR diversity)] when searching for information using our RIT Libraries Catalog and databases.

In general, Deaf-related resources tend to be in the HV2300-HV2600 area for books, bound journals (2nd floor) and DVDs.

Check out the Diversity in Deaf Education and Psychotherapy with Deaf Clients from Diverse Groups books.

However, Deaf topics will be found in different call number areas. If you have questions, feel free to contact me, Joan Naturale - I am the NTID and Deaf Studies Librarian and happy to help.