Deaf Adolescence Research Paper
Deaf Adolescence
DESCRIPTION, IMPORTANCE, AND BACKGORUND INFORMATION
As a kid we look forward to high school. We could not wait for the fun of making new friends, having more freedom, and discovering things we had no idea even existed or that would ever be relevant to us. What we did not expect was all the confusion and difficulties that came with adolescence. Now try to imagine how even more difficult adolescence is for a child who cannot hear.
Although deafness can affect all ages, the chosen cohort group is adolescence because the identity found will severely affect the person they become. The causes of born deafness are usually unknown. Approximately one out of every 1,500 Americans is born deaf (Sheridan 63). Some studies say half of these are due …show more content…
to genetics but there are many cases where hearing parents produce deaf children and deaf parents have hearing children (Sheridan 21). The mother’s health during the pregnancy has been proven to be another factor.
THEORY, STAGE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF AGE GROUP AFFECTED MOST
The age range for a born deaf adolescent is anywhere from the ages 12-20 (Feldman np). Knowing this range we are able to determine that the typical born deaf adolescent is in the Identity versus Identity Confusion stage within Erik Erikson 's theory of psychosocial development (Feldman np). Other professionals in the field refer to it differently. Sigmund Freud refers to it as the genital stage, where Jean Piaget calls it the formal operations stage, and
Lawrence Kohlberg refers to it as the time where the post conventional morality level may be reached (Feldman np).
Adolescence is defined as the stage that lies between childhood and adulthood (Feldman 259). People in this stage likely develop egocentrism; it comes with the feeling of always being observed. They can also develop a sense of invulnerability, this can cause them to ignore danger and purposely put themselves in harm’s way. Adolescence is where defining ones identity is the key task, where the relationships you make with your peers really influence your decisions and help define what is considered acceptable. In this stage a quest for autonomy arises, this brings conflict to the home and friends (Feldman np).
RESULTING CHANGES IN LIFESPAN DOMAINS
A change that occur in born deaf adolescents that you wouldn’t see normally is the four identity possibilities that may be adopted
1. “Culturally hearing: having a hearing identity that mirrors the way hearing people behave and view deafness as a disability to be surmounted.
2. Culturally marginal: an identity that lacks social embeddedness in either the hearing or the deaf.
3. Culturally deaf: an awareness of and positive acceptance of one 's deafness, so that the deaf person pursues positive relationships with a social group of deaf peers.
4. Bicultural: an identity that reflects comfort in both deaf and hearing environments” (Sheridan 10)
As these adolescences are figuring out whom they are all the effect of social media, their peers, and family has huge impact on which they will become. The majority of Deaf children are
born to hearing parents. In these cases the children feel strong difficulties when trying to communicate because in reality they will never be fully understood by the people who love them the most. There will always be a wall between them since they feel as if they are from two completely different worlds. Deaf adolescents also feel oppressed from the hearing society, they feel they are looked down upon and cannot fit into the regular world (Sheridan 76). They also fear the work world, that their job opportunities are limited (Marschark 152).
CAUSES OR ASSOCIATED COINCIDENT FACTORS
A lot of people dealing with all ranges of deafness look into the options of hearing aids.
Although one may assume that a cochlear implant would be more likely to work on someone who has partial hearing, actually the best candidate is someone who is born deaf. Some deaf people never learn how to sign because they are born to hearing parents and the language is not introduced (Sheridan 20). Just like when losing any of your other senses, all of your other senses become heightened, it has been shown that deaf signers have “an enhanced ability to generate mental images” (Marschark 42). Marschark also tells us how deaf and hearing signers develop mental images faster than those who do not sign (40). Those who are deaf are also much better with facial recognition and the reading of body language.
There are many different hypotheses of causes of deafness. There is no single cause. A lot of the time, genetics can play a roll. Prematurity, low birth weight and severe jaundice at birth have all been linked to about 25 percent of deafness. There is also Usher Syndrome, but this in most cases also causes blindness along with deafness (Marschark 85).
CONCLUDING
COMMENTS
Like stated earlier the stresses of adolescence affect us all, but it is a much heavier burden for someone who has society already telling them their disabled. Deafness can be argued as not being a disability. The average deaf person only speaks one language, same for the average American. In my opinion the normal American society overlook the deaf community. I chose this topic because my little cousin is deaf and it will not be long before she will be in the stage of adolescence herself and I pray that she prevails through it without much hardship. Even though this is a small amount of our population they deserve to be recognized and encouraged to become contributing members to society even when society doesn’t know how to deal with them.
Work Cited
Feldman, R. S.(2012) Discovering the Life Span Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Book
Marschark, M.(1998) Psychological Perspectives on Deafness. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum. Book
Sheridan, M.(2008) Deaf Adolescents: Inner Lives and Lifeworld Development. Washington, D.C.: Gaullaudet UP. Book
Vickrey, J.(2003) Deaf History Unveiled . Washington, D.C.: Gaullaudent UP. Book
Padden, C. and Humphries, T. (1988) Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture. President and fellows of Harvard Collage. Book
DESCRIPTION, IMPORTANCE, AND BACKGORUND INFORMATION
As a kid we look forward to high school. We could not wait for the fun of making new friends, having more freedom, and discovering things we had no idea even existed or that would ever be relevant to us. What we did not expect was all the confusion and difficulties that came with adolescence. Now try to imagine how even more difficult adolescence is for a child who cannot hear.
Although deafness can affect all ages, the chosen cohort group is adolescence because the identity found will severely affect the person they become. The causes of born deafness are usually unknown. Approximately one out of every 1,500 Americans is born deaf (Sheridan 63). Some studies say half of these are due …show more content…
to genetics but there are many cases where hearing parents produce deaf children and deaf parents have hearing children (Sheridan 21). The mother’s health during the pregnancy has been proven to be another factor.
THEORY, STAGE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF AGE GROUP AFFECTED MOST
The age range for a born deaf adolescent is anywhere from the ages 12-20 (Feldman np). Knowing this range we are able to determine that the typical born deaf adolescent is in the Identity versus Identity Confusion stage within Erik Erikson 's theory of psychosocial development (Feldman np). Other professionals in the field refer to it differently. Sigmund Freud refers to it as the genital stage, where Jean Piaget calls it the formal operations stage, and
Lawrence Kohlberg refers to it as the time where the post conventional morality level may be reached (Feldman np).
Adolescence is defined as the stage that lies between childhood and adulthood (Feldman 259). People in this stage likely develop egocentrism; it comes with the feeling of always being observed. They can also develop a sense of invulnerability, this can cause them to ignore danger and purposely put themselves in harm’s way. Adolescence is where defining ones identity is the key task, where the relationships you make with your peers really influence your decisions and help define what is considered acceptable. In this stage a quest for autonomy arises, this brings conflict to the home and friends (Feldman np).
RESULTING CHANGES IN LIFESPAN DOMAINS
A change that occur in born deaf adolescents that you wouldn’t see normally is the four identity possibilities that may be adopted
1. “Culturally hearing: having a hearing identity that mirrors the way hearing people behave and view deafness as a disability to be surmounted.
2. Culturally marginal: an identity that lacks social embeddedness in either the hearing or the deaf.
3. Culturally deaf: an awareness of and positive acceptance of one 's deafness, so that the deaf person pursues positive relationships with a social group of deaf peers.
4. Bicultural: an identity that reflects comfort in both deaf and hearing environments” (Sheridan 10)
As these adolescences are figuring out whom they are all the effect of social media, their peers, and family has huge impact on which they will become. The majority of Deaf children are
born to hearing parents. In these cases the children feel strong difficulties when trying to communicate because in reality they will never be fully understood by the people who love them the most. There will always be a wall between them since they feel as if they are from two completely different worlds. Deaf adolescents also feel oppressed from the hearing society, they feel they are looked down upon and cannot fit into the regular world (Sheridan 76). They also fear the work world, that their job opportunities are limited (Marschark 152).
CAUSES OR ASSOCIATED COINCIDENT FACTORS
A lot of people dealing with all ranges of deafness look into the options of hearing aids.
Although one may assume that a cochlear implant would be more likely to work on someone who has partial hearing, actually the best candidate is someone who is born deaf. Some deaf people never learn how to sign because they are born to hearing parents and the language is not introduced (Sheridan 20). Just like when losing any of your other senses, all of your other senses become heightened, it has been shown that deaf signers have “an enhanced ability to generate mental images” (Marschark 42). Marschark also tells us how deaf and hearing signers develop mental images faster than those who do not sign (40). Those who are deaf are also much better with facial recognition and the reading of body language.
There are many different hypotheses of causes of deafness. There is no single cause. A lot of the time, genetics can play a roll. Prematurity, low birth weight and severe jaundice at birth have all been linked to about 25 percent of deafness. There is also Usher Syndrome, but this in most cases also causes blindness along with deafness (Marschark 85).
CONCLUDING
COMMENTS
Like stated earlier the stresses of adolescence affect us all, but it is a much heavier burden for someone who has society already telling them their disabled. Deafness can be argued as not being a disability. The average deaf person only speaks one language, same for the average American. In my opinion the normal American society overlook the deaf community. I chose this topic because my little cousin is deaf and it will not be long before she will be in the stage of adolescence herself and I pray that she prevails through it without much hardship. Even though this is a small amount of our population they deserve to be recognized and encouraged to become contributing members to society even when society doesn’t know how to deal with them.
Work Cited
Feldman, R. S.(2012) Discovering the Life Span Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Book
Marschark, M.(1998) Psychological Perspectives on Deafness. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum. Book
Sheridan, M.(2008) Deaf Adolescents: Inner Lives and Lifeworld Development. Washington, D.C.: Gaullaudet UP. Book
Vickrey, J.(2003) Deaf History Unveiled . Washington, D.C.: Gaullaudent UP. Book
Padden, C. and Humphries, T. (1988) Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture. President and fellows of Harvard Collage. Book