Is anyone with a hearing impairment considered "deaf"?

Hear Again said:
For anyone who is curious, here are the terms used to describe those with partial or total vision loss:

20/70-20/100: visually impaired, low vision

20/200: legally blind, partially sighted

CF (counts fingers): legally blind, blind

HM (hand motion): legally blind, blind

SP: (shadow perception): totally blind

NLP (no light perception): totally blind

Just as there are varying degrees to signify hearing loss (i.e. mild, moderate, severe, profound), the same is true for vision loss.

Again, it all comes down to individual preference. No single person has the right to tell another what they should be called (especially if they are not deaf and/or blind themselves).
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Whats count fingers and hand motion?
 
DeafLissa90 said:
Whats count fingers and hand motion?
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Counts fingers is when a person can count the number of fingers that are held up from a few inches or feet away.

Hand motion is when a person can only detect the movement (or shadow) of one's hand being passed in front of their eyes.
 
deafskeptic said:
Interesting post and thanks for that post. I guess I could be considered low vision because without my glasses my vision is 200/20.

I assume this definition is for those who can't be helped by glasses?

Uh just rechecked your post and I just realized that according to your post, I'm legally blind without my glasses. :eek:
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Legal blindness is defined as 20/200 vision or less with best correction.

Being legally blind still means you have a great deal of remaining vision. There are many people who can read print and ambulate without a white cane or guide dog. This varies from person to person, but more often than not, people can still function quite well visually if they are legally blind.
 
One of my high school resource teachers used to tell me she understood what I went through as a totally blind person because she was legally blind without her glasses. My response to her was "You're comparing apples to oranges. The two are not the same. Even being able to see a little makes a person's life easier in some respects than being totally blind." At the same time, I also feel that my life is easier because I can't see. I don't need to worry about special lighting conditions, answering people's questions about what I can or can't see or having to experience fatigue or headaches when using residual vision.
 
kokonut said:
Hearing impaired does not bother me. My hearing is impaired. Nothing more to it. It's the same if people use the words "visually impaired" to describe vision loss. It doesn't bother me, personally. JMHO.
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Good for u that it doesnt bother u. I do not like the negative connation associated with it.
 
Hear Again said:
One of my high school resource teachers used to tell me she understood what I went through as a totally blind person because she was legally blind without her glasses. My response to her was "You're comparing apples to oranges. The two are not the same. Even being able to see a little makes a person's life easier in some respects than being totally blind." At the same time, I also feel that my life is easier because I can't see. I don't need to worry about special lighting conditions, answering people's questions about what I can or can't see or having to experience fatigue or headaches when using residual vision.
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Hear Again, I am really hoping that this does not come across as insensitive because I do not mean anything of the sort, but how are you able to read the posts here at AD and reply to them? Do you use voice recognition on the computer?
 
jillio said:
A link? Try interaction with the community itself rather than making assumptions from what you are able to Google.
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Um, you made the statement. Please back it up by providing a link. But do not be embarrassed if you cannot supply a link rather than use a typical cop out response.. That's all I'm asking.
 
Loghead said:
Hear Again, I am really hoping that this does not come across as insensitive because I do not mean anything of the sort, but how are you able to read the posts here at AD and reply to them? Do you use voice recognition on the computer?
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Loghead,

You aren't being insensitive at all and asked a very good question. :)

I use a screen reader called Window-Eyes which takes information that appears on the computer and converts it to synthetic speech. It also takes the same information and sends it to a Braille display where it is read by me.

I also use a PDA for the blind called a BrailleNote. It contains a word processor, e-mail, Internet capabilities, a scientific calculator and GPS.

You can learn more about screen readers, Braille displays or the BrailleNote by doing a Google search for any of those terms.

By the way, I've been using computers since 1984. My first computer was an Apple IIe. :cool2:
 
kokonut said:
Um, you made the statement. Please back it up by providing a link. But do not be embarrassed if you cannot supply a link rather than use a typical cop out response.. That's all I'm asking.
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My link is interaction with the blind community. Get out from behind your computer screen, and involve yourself in some real life experience. There's your link.
 
shel90 said:
Good for u that it doesnt bother u. I do not like the negative connation associated with it.
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Ditto.

I grew up with hearing most of my life and even I understand how demeaning the phrase "hearing impaired" is, but that's just me.
 
Hear Again said:
Loghead,

You aren't being insensitive at all and asked a very good question. :)

I use a screen reader called Window-Eyes which takes information that appears on the computer and converts it to synthetic speech. It also takes the same information and sends it to a Braille display where it is read by me.

You can learn more about screen readers and Braille displays by doing a Google search for "screen readers" or "Braille displays."

By the way, I've been using computers since 1984. My first computer was an Apple IIe. :cool2:
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Thank you very much for replying to my question, Hear Again. It is amazing what technology can do! I've never heard of it before, but it sounds extremely cool! :) I'm curious about it now, so I will probably do as you say an Google it.
 
Loghead said:
Thank you very much for replying to my question, Hear Again. It is amazing what technology can do! I've never heard of it before, but it sounds extremely cool! :) I'm curious about it now, so I will probably do as you say an Google it.
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I added more information to my post about the PDA that I use, so you can do a Google search for that as well if you like. :)

By the way, I agree with you about how wonderful technology is. We've certainly come a long way since I started using computers in 1984!
 
Hear Again said:
I added more information to my post about the PDA that I use, so you can do a Google search for that as well if you like. :)

By the way, I agree with you about how wonderful technology is. We've certainly come a long way since I started using computers in 1984!
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I had a legally blind room mate in college in the '70's. The majority of her text books were still volumes and volumes in braille. The easist way to get text books on tape was for her to buy the print version, and have me or another friend read it into a cassette recorder. She also dictated her assignments, and a sighted friend would type them for her. Talk about the dark ages (no pun intended!).:giggle:
 
jillio said:
I had a legally blind room mate in college in the '70's. The majority of her text books were still volumes and volumes in braille. The easist way to get text books on tape was for her to buy the print version, and have me or another friend read it into a cassette recorder. She also dictated her assignments, and a sighted friend would type them for her. Talk about the dark ages (no pun intended!).:giggle:
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Yep! Your roommate's experiences mirror many of mine throughout school.

I would have volumes upon volumes of Braille books and would carry a Perkins from class to class so I could do my assignments. I would also spend an hour/day in a resource room where my itinerant teacher transcribed my Brailled homework into print.

Speaking of Braille volumes, I have the entire Holy Bible in Braille. There are a total of 20 volumes at 1,000+ pages each! :shock:
 
Hear Again said:
Yep! Your roommate's experiences mirror many of mine throughout school.

I would have volumes upon volumes of Braille books and would carry a Perkins from class to class so I could do my assignments. I would also spend an hour/day in a resource room where my itinerant teacher transcribed my Brailled homework into print.

Speaking of Braille volumes, I have the entire Holy Bible in Braille. There are a total of 20 volumes at 1,000+ pages each! :shock:
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Whoa! I guess you don't have many books cuz book printed in braille takes up so much space.
 
deafskeptic said:
Whoa! I guess you don't have many books cuz book printed in braille takes up so much space.
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You're right. The Holy Bible is the only book I have in Braille besides a few cookbooks that are much smaller in size. I wish I could own more Braille books, but like you said, they take up too much room. My Holy Bible takes up 3 shelves on my bookshelf.
 
Hear Again said:
People with astigmatism are not considered "visually impaired" given how common it is.

Furthermore, the term "visually impaired" (medically) is used to describe someone with visual acuity of 20/70-20/100.

As far as whether or not the blind community prefers the term "visually impaired," you don't need links to substantiate this claim. Just ask anyone who has low vision or is blind that question and they will tell you they prefer to be called "low vision" or "blind."

Again, you do not speak for anyone in the blind or deaf community, so please stop making generalizations about what we prefer to be called. :ty:
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I am talking in general the visually impaired people which includes blind and low vision people. Astigmatism does come with a range of severity. "Impaired" is an all-encompassing word that means different things to different people.

Where have I said that I speak for the blind or deaf community? I have not. I pointed out that vision loss varies as do the range of impairment, just as hearing losss varies as do the range of impairment.
 
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