Many people of the hearing community might think of a deaf person as "handicapped" but if you called a deaf person this, they would be offended. Deaf people do not think of them self as disabled or handicapped. They prefer to call them self's by this only for social, political, or economical needs. Many hearing people think that deaf people should learn to lip-read and learn how to speak so hearing people can understand them. Deaf people like to think of them selfs as having nothing more then a language barrier, such as we would think for someone who spoke Spanish instead of English. Also phrases such as "deaf and dumb" and "deaf and mute" and "hearing impaired" are considered offensive to many people in the deaf community. Hard of hearing or just Deaf are preferred by most deaf people.

There are a few different types of sign language that a deaf person might use. The most common is ASL (American sign language) when signing in ASL y

ASL has existed since late 1700's. French sign language and British sign language existed in Europe before ASL began. A lot of ASL comes from French sign language. When Europeans came here to settle they brought their deaf culture.

Like in the hearing community, deaf people have different activities and clubs they can join for deaf people. These are common around the United States. Two national organizations are the World recreation association for the deaf, and American athletic association for the deaf. Manny of these clubs are very similar to clubs that exist in the hearing community, such as family, church, and sports clubs.

When you are talking with your friends there are certain things you do to be polite, in the deaf culture there are certain things that are different then in the hearing world that you would to be polite. Such as, if you are just joining a conversation you don't just join right in; you would wait to be recognized. When you are first meeting a person, tell them your name, and if you are deaf or hearing. Tell them where you are from and where you learned ASL. Always wait to be invited in to a conversation. Also, it is not rude to just walk right through a conversation, as it might be in the hearing community. If you duck through a conversation it is considered rude. To get a deaf persons attention tap them on the shoulder, or wave your hand, not right in their face, don't elbow them, or be rude, this is much like in the hearing community. If you are trying to get a groups attention you might also wave your hand, or flicker the lights, pound on a table, stomp your feet. When you are talking to a deaf person don't

There are several laws that protect the rights of Deaf people. The American disabilities act is one of them. This states that Employers with 15 or more employees may not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities, and the employer must accommodate the disabled employee unless undue hardship would result. Also it says that No qualified individual with a disability shall be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activity of a public entry or be subjected to discrimination by any such entry, And, public places such as restraints, hotels theaters, doctors offices, retail stores, museums, libraries, parks, private schools, and day care centers may not discriminate on the bias of disability.

Being able to hear all my life, there are so many things I take for granted. Have you ever noticed how many things we need to hear sound for? Alarms, doorbells, baby monitors, TV, phon

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1774
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)