Is deafness a disability? If so how is it manifest? and if not why not?

I’m a 24 year-old French girl, deaf since birth. Travelling as a deaf person is a challenge. But you just have to get rid of the perception that misunderstanding or being misunderstood is shameful, and be ready to go off the beaten path of communication!

What does it take to become a teacher of the deaf? Why is it different? I was asked for some advice - obviously in this short space I can't give much - but here are some thoughts.

Learning a new language is hard even for most people with excellent hearing. Learning a second language when you are deaf and can’t get any feedback about the way the language sounds is doubly difficult.

Most people don't give deafness a thought because they never experience it nor know anyone who is deaf. I asked Karla, a degree student in Writing, at my alumni Curtin University, to write an article on her impressions of deafness.

As a hearing person who became deaf by the time I was about 35 I can’t imagine anyone choosing deafness over hearing. I wondered were there any people in the world who had hearing and would like to be deaf and if so why?

Fascinated as I was in watching the Deaf children on our school bus, because I had no understanding of deafness, the perception I formed was that these children were mentally deficient, simply because they couldn’t talk like me and my friends.

Are new restaurant designs getting it wrong? Guest Author Rowena Vnuk looks at the design of restaurants and how this affects the noise levels.

Everyone needs to be fluent in the lanugage of their country so the real question is not what language should my deaf child learn but rather should they be taught sign language first?

“Your child is deaf” – words parents of a newborn or toddler definitely never expect to hear. Their reaction, whether they themselves are Deaf or hearing, is usually one of shock, anger, fear, grief and confusion.