Deaf Culture And Alcoholism Essay, Research Paper

Deaf Culture and Alcoholism

Abstraction

Why is it so hard for the deaf to cover with acknowledging they are alkies or drug nuts which is an hindrance for recovery? Why is it so hard for them to remain sober one time they have achieved it for a few hebdomads or months? What do you believe the chief grounds are?

Having worked with the deaf for over 30 old ages I will seek to reply these inquiries and research other facets of the deaf civilization, their manner of communicating and alcohol addiction.

Although it may look that communicating is an facet of every civilization, two of the alone characteristics are that there is non ever a common linguistic communication between parents and kid, and there is no written signifier of the linguistic communication. Therefore, the deaf civilization becomes alone, and through this singularity, they become stray both from their equals and the hearing population.

Harmonizing to Marie Egert Rendon in her article, Deaf and Alcohol and Substance Abuse? Substance maltreatment is a sensitive issue about which the deaf community does non yet experience comfy speaking. For many with in the community, it remains a moral issue ; the denial of pathological imbibing is really strong. ? ( Rendon, 1992 )

Isolation is a well-known stressor and the denial of intoxicant usage in the household unit has long existed in the deaf community. The household constructions and the coherence of the household in their signifier of communications is a factor that must be considered. The deaf have had limited or strained entree to their ain cultural rights. They have been denied the right to their ain linguistic communication, their ain community groups, and even have limited entree to the bulk civilization because of communicating barriers. Because of the sense of subjugation, isolation has perpetuated the denial procedure. In add-on, linguistic communication, household, friendly relationships, and services available to the deaf civilization and native linguistic communication have many insinuations.

? Since the deaf civilization is built around the linguistic communication that the deaf people use- American Sign Language ( ASL ) – the civilization is seldom accessible to the hearing universe, due to the trouble of get the hanging ASL. ? ( Rendon, 1992 )

Family communicating includes several dimensions, among them the manner, content and construction of communicating. Mode of communicating is often raised in treatments about communicating within households holding a deaf member. Communication manner usage refers to the usage of address, mark, or some other method of face- to-face communicating. ( Kluwin, 1990 )

Because of these barriers and other misinterpretations, intoxicant and drug recovery intervention plans remain unaccessible. In add-on to the acknowledgment of comm

unication troubles, intoxicant and drug service suppliers need to be acknowledgeable about deaf civilizations, sensitive to the deaf issues, and aware of preferable methods of communicating, including the usage of translators, both in intervention plans and in recovery groups. ( Luetke-Stahlman, 1994 )

One of the biggest jobs is that the deaf do non hold soberness long plenty to be of aid to other deaf people. Although that is get downing to alter most are still dependent on the hearing to a grade. As the old ages go on the length of soberness continues to turn.

The job of intoxicant and substance maltreatment in the deaf community is a world. The civilization of the deaf frequently provides a shelter and a barrier to recovery by promoting isolation and denial. Small by small, information and instruction are conveying members of the deaf community into intervention plans and, therefore, the rhythm of perennial alcohol addiction can be broken. There are intervention plans that are specifically designed to function the deaf, and there are plans that have some services for the deaf. However, this interrupting down of the isolation and denial barriers requires continued attempts on behalf of a community already stretched to its bounds. The deaf alcoholic or dependent single can accomplish recovery merely when protagonism promoting and accomplishing handiness is the world and non the rareness. When the deaf community openly admits that regardless of civilization, race, or credo, alcohol addiction and drug maltreatment affects all civilizations and that recovery is a right for everyone. It is non a stigma, and it is decidedly non a moral issue. This is a lesson we need to be cognizant of and be of service to the deaf population.

There are many more AA groups in the greater Los Angeles country today than of all time before. The deaf community is still slightly leery of the hearing community even in the intimacy of the Alcoholic Anonymous place groups. It has been my experience that the deaf meeting that have been held for the deaf merely have non faired every bit good as the meeting with more soberness and with a regular ASL translator. There are still non adequate meetings as the hearing, but great betterments are being made.

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Rendon, M. , ( 1992 ) Deaf Culture and Alcohol and Substance Abuse. Journal of Substance Abuse. Vol. 9, pp. 103-110

Kluwin, T. , ( 1990 ) Communication in Fostering Cohesion in Families with the Deaf. Journal of American Annals of the Deaf. Vol. 139, No. 3

Luetke-Stahlman, B. ( 1994 ) Social Interactions with Regard to Students who are Deaf. Journal of the American Annals of the Deaf. Vol. 140, No. 3

Duff, J. , ( 1981 ) The Truth About Drugs. Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, Inc.