Misconceptions of the Deaf: Giving voice to the voiceless

The Deaf usually do not see themselves as having a disability; however, discourses and socialstereotyping continue to portray the Deaf rather negatively. These discourses may lead tomisconceptions, prejudice and possibly discrimination. A study was conducted to identify the challengesmembers of the Deaf community experience accessing quality health care in a small Island state ofAustralia. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conductedwith service providers and the Deaf community. Audist discourses of deafness as deficiency, disabilityand disease remain dominant in contemporary society and are inconsistency with the Deaf community’sown perception of their reality. Despite the dominant constructions of deafness and their affect on theDeaf’s experience of health service provision, many Deaf have developed skills, confidence and resilienceto live in the hearing world. The Deaf were pushing back on discourses that construct deafness as adisempowering impairment