Being Deaf in New Zealand: a Case Study of the Wellington Deaf Community

Abstract

Being Deaf in New Zealand A Case Study of the Wellington Deaf Community by Patricia O. Dugdale Few factual descriptions are available of the life experiences in New Zealand of people who are Deaf. This study attempts to provide such a description, examining the Deaf community of the Wellington region by means of a survey and a number of case studies, key person interviews, and focus group meetings. The survey, with 97 respondents, elicited data on causes and degrees of hearing loss, use of aids, education, communication habits in childhood and adult life, employment, use of community services, social alignment, leisure pursuits, use of technology and basic demographics. Data on problems of access and discrimination encountered in several areas of life were also obtained. The study reviews the effects of prelingual severe to profound deafness, in combination with the oral method of education, on the acquisition of spoken and written language, and the effects of that combination on formal education, cognition and mental health, childhood family relationships and subsequent stages of life. Particular attention is paid to the effects of limited literacy and generally unsatisfactory education on the well-being of Deaf people. The recognition of NZ Sign Language is described, with the importance of this recognition in education, in services for Deaf people and in the gradually increasing public acceptance of the Deaf as a linguistic and cultural minority. The current situation of Deaf people in this country and the issues affecting them are placed in the context of a review of the history of Deaf people and a summary of major issues both internationally and nationally, derived from the available literature and from research into the archives and activities of the Deaf Association of New Zealand. The Deaf community and culture in New Zealand are described, and an outline history of the Deaf Association of New Zealand is given in an Appendix.