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Values and Norms

Values

While Deaf people have their own individual values, there are some communal values among Deaf people. In addition to the strong value placed on American Sign Language (ASL), these values include:

  • Collectivism is one of the main values of the Deaf culture. Deaf people place a high degree of value on sharing information and resources. Learning is seen as a cooperative and shared process that helps to overcome the limited access to various facets of society that Deaf people experience because of cultural and communication barriers. Open communication and gathering with other Deaf people are essential as well.
  • Vision is also a value, as Deaf people rely on it for communication. Most Deaf people gain the vast majority of their information through their eyes and they connect with people and things visually. For example, they see lights to indicate phone calls and doorbells, interpreters to translate information to and from English and ASL, and captioning to access television and movies.
  • Stories about Deaf people, poetry, arts, and literature play an important role as well. As in any culture, they serve to pass down history, wisdom, and values. This is particularly important to Deaf people, many of whom do not Deaf parents or other means to access it.

Norms and Etiquette

While norms may also vary from community to community and person to person, there are some common norms and etiquette that are helpful to know when working with Deaf people.

  • Maintaining eye contact.
  • Being blunt and direct.
  • Waving, tapping the shoulder, stamping on the floor and turning the lights on and off to get someone's attention.
  • Touching during conversations.
  • Hugging when greeting or leaving.
  • Long goodbyes.
  • Being in 3 feet proximate space between people for engaging into visual conversations.