Fafo-report 412

Hilde Haualand, Arne Grønningsæter, Inger Lise Skog Hansen

Uniting divided worlds

A study of deaf and hard of hearing youth

ISBN 82-7422-401-9
2003 84 p NOK 184,- Order no: 412 Order

Web edition (pdf 455kb) * More publications on this subject

This report is based on a study of living conditions among Deaf and hard of hearing people between 16 and 20 years old. A major question posed in the project is whether there is an implicit and inherent normalisation ideology in the welfare state, which considers welfare services to be successful whenever the users adopt a ”normal“ lifestyle. This study indicates that this young generation does not identify with the concept normal, but demands the right to be accepted as they are.

One of the major findings in this study is that sign language seems to be a language of inclusion, not exclusion. Unlike earlier generations of sign language users, many have experienced linguistic inclusion at home through parents who have been given the opportunity to learn sign language. Among those who have not experienced the same degree of inclusion and acceptance at home, questions of belonging to Deaf or hearing worlds seem to add pressure to the anxiety often connected to the teenage years.

The study was concentrated around the young people’s views on education, family relations and identification. Many see themselves as obvious participants in family life and in various local and global scenes and contexts both in hearing and Deaf worlds. They are uniting worlds that traditionally have been divided by language barriers.

Background
Children of the normalising ideology
Two systems of knowledge
Theoretical approaches
This report

Methods
An exploratory study
Some methodological problems
A short presentation of the respondents

Language, identity and belonging
Who am I?
Families and belonging
A generation of Deaf youths with multiple belongings
Hard of hearing commuters
Attitudes towards welfare services
Conclusions

Friends, community and organisations
Friends
Leisure activities
Transnational activities
Discrimination
Conclusion

School and education
An arena for learning and socialisation
Educational expectations
Conclusion

Concluding remarks
A new generation
Issues for further investigation