The terms deaf and mute are not always associated. Many times, a person who is deaf is also mute, but some deaf individuals learn to communicate orally. A mute person is for some reason unable to communicate orally. The deaf and mute populations often have overlapping concerns and difficulties communicating with the general public. This group can be expanded to include individuals with significant hearing and speech impairments who face essentially the same difficulties. The Senate report which accompanied the Americans with Disabilities Act states that there are 24 million deaf or hard of hearing individuals and 2.8 million speech-impaired individuals in the United States (Strauss 249). In recent years, the availability of resources to assist these groups of individuals has grown. The growth comes mainly from two sources: governmental legislation, and technology. The intent behind the new legislation is to include people with communication impairments in the mainstream of American life.
Two major forms of communication and information for the general public have been the television and the telephone. Both of these devises are becoming more user friendly for hearing-impaired and mute individuals. The inclusion of the decoder chip in all televisions manufactured after 1993 and larger than 13 inches has allowed hearing-impaired individuals to participate in this aspect of American culture (Elliot D16). Video recorders are able to store text with the American line 21 system of closed-captioned text included ("Closed-captioning" 93). The advent of relay services for users of TDD devices allows communication over the telephone between hearing and hearing-impaired or mute individuals. Both of these services mean that deaf individuals can choose to interact more fully with the hearing and speaking culture if they wish.
The increasing participation by deaf individuals in mainstream culture has raised concern among some ...