When I first started reading about technology within the deaf culture, I honestly thought that their technologies would impact their lives just as technologies aid in hearing culture every day. However, when telephones or radio or weathering warnings were invited they never actually helped the deaf community like the did individuals who can hear. I never really considered how all the advancements in technologies had the potential to be disadvantages for the deaf community. When you sit down and think about you daily life and how much you rely on you hearing to get you through the day you can start yo understand ow difficult it can be to no be able to hear. Just going to a restaurant to eat can be difficult if the appropriate technologies are not available. If the restaurant only has loud speakers, how are they supposed to know when they name is being called. Its all a culmination of little things that can make daily tasks challenging.
You can imagine the separation that the hearing and deaf communities have created. What I want to see happen is that technology bridge the gap between the two cultures and one of the first examples I found of this is the video chat in drive throughs at fast food restaurants. It was a few months ago I saw a video of a StarBucks drive through when a deaf teenager was able to order her drink through the video chat. However small that may seem it does make a difference in people’s lives.
With these advances, I hope to see more and more video chat boards in drive-throughs around the country. Some people may say that there aren’t many individuals who can translate American Sign Language (ASL). But that is a problem within the deaf community right now. There is a shortage of translators for deaf persons to go to the doctor, g to the store, just doing everyday activities. So along with more technology, there would have to be more translators.
http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/deaflife/technology.html
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