Reactions to readings on Deaf culture

I really enjoyed the DSR article. An idea that I found particulatrly interesting was the author's discussion of how the acceptance of signed languages in the realm of academia could enhance the academic discourse. I was thinking while reading about how some of the ways in which it makes most sense for people in the Deaf studies community to justify the equality of d\Deaf people are exactly the same argumets that may be harmful to other disability groups. I was recalling Neilson's account of how Deaf activists were initially hesitant to join the disability rights movement because assumidly their activism centered on distancing d\Deafness from disability. Another thought I had: I wonder if there are deaf people who feel alienated from the hypervisual signed culture, e.g. because of a visual impairment or cognitave difference - it seems to be a culture predicated on ability. I suppose that any culture is predicated on the ability to communicate with the language of that culture, but it is notable in this case because Deaf culture itself arises as a reaction to an impairment\physical difference.

In the 'Designing Deaf Babies' article, I was very interested in the idea of contact zones and of disability being located in a place. I was somewhat confused about the author's reasoning behind saying that deaf parents having a hearing child necessarily locates this contact zone in the home. Reading this article also made me wonder about the unique experiences that parents with physical disabilities must confront.