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The Australian Deaf community relies primarily on Australian Sign Language, or Auslan. Those in the Australian Deaf community experience some parts of life differently than those in the broader hearing world, such as access to education and health care.

Australian Sign Language

Australian Sign Language, also known as Auslan, is the primary signed language for Deaf Australians. It is hard to tell how many signing Deaf people are in Australia as much information is unavailable, and what information is available is largely out of date.

Auslan is the native languages of a few deaf signers in Australia, although it is the preferred language. It's common for Deaf Australians to not learn Auslan until they are in school with other Deaf children. In some cases, they do not learn it or pick it up until adulthood because they did not go to a specialized school for the Deaf where there would be more people to learn from or practice with.

Signers in Australia use a combination of Auslan and natural sign language, signed english and contact signing to communicate best between each other, including with hearing people. Not all deaf signers are especially proficient in English, and English and Australian Sign Language are not interchangeable and are, in fact, entirely separate languages although they have influenced one another. Those who know Auslan and English would be considered bilingual. Although some schools for the Deaf teach using Auslan, English is the written language.

Auslan shows up in many ways through different dialects or accents, and the way someone may sign Auslan can be affected by several external factors such as region, religion, age and school.

Community

Who constitutes of person of the Australian Deaf community is usually someone who acquired deafness or significant hearing impairments in childhood and can sign in Auslan. Those who acquired deafness or hearing differences in adulthood likely have a good understanding of spoken language, namely English, and may be able to read lips or communicate with most people relatively easily. The number of Deaf people in Australia may be configured using data from hearing tests done at birth, although this does not guarantee that said persons know how to sign Auslan.

Being a part of the Australian Deaf community may include a robust social life with other Deaf people, although deaf people are a part o the larger hearing world as well. Signing is used in schools, clubs, and organizations directly between members or through interpreters.

Education

Deaf children are typically not born from Deaf parents, and therefore likely do not learn much signing from their parents at the time that is critical for language development. They likely pick it up when they enter school, assuming that said school has other Deaf children or teaches Auslan. More often, schools do not teach Auslan unless it is a specialized school for Deaf children depending on the mode of teaching used. Even so, teachers of Auslan may have learned slightly outdated Auslan which may affect the quality of education of Deaf students who rely on signing.

Bilingual programs are available to Deaf students in Australia. While bilingual models of teaching exist, they are relatively recent. Deaf children often learned or currently learn Auslan or another form of signed language during social events like recess. Currently, it is often that students in mainstream schooling are taken out of classrooms and taught one-on-one, which may impede their socialization with other students. Interpreters are not always available, and the quality of the sign language in the classroom varies.

Medicine

Health care related to hearing impairments in Australia includes hearing devices like hearing aids and cochlear implants. Implantation of cochlear implants for deaf children is relatively high in Australia compared to the rest of the world, and around 80% of significantly deaf or hard of hearing children receive one. Many in Deaf communities, including the Australian Deaf community, object to the push for cochlear implants to solve or cure deafness since, to some, deafness is a cultural trait and not something to be fixed, and the reliance on spoken language can hinder a Deaf child's ability to acquire a language proficiently.

There are notable shortages of Auslan interpreters trained to give medical information in the sign language. There are also some places in Australia where accommodations for deaf patients, such as appointment booking with text or email; and limitations such as additional fees for interpreters or longer appointments, and additional patient responsibilities like providing one's own interpreter.

Advocacy and Notable Figures

Australia is likely one of the first nations to act on Article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which addresses the need for bringing awareness of people with disabilities in order to normalize disabilities and foster social acceptance. The Australian government created a community education project using media groups to spread positive images of people with disabilities to the Australian public.

Notable Figures

Fletcher Samuel Booth

Believed to have been born deaf in 1870, Fletcher Samuel Booth was a leader of the Australian Deaf community since he was 21 years old. He was a spokesman and diplomat for the Deaf community who focused his attention on support Deaf adults after they left school.

In 1913, Booth helped form the Adult Deaf and Dumb Society of New South Wales. There was criticism and pushback towards the organization because it was largely run by hearing people. In 1929 he formed the New South Wales Association of Deaf and Dumb Citizens that was led by Deaf people.

Booth also formed Deaf the journals Silent Messenger and Deaf Advocate. Silent Messenger was the first publication create by and for Deaf people in New South Wales in 1906. It was used primarily to inform Deaf adults of current events related to deafhood. Booth was involved in this journal until the 1920s. In 1929, Booth formed Deaf Advocate which was similar to Silent Messenger. It started in New South Wales and expanded to the rest of Australia, and perhaps other countries.

Dorothy Evelyn Shaw

Dorothy Evelyn Shaw was born to a five generation Deaf family in 1921. She grew up using Auslan and interacting with the Australian Deaf community and culture, including advocacy. She had three Deaf children who attended the New South Wales Institution for the Deaf and Blind.

Shaw was involved in several significant organizations. Shaw presided over the Concerned Deaf for Total Communication from 1981 to 1984 which promoted bilingualism of sign language and English, and led to the creation of the Signed English dictionary, and led in part to the lessening of oralism nationwide. Shaw also assisted in the formation of the Australian Caption Centre, telephone typewriters (TTYs), research for one Auslan dictionary, and making Auslan the official language of the Australian Deaf community in the 1990s.

Shaw also assisted in establishing the Australian Association of the Deaf (AAD) in 1986, and the Deaf Action Books (later named Deafness Resources Australia, or DRA) in 1983. The AAD lobbied for services for Deaf people, and the DRA facilitated information about and for the Deaf community by providing products and equipment. The AAD was later renamed Deaf Australia (DA), and took over the DRA and renaming it the Auslan Shop.

Shaw created the Deaf Writers Group in 1985 which published the Sound Off journal that shared Deaf stories. She contributed to Silent Messenger and wrote about how Deaf people should be more involved and vocal about issues affecting the Australian Deaf community.

Shaw was awarded two medals for her work, the Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee medal in 1977, and she was the first Deaf Australian to receive the Order of Australia in 1987. DA has the Dorothy Shaw Deaf Australian of the Year Award in commemoration of her work.

Deaf Australians in the Media

EXISTING INFO:

A Silent Agreement was the first Australian film to feature Auslan. Directed by Davo Hardy in 2017 and starring the profoundly-deaf actor Joshua Sealy in the lead romantic role, the film was praised for its innovation and honest depictions of deaf characters, portrayed by deaf actors.

NEW INFO:

A Silent Agreement was the first Australian film to feature Auslan, first released in 2017. Starring Joshua Sealy (acting as Derek who is Deaf) and director Davo Hardy (acting as Reuben), the two play a romantic couple and work on revitalizing the confidence of Reuben who has a severe speech impediment. The film was praised for its innovation and honest depictions of deaf characters who were portrayed by deaf actors.

Alex Jones was the first Deaf actor to be given a permanent role in a popular television series, namely the television show All Saints. Jones was born deaf, and frequently teaches some Auslan to cast members. Jones hopes his visible role as a Deaf actor gives Deaf children the ability to look up to a Deaf adult who they may otherwise not have access to.

Cindy-Lu Bailey, or Cindy-Lu Fitzpatrick, is a well decorated Deaflympics swimmer from New South Wales. Born Deaf, she has won at least 19 gold metals and 10 other medals, and introduced herself to competitive swimming in the Deaf World Games at 12 years old. Bailey has also set numerous world records for a variety of distances in swimming.