The importance of a secure sense of self-esteem cannot be overestimated. A healthy self-esteem has been associated with everything from an increased sense of personal happiness to career satisfaction. With this in mind, it almost becomes a matter of common sense that we should do everything in our power to develop and promote self-esteem in our deaf and hard of hearing youth. One of the simplest and most effective ways of achieving this goal is to stop using the phrase hearing-impaired.

 

The definition of impair is: to become worse, to diminish in ability and value. Is this the message that we want to give our deaf and hard of hearing youth? That they have less value and worth simply because they lack full auditory capacities? That they’re broken and there’s something wrong with them?

 

There is a saying that goes, Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. This is a lie. Words have an extraordinary amount of power. They have the ability to shape people’s attitudes and behaviors.

 

When I give a presentation, one of my main points is that using hearing-impaired is actually harmful and does much to damage a person’s self-esteem. I am often challenged on this point, so I use the following examples:

 

These examples usually prompt laughter but I can see that they make some people uncomfortable (“Heh, heh. Um, where’s he going with this?”). Then, just to really make them pay attention, I say:

 

In order to elevate the self-esteem of our deaf and hard of hearing youth (really, anyone), we must first show that we respect who they are and not what they are lacking. 

 

Think before you speak.