I am Deaf myself and I studied Bachelor of Law at the Swiss Distance Learning University (https://distanceuniversity.ch/). For the mandatory attendances (six Saturdays a year in Fribourg) I hired two Signed Language interpreters.
Additionally in America up until recently the Deaf community was oppressed, told there was something wrong with them, and forced to use a communication system that doesn’t work as well for them. This led to lower education outcomes, depression, and other ills. This led to a strong Deaf culture and identity, so as to not allow the hearing to tell the Deaf that they are somehow damaged or not complete.
Because there is a difference between "deaf" and "Deaf".
The capitalized word is meant to highlight the cultural and social parts of living in a community with other Deaf people. You also would not write American in the lower case.
Being "deaf" is about the handicap, about the loss of hearing and other problems.
Being "Deaf" is about being a member of a community, about the keen visual sense, about communicating in a Signed Language, and so on.
Can I politely ask you to elaborate what keen visual sense means in this context? Is it a sensory experience or something you become good at due to not being able to hear?
Yes, of course. Deaf people use their visual sense instead of hearing. Blind people have a keen hearing, this is something similar.
One example: my wife and I realized that we are a lot more able to read the mood of our children by just looking at them than hearing parents. We just "see through" our children.
I believe in linguistic terms this is called operating in a principally visual modality. That is, the majority of your communication is visual in nature, so it becomes second nature.
Even in hearing people, I'm reminded of those who are not just big readers but are used to reading; those who can skim and still obtain 100% of the writer's meaning as opposed to others who aren't so comfortable, fluent, or quick readers — but are not uneducated, just not accustomed to the medium.
The same is for Deaf people. There are many Deaf people who don't like reading (after all they have to overcome a handicap of reading in an auditory language, this is not impossible but they as children need a different way of teaching), and those Deaf people who are real bookworms.
Of course the bookworms then have an easier access to education in written form (and that's why I am both a Dipl. Ing. FH in IT and a Bachelor of Law).
Just one example of many why this is different: Our hearing sons learn our Signed Language at home. Then when they go to school they suddenly have a different language. They are in the same situation as Mexican children in an American school.
Ask me anything.