Goff Paris, D., Kessler, E. B., & Martin, G. A. (2021). "Demographics and etiology in deafness: Sociocultural elements of relevance to the criminal justice system." In D. Guthmann, G. I. Lomas, D. Goff Paris, & G. A. Martin (Eds.), DEAF PEOPLE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM (pp. 1-21). Gallaudet University Press. [ Ссылка ]

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Dr. Damara Goff Paris is one of the editors of this publication and co-authored this chapter with Dr. E. Basil Kessler, and Dr. Gabriel A. “Tony” Martin. Dr. Paris is currently an Associate Professor in Counselor Education for Emporia State University, is the president of ADARA, and holds licensure in professional counseling and rehabilitation counseling. She has worked with victims of crime, and individuals with co-occurring disorders who have gone through the criminal justice system.

Dr. E. Basil Kessler is an Assistant Professor in counselor education at Emporia State University. He holds licensure as a professional counselor and is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). He began his professional life as a case manager working with members of the Deaf community and as a certified interpreter. He served for 10 years on the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing serving in three capacities: interpreter representative, mental health representative and Ex-Officio for the Kansas Department of Education.

Dr. Gabriel A. "Tony" Martin was a Department Chair for over 20 years at Lamar University's Deaf Education and Deaf Studies program. He also served as an interpreter for the SE Texas DHH community and a consultant on court cases involving deaf individuals. Dr. Martin unexpectedly passed away during the writing of this chapter. We honor his work by keeping his name as a co-author.

In Chapter 1, Demographics and Etiology, Dr. Paris, Dr. Kessler, and Dr. Martin take the reader through an understanding of the deaf community that moves from the medical model to the cultural model. They note that the etiology of a hearing loss (which includes information about the types and causes of hearing loss) is not as important as the often-overlooked dimensions of the socio-linguistic and cultural elements of being deaf. They remind the reader that there are many dimensions in multiple minority membership.

The authors trace a history of public policy that was intended to help federal agencies better understand how those medical conditions that caused hearing loss impacted individuals and society medically, socially, and economically. As much as Paris, Kessler, and Martin understand the obligation the government has to address medical conditions that affect the populous, they also illustrate that much more and different information must be obtained and analyzed in order to understand the multiple realities that exist among deaf people. For example, a child who is born deaf and who has deaf parents often has a completely different upbringing, linguistically, culturally, and educationally, than a deaf child whose parents are hearing. Military personnel who experience combat-related traumatic brain injuries with secondary hearing loss have communication needs that differ, significantly, from those who have Ménière's disease.

The authors share that inmates with one disability make up 32% of the federal prison population and 40% of the jail population. Youth with disabilities are disproportionately represented in correctional facilities and 6.5% of inmates in federal prisons and jails are deaf or have a severe hearing loss. The reader is provided with two cases involving deaf adults denied access to sign language interpreters and whose police interactions and legal cases were exacerbated by lack of communication access.


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