Post-school outcomes for congenitally deaf adults in Australia: A marginalized minority

Abstract

This paper examines the employment, lifestyle and recreational outcomes of a60 congenitally deaf individuals who attended special education units inAustralia and who were aged between 18‐50 years of age. The study indicatesthis group of deaf people are generally underemployed and typicallyemployed in trade areas for males and service areas for females. The rate ofincome for these deaf adults is generally less than state and national averagesand for females the likelihood of being unemployed is considerably higherthan that of females in the general community. All participants consideredthat they were part of the Deaf community and used signing as the primarymode of communication. The interesting finding from interviewing theseadults is that a majority do and would use a hearing aid to assist them incommunicating with the work colleagues however the cost of replacing andrepairing a hearing aid as well as their school experience of using a hearingaid tends to mitigate against them utilising a device that could enhance theircommunication. As a group all these individuals use signing as the principlemeans of communication and believe that deafness has limited theiremployment opportunity and promotion in their occupation. Data ispresented from the participants about how well their schooling preparedthem for the transition from school to life and the findings indicate thatspecial education settings although useful as places for establishing socialnetworks did not prepare individuals for the challenges of life post school.