Vol. 24 No.

3 ADULT LEARNING

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Refereed Articles

Strategies to Avoid Audism in Adult Educational Settings

Sheryl Ballenger, MEd candidate1

Abstract: Humphries first defined the term audism
as “the notion that one is superior based on one’s
ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who
hears”. Audism is a prejudice related to the physical
hearing condition of the
Stremlau, 2003). Some adults who are deaf or hard-
of-hearing have set political importance to the term.
Understanding the term, and its usefulness to some
individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, will
benefit adult educators and

“
human body. The point of this The importance of provide strategies to avoid
article is not to substantiate or audism in adult education
negate the term’s importance oppression, even environments.
but to inform adult educators perceived oppression, is To understand audism, we
of the issues of oppression not what it is called, but must explore the terms deaf and
surrounding the term. The hard-of-hearing. The applied
purpose of this article is how it affects those who definition for the term deaf in
to explore the basis and are oppressed.” the literature varies by cultural
origins of audism, literature perspective. I acknowledge
supporting the idea of audism, the convention proposed by
experiences labeled as audism, implications of Woodward (1972) of using the lowercase d as in deaf,
audism in the field of adult education, and strategies when referring to the audiological condition of not
to avoid five common pitfalls of adult educators. hearing, and using the uppercase D as in Deaf, to refer
Understanding the term, and its usefulness to some to deaf people who share American Sign Language
This insight
individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, will (ASL) and a culture. However, this convention separates
into the
benefit adult educators and provide strategies to people who have experienced issues with hearing loss
wording of
avoid audism in adult education environments. and similar oppression, perhaps from the very group Deaf makes
with which they identify. Gilman, Easterbrooks, and a good point.
Keywords: audism, audist, deaf or hard-of-hearing
Frey (2004) noted the unifying theme of the term deaf

I
For as long
n 1975, Humphries first composed the term and hard-of-hearing defined as “substantial impairment deaf is apart
audism in an unpublished essay, “Audism: The in auditory functioning that makes understanding oral of the
Making of a Word.” Audism is a prejudice related communication difficult or impossible to attain” (p. identification
to the physical hearing condition of the human 146). Although many different considerations affect there will
body and often displayed in paternalistic attitudes a person’s hearing ability, this article includes all always be
(Humphries, 1977; Lane, 1999; Perimutter, 2008; understandin
individuals with any type of hearing loss as people
g to the
hearing
DOI: 10.1177/1045159513489115. From 1University of Georgia, Athens. Address correspondence to: Sheryl Ballenger, email: abilities.
sheryl.ballenger@att.net.
For reprints and permissions queries, please visit SAGE’s Web site at http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermission.nav.
Copyright © 2013 The Author(s)

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ADULT LEARNING
who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Included are those
who are Deaf, deaf, and hard-of-hearing; those who
use sign language in any of its various forms, including
ASL; those who use speech-reading and amplification
to hear; those with cochlear implants; those with
bilateral or unilateral hearing loss; those who are
prelingually or postlingually deaf; and those who have
a reduction in the sense of hearing.
The History of the Term Audism
Humphries (1977) provided the original definition of
audism, “the notion that one is superior based on one’s
ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who
hears” (p. 12). Lane (1999) described audism as
the corporate institution for dealing with deaf
people, dealing with them by making statements
about them, authorizing views of them, describing
them, teaching about them, governing where they
go to school and, in some cases, where they live;
in short, audism is the hearing way of dominating,
restructuring, and exercising authority over the
deaf community. (p. 43)
Bauman (2004) highlighted the need for a term
such as audism: “Audism gathers together what has
been there all along as isolated instances, events, and
experiences and unifies them into one single concept”
(p. 240). He compared audism’s functioning to a basket
“that gathers disparate experiences with one thing in
common: the discrimination against individuals based
on hearing ability” (p. 240). The shared oppression of
people with various types of hearing loss is largely
unknown and uncontested by those who have hearing
ability. Pillow (2003) emphasized,
Bodies are sites and centres of struggles between
different power formations. Bodies bear the
marks of these struggles and are also marked
differently—processes and constructs of gender,
race and class impact which bodies are marked
and how they are marked. (p. 148)
Pillow (2003) referred to this as “biopower—power
that operates upon the body” (p. 149). An example of
biopower is making decisions about language used for
instruction or hearing amplification without input from
those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
Intertwined with audism is a linguistic term
phonocentrism. Bauman (2004) discussed the notion
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of phonocentrism from the work of Derrida, relating
the human modality of speech-phonocentrism and
phonetic writing to a theory of audism. Bauman
concluded, “Phonocentrism provides an overriding
orientation in which the systems of advantage
(education and medicine) form and consolidate
power by enforcing a normalcy that privileges
speech over sign and hearing over deafness” (p. The crux of
245). Emery (2009) examined the phonocentric audism, and
nature of citizenship, connecting phonocentrism why it exists
to audism using the example of hearing people
planning social policy or educational programs
requiring talking and hearing for communication.
Although Baumann and Emery link phonocentrism
to audism, I presume if nonphonetic or ocular-
centric forms of communication evolved into the
human modality of communication, the community of
individuals with vision loss would profess oppression
in communication. The larger issue has been the
oppositional inclination of some hearing individuals
determining speaking and listening as the only
acceptable method of communication, creating a
controversy between proponents of auditory or oral
systems and manual communication systems.
Audism is a perceived perspective with anecdotal Audism can
evidence and personal opinions. Audism is not only be
empirically shown as the root cause of members experience,
in the hearing society imparting their desires and never
experiences upon those with hearing loss, although proven
there is a consistent relationship to compel our
human desires upon others. Certain critics object to
the term or play to audism’s political dimensions,
criticizing it as a political necessity for the deaf
community or mark of ingratitude in deaf people in
a nation that has done much for them (Fernandes
& Myers, 2010; Stewart, 1992). Political arguments
aside, many members of the deaf community
unquestionably perceive audism as a reality of their
life. Overwhelmingly, people who are deaf or hard-
of-hearing share experiences of problems, they need
not have experienced, because of audism.
Audism From the Perspective of Deaf Adults
Despite controversy’s potential weakening of audism,
some in the deaf community are finding it a useful
term to help understand certain experiences. The
importance of oppression, even perceived oppression,
Vol. 24 No. 3
is not what it is called, but how it affects those who
are oppressed. Despite strong critics, numerous people
have written about audism and it has gained credence
in the deaf community (Bauman, 2004; Emery,
2009; Humphries, 1977; Jankowski, 1997; Lane, 1999;
Stremlau, 2003).
The best way to examine this issue is not in the
literature, but by the lived experiences of deaf or
hard-of-hearing people. Some members of the deaf
community have named certain experiences as audism
and promoted the term on popular Internet forums.
There are numerous accounts of individuals angrily
advocating and charging audism as the motive for their
negative experiences (Banks, 2011; Daily Kos, 2012;
Franklin, 2006). For example, I retrieved the following
unedited text from Daily Kos (2012), a political blog:
I have written earlier about facing job
discrimination, bigotry, and witnessing ignorant
remarks made about my deafness from people
who weren’t aware that I could understand them.
This thread was not the first time, and neither
shall it be the last time that I face audistic remarks
like that. This is something that I face in my life
on a daily basis from both people who are well-
intentioned and not so well-intentioned in their
attitudes and treatment towards me.
Following this discussion, a second person described
this experience:
I am a musician been one since I was six, and I
have 20% of my hearing left. It’s really tough, and
this audism thing is a big part of it. I have had
people tell me I am conceited, aloof, haughty,
etc. when what happened was I didn’t hear them.
And treated like I was stupid when I missed
conversation. And people wonder why I grew less
tolerant of ignorance.
Yet, a third person commented,
When you write, you are often reflecting the
views of so many, but these views often conflict
with people who will say anything to belittle you.
So they make insensitive comments to cut you
down and belittle you. They use blatant audism
to try to cut you down or to strip away every
element of you except your deafness.
ADULT LEARNING
Finally, a fourth person shared a situation from work:
But when I think of audism, I think of the fact
that as an IT worker, I generally have to contract-
to-hire my way into a company, because when I
try to schedule an interview with companies and
request a terp [sign language interpreter] to make
the interview easier to follow (especially in the
panel ones, THOSE ARE HELL!), they seem to go
with other candidates . . . I think about what it
sounds like we’ve both experienced, with being
considered less intelligent because we have to ask
people to repeat things. These things, to me, I
consider audism.
Two students from the National Technical Institute
for the Deaf theater program participated in an ABC
television program, “What Would You Do?” They
performed a live skit in which a coffee shop owner
needing staff openly discriminated against an applicant
because she was deaf. Following the airing of this
program, the college website released a story about
the program with opportunity for others to comment.
Located on the National Technical Institute for the Deaf
at Rochester Institute of Technology’s website, Banks
(2011) added to the discussion:
What the American Society and the World has
done to the deaf community, it isn’t pretty. Lot
of communicative barriers out there regarding
to the work field that required basic level of
preferred choice of communication, spoken
language. **If a deaf person can READ lips, great.
Able to speak for himself, a bonus plus.** What
of those that cant speak or read lip but could
be overproductived individual? That’s the major
problems. For every job interview that I’ve gone
in the past, I alway get first question asked, “Can
u read lips? can u speak clear?” No to both. Sure
kill the interview, “Thank for coming in. We’ll call
u and let u know.” Which we all knows it, they
never do. Discrimination of audism r presently
clear here.
In 2006, news emerged of protests over the newly
appointed president-designate, Dr. J. K. Fernandes,
of Gallaudet University, the leading U.S. educational
institution for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
The following online discussion from Deaf Echo, a
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blog for people interested in deafness, shows audism’s
controversy even among those with hearing loss.
Franklin (2006), not a Gallaudet student, commented:
And, what exactly are they protesting for? I know
what they’re protesting against: Fernandes, claims
of audism on campus, lack of diversity in the
presidential search process, program cuts that
Fernandes and other administrators have made,
etc. It’s all negative. I can’t find any reports from
protestors that provide suggestions on how to
improve the university; only that Fernandes must
resign.
Finally, Audism Free America (AFA), a newly formed
group of mostly deaf adults, is an example of an
organized group in the deaf community finding
audism a useful term. AFA’s purpose is to fight against
perceived audism and, at the time of this writing,
the group has a weblog, Facebook page, YouTube
even people who presence, twitter account, and news of activities posted
are able to use
sign language on other websites. Unfortunately, by attempting to
are not the only
ones being
call attention to audist issues, some of their comments
affected by seem to claim only those who are Deaf and using ASL
audism. the
scope is wider know best concerning all types of people with hearing
than that
loss. Nevertheless, this group is serving as an advocacy
group with the common goal of ending audism.
The perception of audism is a motivating and unifying
force in the deaf community and the term is valuable,
especially where no other term will suffice. The
community of deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals has
claimed audism as a social justice issue. Bateman (1992)
aligned other social justice movements with the positive
change felt by people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing,
for example, benefiting from the attention placed on
equality and education toward ending sexism and
racism. If oppression or discrimination is a reoccurring
story among those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing,
it is logical some of their interactions with those in
educational environments may be perceived as audism.
Discussion and Implications for Adult
Educators
Perceptions formed in adult education environments
affect the learning environment, the educator’s
effectiveness, and the participants’ ability to learn.
Through increased awareness, adult educators
can discover ways to avoid the mistakes made by
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August 2013
assumptions, or common pitfalls, when teaching and
facilitating those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
By calling attention to audism, we can discover how
audist paradigms influence our activities and make a
conscience effort to avoid creating such perceptions.
As adult educators, we can accept audism as a
perceived issue of oppression and understand the
perception of audism as detrimental to adult learning.
At the core of adult education, (Knowles, 1980)
advanced the practice of adult education should be
perceived “as working toward common goals of
improving the methods and materials of adult learning,
extending the opportunities for adults to learn, and
advancing the general level of our culture” (p. 25).
Everyone involved in the enterprise must work to
ensure we are not harming the student who is seeking
to learn. In designing and delivering our programs,
adult educators need to be cognizant of the challenges
faced by those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
As Clark (2006) stated, adult education as a field
has “inadequately explored the notion of disability
as an issue of oppression” (p. 310). While research
is forthcoming, there are practical solutions for adult
educators now. The field of adult education has a
long tradition of attempting to meet the needs of all
learners, including those who are in underrepresented
or oppressed groups. This commitment can include
providing access for all learners, including those whose
hearing status varies and those who have language or
communication preferences.
Attempts have been made to provide individuals who
are deaf or hard-of-hearing full access in educational
programs, and numerous creative programs have been
designed expressly to meet their needs. For example,
the Deaf Adult Education Program in Minnesota
includes students’ learning needs, interests, and culture
in class design and provides bilingual instruction and
classroom accommodations. The Communication
Service for the Deaf provides educational consultants
who are deaf as a resource for other adult education
programs in Minnesota. In other states, adult education
programs specifically offer training, employment, and
lifelong learning opportunities for all types of learners.
The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE),
under the U.S. Department of Education, includes
resources for educators working with those who are
deaf or hard-of-hearing.
 Vol. 24 No. 3
Polson and White (2001) called for adult educators
to select and provide accommodations for adult
learners with disabilities, including interpreters for
those who use sign language. Accommodations in
educational settings allow access for learners; however,
if learning opportunities are designed with access,
accommodations may become unnecessary. Designing
learning opportunities with access includes seeking
input from those with disabilities. The notion of audism
can be useful to adult educators in understanding their
own practice—the things they do well and the things,
maybe unconsidered, they could do better.
Strategies to Avoid Five Common Pitfalls
It is possible from reading in the literature and on
the Internet to identify five most common pitfalls,
or mistakes, based on possible assumptions in adult
education settings. Perhaps by naming and describing
these pitfalls, program designers and instructors can
avoid them. Each of the five pitfalls is described as
an adult educator’s possible assumption, followed by
suggestions for avoiding audism in adult educational
settings.
Leads to this pitfall too.
Pitfall 1
Just because
there are laws There are laws to govern discrimination and access
does not mean
the problem is for persons with hearing loss. I am in compliance,
fixed. There
needs to be a
so everything will be fine. The Americans With
change in Disabilities Act (ADA) and other legislation go a long
people to
solve audism. way to protect rights and make accessibility possible
for persons with hearing loss. Although most adult
educators follow these expectations when planning
educational activities, carrying out the requirements
of the laws and incorporating the spirit of the laws
are two very different things. The spirit of disability
law is to provide access in every possible way in a
spirit accounting for inclusion along with access. As
adult educators, we must consider to what extent
audism, intentionally or unintentionally, influence
activities in our programs. Adult educators can seek out
experienced educators who are deaf or hard-of-hearing
to inform us of potentially discriminatory activities in
our teaching and provide suggestions for educational
activities that focus on inclusion.
these are linked in the fact that both see what
Pitfall 2 has happend in the past to work again.
There was a student who was deaf in a past training
program I led; this student accessed the course fine.
ADULT LEARNING
Assuming all people with any type of hearing loss
have the same access issues, communication needs, Not everyone is the
and experiences is a mistake. People are different; same, This is why it is
difficult to solve the
people who have hearing loss are just as different. problem
Access for a person who uses ASL may need adjusting
for a person who uses a cochlear implant. Freire (1988)
found success in teaching literacy by using meaningful
discussions generating codifications allowing the
learner to relate to their own experiences, as everyone
is from a different place. Learning about your learners
and allowing them to learn about themselves can
produce accessible activities and ways to learn. Adult
educators must discover whether audist paradigms
influence current learning activities.
Pitfall 3
There are already reasonable accommodations
in place. The goal of becoming fully accessible
and thinking about inclusion in education is called
universal design. Universal design gives people options
in how they access education and learn. The focus
is on learning, the true outcome of an educational
activity or program. These are not unreasonable
accommodations, but options giving people choices
based on their strengths rather than impossible factors.
Adult educators can create universally designed
activities and programs. Educational activities that
limit access and choices may explain why some deaf
or hard-of-hearing adults perceive their educational
accommodations as inappropriate and not meeting their
educational needs and goals.
Pitfall 4
My teaching style is traditional lecture. If I provide
access through captioning or an interpreter, that is all
a student needs. Yes, the captionist or interpreter will
provide access to what you are saying, but for a student
who may have a limited vocabulary or no experience
with the topic you are teaching, this alone may not
lead to understanding. To provide full access to the
material, make your lectures as visual as possible. All
students will benefit from this addition. Learners who
are deaf and hard-of-hearing with vision are astute
at learning visually. Instead of telling, try showing.
Use charts, maps, graphs, skits, captioned movies,
experiments, pictures, anything you can demonstrate
to make the lecture visual. Allow the student to
suggest ways to make the lecture more visual. Allow
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for more visual assessments, perhaps through skits,
graphs, or drawings, so students can demonstrate their
understanding of a topic.
Pitfall 5
Fair enough but If I have a learner in the future who is deaf or hard-
what is t here
to ensure that
of-hearing, I will worry about making my activities
you will take accessible at that time. Although this approach is
care of it when
the time often used, retrofitting for access tends to lack in
comes?
every way possible. To achieve universally designed
access that is complete, sufficient, and equal with
adequate options for learning, one must prepare in
advance. The preparation time spent early in your
planning process will make your educational activities
and programs full of options and choices benefiting
all types of learners with various abilities. For
example, understanding the impact of audism, even
if unintentional, on educational planning for deaf or
hard-of-hearing students provides a new awareness
for educational planners responsible for guiding the
learning outcomes for adults.
After exploring the implications of audism for the
field of adult education, I posit three ideas for every
adult educator. First, to avoid perceptions of audism,
we can address how we teach so audism is not a factor.
Second, we can acknowledge people who are hearing
may not understand audism, in much the same way
a male may not understand a female’s view. Third,
admitting to audism does not mean we have been
acting intentionally, but unwittingly acting in behaviors
that potentially cause perceived audism.
According to Bauman (2004), audism’s impact has
implications “not only for Deaf persons and those who
work and live with them, but also for anyone interested
in issues of language, human rights, and the question
of human nature” (p. 240). I have spent my life helping
build bridges between the deaf world and the hearing
world. I have done this to ensure people who are deaf
have access to opportunities. I refuse to believe I am
unentitled to an opinion if not speaking as a person
who is deaf or hard-of-hearing. Oppression of any
group, and helping that group, is an issue for everyone
in society.
Humphries (1977) provided this insight:
I am now very aware of my deafness, my
difference, but I regard it and all it represents as
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August 2013
this is the hope and
a thing to be treated as other people treat their way to stop audism
languages and characteristics--with love and
respect. I don’t want it to go away ever. I want
others to see its value and accept my difference.
I want others to recognize that beyond this
difference we are all the same with the same
needs and hurts and fighting the same basic -isms
that differ only on the surface. (p. 11)
We must all become aware of possible audist attitudes
and focus on various communication modes in every
situation, particularly in adult education if educating
adults is our goal.
Foucault (1982) implied the struggles of objectivity are
possible to reverse: “In effect, between a relationship
of power and a strategy of struggle there is a reciprocal
appeal, a perpetual linking and a perpetual reversal”
(p. 794). By calling attention to audism and examining
our actions, we will discover a reciprocal appeal,
which may influence our activities. Adult educators
must examine to what extent audism, intentionally or
unintentionally, influences our planning decisions in
education.
Conflict of Interest
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest
with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the
research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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Author Biography
Sheryl Ballenger manages services for students and
clients who are deaf and hard-of-hearing at the
AMAC Accessibility at Georgia Institute of Technology,
and is a doctoral student at the University of Georgia.
She has worked in higher education settings for more
than 18 years as a disability services provider and as
a director of a multicampus career, counseling and
disability support unit that promotes the intellectual
development and emotional well-being of students.
Additional responsibilities have included planning
training for college faculty, staff, and students in
various issues, particularly in disability awareness,
diversity issues, mental health issues, accessibility
initiatives, and the use of assistive technologies. She
is a certified educator in Georgia for students who
are deaf and hard-of-hearing and was the founder
of the transition program called Deaf Extreme. She
has served various roles on several boards and
committees focused on deaf issues.
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