THE IMPORTANCE OF DEAF PEOPLE IN BRAZIL

Rita de Cassia Barbosa Arouca

ABSTRACT

This article presents an excerpt from the Master’s Dissertation whose theme DEAF: ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE SEMIOTICS OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL LANGUAGE USING TECHNOLOGIES explains the importance of the Deaf in Brazil and presents in numbers the size of this large minority that is growing worldwide. Of the 45.6% of people with disabilities (motor, blind, mental disabilities), around 10.7 million are Deaf, a significant number in any society. From the point of view of building an inclusive society, Brazilian legislation ensures basic education, however, there is a lack of human resources and specialized subjects when it comes to implementing Bilingual Schools. These institutions offer knowledge of LIBRAS and the Portuguese language to the Deaf, which is why they need to be guaranteed as basic education in educational policies. Although Deaf people have associations formed by parents, family members and friends of Deaf people, to reach common goals together, these organizations are insufficient in number, some had to close their doors due to the pandemic. The importance of Deaf people arises from compatible language for balanced inclusion. It is no longer appropriate for a Deaf person to be called “hearing impaired”, as not hearing sound is not a disability but a fact. Understand that certain expressions are seen as hostile when used incorrectly. Therefore, there are official documents that guide and govern the principles in the area of inclusive education. Currently, people who have any disability are called “People with Disabilities (PwD) and people who cannot hear are called Deaf”. Therefore, Official Documents express inclusion within the scope of public policies, guaranteeing and preserving the cultural and social identity of the deaf community. In addition to ensuring a minimum percentage of Deaf people in public bodies, as a way of inserting and valuing individuals who cannot hear.

Keywords: Deaf Community, Social inclusion, Bilingual Education