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1: How did the young, African American men develop a new disability culture, according to Devlieger et al.?
The Young African American men developed a new disability culture of young African American men in the spinal cord injury unit of an inner-city rehabilitation hospital in Chicago. These young men all had similar experiences; a disability culture emerged in a group of African Americans who acquired their disability violently. First, is the perception of social alienation from family and fellow gang members. Second, is immersion in a supportive physical and social environment where disability meanings are produced, reinforced and passed on across generations. Third, is the development of personal narratives and metaphors that give meaning to disability, anchor behavioral changes and help to reconcile value conflicts. This allowed the re-examination of disability culture in white society and in specific disability cultures such as deaf culture and to suggest that while there are similarities across groups, disability culture is not monolithic.
Q2: How does the disability culture of these men differ from other disability cultures, according to the authors?
In the article it is mentioned that during the 1980s may debated about different concepts of culture and what would or could be meaningfully applied to groups such as disability, and even wider ranges such as but not limited to mental and physical conditions and spans of age, race, gender, ethnicity, social class and national boundaries (Scheer, 1994). At first inspection, a common disability life and experience did not seem to be something shared by all disabled people. After considerable debate, however, many scholars, and particularly disability activists, agreed that there is a unifying disability culture that emerges across seemingly divergent groups. While the debate continues, attention has shifted to defining disability culture, examining whether it is experienced by and applies to all disabled people and whether it develops in a monolithic or multicultural forms (Cohen, 1999; Hanchard, 1990; Meekosha, 2006). These group of young men allowed many to see that although the experienced acts of violence that caused their disability, they too are apart of the disability culture and share the four elements common to the development of disability and disability culture. The four commons elements the development of disability identity and disability culture: unification through the coalescence of disparate groups around common issues; communication through a shared appreciation of art, language, symbols, and rituals that represent disability; fortification in collective gatherings and expressions that strengthen the identity of disabled people; and, recruitment of new members. While this discussion was useful in focusing attention on the

underpinnings of the disability movement, it left the impression that disability culture is common, monolithic and emerges in similar situations.
2. Keila Ottero
RE: Padden and Humphries
Q1-2: How does Tom’s experience support the idea that there is a separate, Deaf culture?; How does Carol’s experience support the idea that there is a separate, Deaf culture?
Both authors bring a perspective on how diverse and at times closed-minded the Deaf/HOH community can be seen, from an outsider’s perspective.
I explain;
Tom came from a fully hearing family/community and he was the only one with a disability, which was being Deaf, but he at first saw it as ‘hard of hearing.’ Not only that, but he was also treated as if he was the “only one” of his kind.
“In his hearing family and community, he had always been taught that he was special, that no other deaf person was like him, and that it was undesirable to be like other deaf people.’ (p.146)
So his understanding of Deaf Culture, was how the general hearing community saw it…through a medical/social lens. Which made him appear closed in when it came to the actual facts of learning sign language and the time it takes to know how and what to communicate. But during his time at Gallaudet University, he got to experience, witness, and most of all accept that he indeed was Deaf and that what he was taught since childhood was not accurate or correct. “As he learned the language and the way of life of the community, he came to believe that he was being rescued from a life where he had communicated with others on a very small scale” (p.147) On this same page, the one line/sentence that clarified this journey was “from learning about Deaf people, he had moved on to learn to be Deaf.” This shows that it is never too late to truly learn and discover who you are and how diverse your community can be.
While Carol on the other hand comes from a fully Deaf/HOH family(Grandparents, parents, sibling, and herself) along with being raised within the halls and teachings of the Gallaudet University (where her parents taught.) Carol went from a fully Deaf/HOH surroundings/safety net, into a fully hearing world. Since her parents were teachers at the university, they made sure that both Carol and her brother grew up in a bilingual environment. Teaching them signing and English language.
She was immersed in the hearing world, by the time she hit 3rd grade. Since her parents raised her to become bilingual, they thought she would be good in a general public school environment and out of their Deaf/HOH bubble (of sorts.) She did struggle with communicating properly with her new classmates, as well as feeling uneasy everytime she left her comfort zone and entered the hearing world {p.152}, “she wanted to know what it all meant” (p.153) to be within the hearing world.