Editing Models of deafness (section)

== Cultural Model ==
{{See|Deaf culture|Deafhood}}
Within the cultural model of deafness, Deaf people see themselves as a linguistic and cultural minority community rather than a "disability group".<ref name="Power_2005" /> Advocates of Deaf culture use a capital "D" to distinguish cultural Deafness from deafness as a pathology.<ref name="Jones_2002" />

Deaf culture is distinct in that the inability to hear is not seen as a "loss" or something that negatively impacts an individual's quality of life. It is an asset of and for the Deaf community to be deaf in behavior, values, knowledge and fluency in sign language. The experience of the Deaf being a language minority is comparable to other minorities' native languages being important to group identification and the preservation of their culture.<ref name="Jones_2002" /> Deaf clubs (such as NAD- The National Association of the Deaf) and Deaf schools have played large roles in the preservation of sign language and Deaf culture.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Burch|first=Susan|date=October 2000|title=In a Different Voice: Sign Language Preservation and America's Deaf Community|journal=Bilingual Research Journal|volume=24|issue=4|pages=443–464|doi=10.1080/15235882.2000.10162777|s2cid=145505474|issn=1523-5882}}</ref> Residential schools for deaf children serve as a vital link in the transmission of the rich culture and language, seeing as they are ideal environments for children to acquire and master sign language and pass on Deaf cultural values.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=USowu0SkQVUC&q=residential&pg=PA73|title=Educational and Developmental Aspects of Deafness|last=Moores|first=Donald F.|date=1990|publisher=Gallaudet University Press|isbn=9780930323523}}</ref> Like all educational settings, these environments are key to providing deaf children valuable life lessons and skills that will help them prosper in any environment they may find themselves in.

Rather than embrace the view that deafness is a "personal tragedy", the Deaf community contrasts the medical model of deafness by seeing all aspects of the deaf experience as positive. The birth of a deaf child is seen as a cause for celebration.<ref name="Obasi_2008" /> Deaf people point to the perspective on child rearing they share with hearing people. For example, hearing parents may feel that they relate to their hearing child because of their experience and intimate understanding of the hearing state of being. It follows that a Deaf parent will have easier experiences raising a deaf child since Deaf parents have an intimate understanding of the deaf state of being. Evidence of Deaf parental success is revealed in scholastic achievement. Deaf children who have Deaf parents that communicate in sign language from birth, generally perform better in their academics than other deaf children with hearing parents.<ref name="Marschark_2015">{{cite journal|vauthors=Marschark M, Shaver DM, Nagle KM, Newman LA|date=April 2015|title=Predicting the Academic Achievement of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students From Individual, Household, Communication, and Educational Factors|journal=Exceptional Children|volume=81|issue=3|pages=350–369|doi=10.1177/0014402914563700|pmc=4634639|pmid=26549890}}</ref> This includes children who adapted using speech and [[lipreading]], prosthetic devices such as the [[cochlear implant]]s,  [[hearing aid]] technology, and artificial language systems such as Signing Exact English and Cued Speech.<ref name="Marschark_2015" /> Deaf children acquiring sign languages from birth also reach language milestones at similar rates to their hearing counterparts, unlike deaf children born to hearing parents acquiring speech.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Meier RP|date=1991|title=Language Acquisition by Deaf Children|journal=American Scientist|volume=79|issue=1|pages=60–70|bibcode=1991AmSci..79...60M|jstor=29774278}}</ref>

Members of the Deaf community define deafness as a matter of culturally determined behaviors rather than an audiological factor.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ruiz|first1=M. Teresa|last2=Munoz-Baell|first2=Irma M.|date=2000-01-01|title=Empowering the deaf. Let the deaf be deaf|url= |journal=Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health|volume=54|issue=1|pages=40–44|doi=10.1136/jech.54.1.40|issn=0143-005X|pmid=10692961|pmc=1731537}}</ref> Thus, those within the Deaf community tend to be, but are not limited to, deaf people, especially congenitally deaf people whose primary language is the [[sign language]] of their nation or community, as well as their hearing or deaf children (hearing children of Deaf adults are typically called CODAs: Child of Deaf adult), families, friends and other members of their social networks. This cultural model of deafness represents the natural evolution of the social networks of a minority language group. From the conceptual framework of the cultural model come implicit questions, such as: "How is deafness influenced by the physical and social environment in which it is embedded? What are the interdependent values, [[mores]], art forms, traditions, organizations, and language that characterize this culture?"