[EDLING:177] RE: Signing 'increases deafness rates'

[Martin Edwardes]

Let's review this article, using a different language.

'English may be behind rising rates of inherited Britishness, according
to researchers. The proportion of people who are born with profound
Britishness has quintupled over the past 200 years.
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University in the United States
have traced the increase back to the introduction of English in the
early 600s. They say the introduction of English allowed people who are
British to communicate with each other more easily.
They say it also led to many more people with Britishness marrying. At
least 85% of individuals with profound Britishness marry another British
person
The researchers believe the decision of so many people with inherited
Britishness to marry has been behind the increase in Britishness
rates...

Or, to put it another way, no other language would have been commented
on in this way. The idea implicit in the article is that hearing is
"good" and being deaf is "bad", which is just plain, old-fashioned
prejudice.

Martin Edwardes
http://www.btinternet.com/~martin.edwardes/


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-edling at ccat.sas.upenn.edu
[mailto:owner-edling at ccat.sas.upenn.edu] On Behalf Of Shannon Sauro
Sent: 08 May 2004 17:47
To: edling at ccat.sas.upenn.edu
Subject: [EDLING:175] Signing 'increases deafness rates'

This article is from the BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/3665939.stm

***************
Signing 'increases deafness rates'

Sign language may be behind rising rates of inherited deafness,
according to
researchers.

The proportion of people who are born with profound hearing loss has
doubled
over the past 200 years.

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University in the United States
have
traced the increase back to the introduction of sign language in the
early
1800s.

They say the introduction of sign language allowed people who are deaf
to
communicate with each other more easily.

They say it also led to many more people with hearing loss marrying.

At least 85% of individuals with profound deafness marry another deaf
person
Professor Walter Nance

The researchers believe the decision of so many people with inherited
hearing
loss to marry has been behind the increase in deafness rates.

Gene mutations
More than 100 genes are involved in hearing loss. As a result, most
people who
are deaf have children with normal hearing because they pass on
different
genes.

However, a mutation in one gene, the connexin gene, is responsible for
50% of
inherited deafness.

If both parents have this mutation, they will pass it on to their
children,
who will usually be born deaf.

The researchers used computer modelling to show what effect
intermarriage
between people with inherited deafness has over many generations.

They found that intermarriage between people who are deaf can lead to a
significant increase in the number of people with inherited hearing
loss.

This is largely because they have children with the condition who
themselves
go on to marry other people with this type of genetic deafness.

"In the United States, at least 85% of individuals with profound
deafness
marry another deaf person," said Professor Walter Nance, who led the
study.

"In the case of marriages among couples who both have the same form of
recessive deafness, all their children will be deaf and capable
themselves of
also passing on the altered gene to their offspring.

"In addition, as many as 3.5% of the hearing population in the United
States
may carry single mutations involving the connexin 26 complex, making
this one
of the most commonly recognized single gene defects."

Professor Nance said areas in the United States with a history of
schools that
teach through sign language have increased rates of genetic deafness.

"In regions where national or state-wide schools for the deaf have been
established and marriages among students have occurred, we've seen an
amplification of the commonest form of recessive deafness in the overall

population."

Professor Nance believes the findings may explain how speech evolved in
humans.

"When you think about how the onset of selective marriages among deaf
populations led to an increase in specific mutations for deafness, you
easily
can see how these same forces might have contributed to the spread of
genes
for speech among Homo sapiens 160,000 years ago," he said.

"If you were one of the first primates with an ability to communicate by

speaking, wouldn't you want to select a partner who could whisper sweet
nothings in your ear?"

Brian Lamb, director of communications at the RNID, said: "This research

provides an interesting insight into why a specific genetic form of
deafness
has become more common.

"It is not surprising that people with a shared culture of deafness
marry. And
if both people have the same specific genetic cause of deafness, this
will be
passed down the generations.

"RNID supports the rights of deaf people to marry one another. As well
as
looking at the genetic causes of deafness it is also important for
society to
develop ways to improve communication for deaf people so that they live
active
and fulfilled lives integrated in society."

The findings will be published in the American Journal of Human Genetics
in
June.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/3665939.stm

Published: 2004/04/28 15:31:33 GMT

C BBC MMIV