Definitions

Deaf (with a captial D) describes people who identify as members of the Australian signign Deaf communitiy, who use Auslan as a preferred language to ensure complete access to information.

Auslan is the language used by the Deaf community, their families, friends and colleagues. It is a visual-spatial language that has evolved naturally over time.

deaf (with a small d) describes the audiological condition of not hearing.

Hard of Hearing describes people who have a mild or moderate hearing loss, or who have an acquired hearing loss later in life. Hard of Hearing people often use spoken English, lipreading and residual hearing (amplified by technology) when communicating but may also use Auslan.

Hearing Impaired is a term that attempts to put Deaf and Hard of Hearing people together and focuses on the medical condition as a negative and a loss. It is not a term supported by the Deaf community, but you may see the term used in archives and articles.

Deaf Gain is a term that focuses on the positives and advantages of being Deaf and part of the Deaf community. We hope that you will see many examples of Deaf Gain.

Deafblind describes people with both hearing and vision loss, who use a wide variety of communication methods in English and or Auslan, such as braille, tactile Auslan, and adapted fingerspelling.

‘deaf and dumb’ and ‘deaf-mute’ are both terms that were used in the past to describe deaf people who did not use speech. They are outdated and offensive terms to use today, but you may see them used in archives and articles from the past.