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Deaf Communities <br />Size of Community <br />The Deaf community is not a singular <br />community. Like the hearing community, for <br />example, there is diversity in terms of race <br />and ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and <br />gender identity, disability, and <br />socioeconomic status. While American Sign <br />Language is the predominate language of <br />the Deaf community in the United States, <br />there is also diversity within the community in <br />terms of language use. Lastly, while identity <br />is very personal and varies from individual to <br />individual, it is helpful to understand some of <br />the diverse ways members of the Deaf <br />community identify: <br />• Deaf <br />• DeafBlind <br />• DeafDisabled <br />• Late -deafened <br />• Hard of hearing[12] <br />Approximately 15 percent of the U.S. <br />population, or 57.5 million adults, report some <br />degree of hearing loss.[13] Roughly 2 to 3 of <br />every 1,000 children in the US are born Deaf or <br />hard of hearing.[14] These statistics, however, <br />do not distinguish between people with <br />hearing loss and members of the Deaf <br />community. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of <br />information on how many Deaf people live in <br />the United States. The most recent population <br />estimate survey was conducted in 1974. The <br />authors of this research estimated there were <br />approximately 500,000 Deaf people at the <br />time in the United States. While this survey <br />remains the ultimate source, it is severely <br />outdated and cannot be used to extrapolate <br />the number of Deaf people in the United <br />States today.[15] <br />