What is the Deaf Community?

Deaf people have a community. It is made up of people of different ages, races, and backgrounds. While Deaf people may be members of other minority groups, they are bound together by a common language, FSL, and a common experience.
At the center of the community are schools for the Deaf. It is usually here that Deaf children first experience the sense of community. They are surrounded by other who communicate similarly, in the visual mode, and who have a similar experience coping with the communication barriers that are part of their daily life.
Most deaf children, up to 90%, are born to hearing parents who may not sign or sign fluently. When the child goes to school, they enjoy the ease of communication, and strong bonds of friendship are formed. Schools often become a second family. In the past, as the child entered adulthood, they often had this same sense of community at Deaf clubs. Today, Deaf clubs have a reduced role as the centerpoint of the adult deaf social circle, though this varies from area to area.