Quote

I like to say that the greatest handicap of deafness does not lie in the ear, it lies in the mind. I hope that through my example, such as my role on 'The West Wing,' I can help change attitudes on deafness and prove we can really do everything... except hear.

There is no relation to sound for deaf people. It is a totally different mental process.

But people who think they can project themselves into deafness are mistaken because you can't. And I'm not talking about imagining what a deaf person's whole life is like I even mean just realizing what it is like for an instant.

Most profoundly deaf people have speech that is very difficult to understand.

In the deaf community, in order to play a role of someone with a hearing loss... you have to have hearing loss.

We have made mistakes. In our haste to do all things for all people, we did not foresee the full consequences of our actions. And when the people raised their voices, we didn't hear. But our deafness was only a temporary condition, and not an irreversible condition.

I think the biggest misconception is that people think deaf people are not able to do things.

But as far as my work is concerned, I see no impediment, and various advantages, to being deaf.

By deafness one gains in one respect more than one loses; one misses more nonsense than sense.

I actually think the deafness makes you see clearer. If you can't hear, you somehow see.