51.5-111 - Persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing defined and categorized. - Virginia Statutes

§ 51.5-111. Persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing defined and categorized.

For the purposes of this chapter, persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearinginclude those who experience hearing losses that range from a mild hearingloss to a profound hearing loss. They are categorized as follows:

1. Persons who are deaf are those whose hearing is totally impaired or whosehearing, with or without amplification, is so seriously impaired that theprimary means of receiving spoken communication is through visual input suchas lip-reading, sign language, finger spelling, reading or writing.

2. Persons who are hard-of-hearing are those whose hearing is impaired to anextent that makes hearing difficult but does not preclude the understandingof spoken communication through the ear alone, with or without a hearing aid.

(1984, c. 670, § 63.1-85.3:1; 2002, c. 747.)