Abstract
The concept of "Deaf culture " is presented on the basis of properties of Japanese sign language which is used by deaf people. When we consider this "Deaf culture declaration" as an explanation of disabled culture, we find that an explanation of disabled identity is also implicit within it. There are 4 ways of gaining identity as a disabled person; 1. by hiding ones disability, 2. by gaining some form of valued identity, 3. by denial of the qualities valued by the society of normal people and 4. by rearrangement of the values of that society. It is appropriate to consider the concept of "Deaf culture" through Japanese sign language which is used by the hearing disabled, people as a manifestation of No.4 item, that is, Rearrangement of the values of the culture of normal people's society. The concept of "Disabled culture" also functions to label relationships between the disabled and normal people. This labeling function supplements the "acknowledgement of mutual roles" and "mutual supprot" in the concept of normalization through rearrangement of the values of normal people. Disabled culture exists for the disabled themselves to gain a sense of identity through rearrangement of values, however, for society as a whole,disabled culture means that the disabled are asking normal people to accept the differences between them. If we consider the disabled culture as mentioned above, it is possible to envisage Peer Counseling as playing a role as a device used to share disabled culture between people concerned, and also to envisage independent living centers or regional work stations (cooperative work stations) managed and used by the disabled or disabled groups as a device for the furtherance of their own culture.
