Final answer:
Someone who becomes deaf later in life may be less likely to identify with the deaf community because they haven't had the same exposure and experience with deaf culture, may have learned to communicate orally rather than using sign language, and may have already established their identity and sense of belonging in the hearing community.
Step-by-step explanation:
Why might someone who became deaf later in life be less likely to identify with the deaf community?
When a child is diagnosed as deaf, parents have difficult decisions to make. Should the child be enrolled in mainstream schools and taught to verbalize and read lips? Or should the child be sent to a school for deaf children to learn ASL and have significant exposure to deaf culture? The decisions parents make can impact how a person identifies with the deaf community later in life.
If someone becomes deaf later in life, they haven't had the same exposure and experience with deaf culture that someone who grew up deaf has had. They may have learned to communicate orally and rely on lip reading, rather than using sign language. This difference in communication methods can create a sense of disconnect between someone who became deaf later in life and the deaf community.
In addition, someone who becomes deaf later in life may have already formed their identity and sense of belonging in the hearing world. They may have established relationships, careers, and lifestyles that are rooted in the hearing community. As a result, they may be less likely to shift their identity and sense of belonging to the deaf community.