Hi Bonnie Shaljean,
Sorry wasn't trying to be cheeky, or a know it all, far from it. I work with the D/deaf and have taught Deaf Awareness to companies, and this is a subject we cover. The older generations still use these sayings today. Anyway the big D in deaf represents those who are profoundly deaf, and who associate more, and have grown up in the deaf community, normally born into deaf families, the small d in deaf represents those who although profoundly deaf tend to associate more with the hearing community and tend to be born into hearing families. By writing the word D/deaf in this way means we are covering the fuller spectrum.

rc