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One of my hopes with this blog is to broaden the awareness of deafness. I shared what it's like being deaf. All opinions and experiences on this blog are my own, it does not reflect the opinions or experiences of other deaf people. To read more blogs not shown here, please type in ‘Deaf’ in search and it will show you a lot more!
Cochlear implants. A taboo word in the deaf world. For those who aren’t familiar with what cochlear implants are - it’s an electronic device installed under the skin behind the ears.
The topic of interpreters… I’ve put this off for a while, after receiving some questions. So here I am, addressing some questions!
Book Review of ‘The Invention of Miracles: Language, power and Alexander Graham Bell’s Quest to end Deafness’ by Katie Booth
Growing up in a rural area of Upstate New York didn’t give me the opportunity to meet Deaf adults to look up to. So who did I look up to? I knew of Marlee Matlin, the famous deaf actress and Heather Whitestone, first deaf Miss America. So that’s who I looked up to as a child. Both are two Deaf women on polar opposite of the spectrum.
In mid-August, there was a new movie making a splash. Apple+ released ‘CODA’ starring Marlee Matlin. The term CODA stands for Child of Deaf Adult[s] so it was a movie portraying a life of a CODA. The movie was selected to be shown in limited theaters. I was thrilled that Mystic Luxury Cinemas was one of the theaters to feature the movie.
September is Deaf Awareness month. It also is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. I’m going to talk about an important topic that combines of those two themes… Deaf and Counseling. Many of Deaf/Hard of Hearing people are still struggling to this day to find appropriate help. The issue is… accessibility.
Happy EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week! It is a week that occurs annually in mid May. Honoring EMS for all that they do. It is a bittersweet time for me, as I reflect on my experiences with the volunteer ambulance organization. I have learned a lot from these years!
Over the last month and a half, I published a 6 part series focusing on my experience with employment. Many had asked me to share these experiences, such as what it is like to go on interviews or what it is like to work in a hearing dominated environment. I was asked to share this a few years ago. Why did it take so long for me to share? I had a lot of hesitancy to publish any of those posts. I felt like each post was so negative. I’m not typically the kind of person to be excessive and pessimistic.
Dating is an adventure for everyone. It was especially hard for me because of communication barriers. I mentioned that I grew up in mainstreamed school. My only options for dating were the hearing guys. How do I approach them? How do I let them know that I have a crush on them? Will they learn American Sign Language (ASL) for me? It was challenging to develop friendships so dating was even harder.
There are a lot of struggles with being deaf in a hearing world, but also within our own deaf community. Unfortunately it is challenging to find my place in the deaf community even as a deaf individual. I mentioned in the cochlear implants blog that there are many subgroups of the deaf community. I learned about them when I attended college at RIT (which also had a college for the deaf - National Technical Institute for the Deaf - NTID). During my childhood, I was mainstreamed with all hearing peers so I never truly found my identity until college.
Happy Deaf Awareness Month! It’s the time to increase deaf awareness issues and culture. Accessibility is so important for us - sign language for one. The deaf world is constantly trying to teach and expose people to sign language. It will help reduce the problems formed by communication barriers. Many are not aware of the issues we face daily such as lack of open captioned movies, availability of employment, receiving high quality interpreting services, etc. It will always be a life long battle to educate people, but it’s my hope with deaf awareness month (and anytime!) to offer better quality of life for us deaf folks!
Happy Deaf Awareness Month!