From: Steve.Brother@p1.f11.n369.z1.fidonet.org (Steve Brother)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: re:Deafie world
Date: 13 Oct 92 04:24:52 GMT
Reply-To: Steve.Brother@p1.f11.n369.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:369/11.1 - The Branch Office, Pompano Beach FL
X-Fidonet: Silent Talk Conference
Originator: wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com

Index Number: 24891

[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

MO>I didn't learn anything about deafness and its culture until I went to
MO>Gallaudet University.  I  often wished I learn to sign prior entering
MO>Gallaudet, I never realized  how much I was missing information in
MO>public schools.  I strongly  believe that no matter how much 'hearing'
MO>the deaf kid have, they should have the right to use sign language as
MO>another means to communicate.

MO>Well, I hope I didn't step on any toes in discussing this issue!  Its
MO>gets real personal.  Its even tough on deaf/hard of hearing individuals
MO>who have ability to use their speech with others who don't sign.  I get
MO>mixed feelings as to where to I belong.  I wonder is there are others
MO>who feel the same way I do.  I get annoyed when people say, but you
MO>speak so well why do you want to call yourself DEAF?

heh - I feel the same way. Back in 1989, I was involved in a four car
accident. I was the worst of them all cuz my truck was the first one
that got rear-ended then pushed into another car in front of me and so
on. Just a few months later, I became profoundly deaf (110 db in both
ears). What makes it an interesting was the fact I was learning sign
language to become an interpreter. I wanted to do free-lance
interpreting to supplement my income while attending college.

Now, at this point, I had two options. One, I could try and assimilate
myself back into the hearing world by lipreading alone. Since I grew up
as a hearing person for 21 years, I know my way around. I can voice
perfectly, and all I had to do is learn how to lipread. Two, I could
continue learning sign language as another way for me to understand
conversations and communicate.

At first, my parents discouraged me to learn sign. "You don't need to
know it" I was told by my mom (she also held onto the idea that I was
still hearing, which led into a breakdown in our relationship). When
asked by other people of why learing sign language I relpied "Why not?"
I'm deaf. I should know how to sign was my reasoning. If you were going
to work with a deaf person you should know sign. Its the same reason
like if you were going to work with French people, you should know how
to speak french, right?

I found out that sign make life easier. When I went back to college, I
used interpreters. I didn't have to worry about missing information from
the teacher when facing away or talking while writing on the blackboard
or when a student  sitting behind me asking a question. I had the
interpreter right there in front of me, getting everything that was be
spoken in the classroom. I also like it cuz I can't always depend on
lipreading alone. Sometimes I misunderstood what was being said to me.
Other times, it was the person themselves. They either talk to fast or
they mutter. On men if they have a mustache or beard, it almost
impossible at times to comprehend of what is being said.

What really helped me out was the Deaf themselves. They helped me out. A
friend of mine named John became deaf at the age of 3, but he could
voice and lipread, but he preferred signing. For 63 years, that's what
he did. I met him at the Deaf club, and I told him about my problems. He
even helped me out on tricks of lipreading, like looking up on the lips
instead of down when someone mutters or little lip movement, stuff like
that. When I asked him "Do you consider yourself Deaf or Hard of
Hearing?"

he relpied (in sign): HEAR you-SAME-me. THINK-YOURSELF, DEAF,
HARD-OF-HEARING, WHICH? ("Your hearing loss is just the same as mine, so
what do you think of yourself, deaf or hard of hearing?")

DEAF, I sign

WHY?

KNOW SIGN, I sign

VOICE, LIPREAD, YOU CAN. THINK DEAF, WHY?

you-SAME-me? ("you can also voice and lipread like me?" I signed back)

GROW-UP, DEAF, ME. STATE SCHOOL me-GO. GROW-UP HEARING YOU. THINK DEAF,
WHY? ("I grew up Deaf. I went to the State School for the Deaf (in NY).
     But you grew up as a hearing person. So why do you consider
     yourself Deaf?")

Good question I thought. Why do I consider myself Deaf? Sign is one of
them. Well here it is. I signed:

DEAF VALUE, SUPPORT. LIKE DEAF. LIKE A-S-L. LOVE SIGN. (facial exp:
condition sentence) INDEX(point at)- thumb finger, SIGN, INDEX-index
finger, LIPREAD, CHOICE -thumb finger

translation: I support Deaf values. I like being deaf, and I like ASL. I
love to sign. If I had a choice to Sign or lipread, I rather Sign.

                              -Deafie.
                              sksk

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