Hearing impaired from Italy

Isadora

Isadora

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Joined
Dec 30, 2012
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Hello everybody,

I am a 29 y.o. girl from Italy. I lost my hearing in both ears when I was 10, and I wear a hearing aid on my left ear, only. I mostly live using lip-reading, as I can hear sounds through the hearing aid, but I am no longer able to recognize the words.

I learnt to speak my mother tongue language (Italian) as a normal child so I speak it flawlessy, but I learnt English after my hearing loss, so I don't speak it very well and I don't understand spoken English very much.

I am looking to move to the USA in 2013-2014 because of lack of work here in Italy. I studied electrical engineering and I have been working in a power plant for 5 years. I love technology!

I think the USA are far better advanced as to hearing impaired people in the society, so I am very eager to get to know the life of a deaf person in the USA.

I subscribed to this forum for 2 reasons:
1) Get to know the best technology and services for deaf people in the USA
2) Share experience with deaf people who had to learn another language

Read you soon!
 
welcome! Hopefully you can learn alot from here. Have you applied for a work visa yet? If you move here and want to communicate on phone, there are basically only two ways to do this - via TDD for hand typed english or via Video relay service via internet camera using american signed language. The video relay right now is the preferred way of communication so its most likely you might need to learn yet another language. if you can do both Italian and english - ASL will be fun for you. ;) .
 
Ciao, Isadora....:wave: You know, years ago, I remember hearing from my cousins in Sicily that there was just no work. Hard to fathom how all this time later, the more things change, the more they remain the same. I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience in this country. Any idea where in the States you'll be moving to?

Laura
 
hi...i met up with deaf italians in malta they said different.. i been italy many times i had no worse problems there than uk. States is more advance than uk in deaf matters that is true
 
Thank you all for the warm welcome.
I do have a green card, so on that side I am already settled.

WHERE?
I haven't yet decided where to go to, so I'll be taking a vacation in the USA on February to browse a little - the USA are so big and I have always been to Manhattan only. I feel there is much more to it and I'd like to head South for a start, like Texas and Florida.
(I visited NYC on February 2007 and it was sooooo cold - not my idea of a holiday!)

MOBILE PHONE
For now I am looking for a data-only plan (I am not able to make phone calls - barely in Italian, let alone in English). I will be there for a month only in the first place and my family is in Italy, so we would communicate through the Internet anyway.

I found an interesting unlimited data plan from T-Mobile for $30 per month so I think that's what I should get in the first place.

LANGUAGE BARRIER
As for ASL.... I do not sign but reading from your posts, it seems I might get lazy and switch to sign only! I have never been in a deaf community, I consider myself HOH, and I have been struggling to keep my life "as nothing happened". I know I wasn't honest to myself saying so, I only recently became aware that being HOH is not a fault.

I am looking forward to work on my oral skills in English, is there a center where I can take English lessons for HOH?

BUREAUCRATIC STUFF
Also, getting a driving license is worrying me a lot. I don't understand how can I contact a physician that can diagnose me, so that I can go to the DMV and get a license.
In Italy I am prescribed to wear my AD and drive cars with a right rearview, too.

PRIVATE LIFE
And for those of you who mentioned dating: thank you, but I am already taken!
 
I am looking to move to the USA in 2013-2014 because of lack of work here in Italy. I studied electrical engineering and I have been working in a power plant for 5 years. I love technology!
Click to expand...
Do you have a Master's by any chance? One thing you COULD do is go to RIT (home of NTID) and get a Master's Degree! Rochester Institute of Technology
That would totally immerse you into the Deaf World here.........
 
I have a bachelor's and a master's degree in Electrical Engineering, plus 5 years of experience as a process engineer in a thermal power plant. I'd like to continue this career path in the US. Dreaming of a job at GE :bowlol:

I just read about RIT on this forum... and in Rochester there is a facility of GE. :cool2

I saw some interesting programs/courses on RIT website, but I don't understand which ones provides assistance to HOH. :shock:
 
Isadora said:
I have a bachelor's and a master's degree in Electrical Engineering, plus 5 years of experience as a process engineer in a thermal power plant. I'd like to continue this career path in the US. Dreaming of a job at GE :bowlol:

I just read about RIT on this forum... and in Rochester there is a facility of GE. :cool2

I saw some interesting programs/courses on RIT website, but I don't understand which ones provides assistance to HOH. :shock:
Click to expand...

In big cities like Boston, New York, Los Angelos, there are often free community classes held in churches for ESL. You don't need ESL for hearing impaired, just ESL. Of course you could also take ESL courses at school; many colleges and schools offer classes in their day programs or through community classes held in the evening.

Laura
 
Being italian can't the pope fix you? You know the old abta cadabra,out damn spot and get your hearing back? What else is he good for?
 
Isadora said:
I have a bachelor's and a master's degree in Electrical Engineering, plus 5 years of experience as a process engineer in a thermal power plant. I'd like to continue this career path in the US. Dreaming of a job at GE :bowlol:

I just read about RIT on this forum... and in Rochester there is a facility of GE. :cool2

I saw some interesting programs/courses on RIT website, but I don't understand which ones provides assistance to HOH. :shock:
Click to expand...

Rochester has a HUGE Deaf population. It's also the home of NTID.(a two year undergrad program)....Which means that it's a very HOH friendly university, and there are a lot of dhh undergrads and grad schoolers......
You could also try CSUN, as they have a large dhh population: California State University, Northridge
Not sure if Gally might be an option for you.....
 
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