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juliae

juliae

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OK so I'm taking an ASL class at a local church.

It is great but I think I made a bad impression at my first class. I was late (stuck in traffic) & was nervous so was really hyper.

My friend Karen who I told about the class said there's no reason to take it because I'll never have anyone to talk with in ASL. She said that I'm hard of hearing & not Deaf & that even the teacher in the class probably wouldn't talk with me outside of class. She said that in Deaf culture I'd be looked at as an "imposter". Now I don't know since when she knows so much but I have been to this forum before so I thought, hey let me ask here.

Help!!
 
I don't know about other people, but if you tried to learn sign, I'd be trying to converse with you in ASL! :)
 
juliae said:
OK so I'm taking an ASL class at a local church.

It is great but I think I made a bad impression at my first class. I was late (stuck in traffic) & was nervous so was really hyper.

My friend Karen who I told about the class said there's no reason to take it because I'll never have anyone to talk with in ASL. She said that I'm hard of hearing & not Deaf & that even the teacher in the class probably wouldn't talk with me outside of class. She said that in Deaf culture I'd be looked at as an "imposter". Now I don't know since when she knows so much but I have been to this forum before so I thought, hey let me ask here.

Help!!
Click to expand...

Just keep going to the classes and have a positive mind. Things will turn around then Deaf people will see you and like you then want to chat with you. You will be fine once they get to know you. :)
 
I'm a hearing person who has been learning ASL, and from 98% of people, I have gotten nothing but a positive or at least respectful response. I've probably talked to about 200 deaf people, and had 1 walk away from me when I said I was hearing. I think it does depend on the deaf community you are around, but generally, if you are respectful and willing to learn, deaf peopel will accept you.
 
Oh give me a break. Yes, there are snotty "deafer then thou" folks out there....but most Deaf folks I know would totally welcome hoh signers to the fold.....Not all Deaf folks grew up with Sign....there are plenty who are late learners. Tell your friend that you want to learn sign b/c you want to discover the FUN side of being hoh.....rather then the boring old "hearing health" view of the same old audiograms and NEWEST hearing aids!
 
Obviously, your friend has no clue what she/he is talking about! It sounds like that your friend is trying to pull you into hearing world 100% instead of being balance in both hearing and deaf world!

Dont listen to your friend's advice...I'm proud of you and keep it up learning ASL. :thumb:
 
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