wanderlust
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- Jul 4, 2013
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Hey-hey!
Well my name is KatByrd and I was born deaf. My parents were repetitively told “she is not deaf” by doctors who felt that if I was put through speech therapy and raised as an oral child, I’d be ‘normal’. So then, I received hearing aids, went through ten years of speech therapy and was mainstreamed into my public school. I was implanted when I was in fourth grade and my other side was done when I was in eight grade but I have yet to use that side to this day. I was around very few other deaf people and though I did have an interpreter all throughout school, I only knew the very basics. It wasn’t until I went to a deaf camp the summer of ninth grade that I was fully immersed in the deaf culture and my life was turned the right side up. From there, I started to embrace my deafness and not try to hide it. I left mainstream and jumped around three different deaf schools and met many incredible beings who taught me a lot about being Deaf.
I’ve been travelling around the country the past few months and am currently nestled in upstate New York on a lovely community / collective farm with many other intelligent and beautiful souls who have taught me a lot. I’ve been using my implant less and less the past year - and am definitely feeling a huge part of me wanting to just be Deaf all the time but I’ve been struggling in the sense that I’m always surrounded by hearing people. Though they are quite patient and understanding, I still feel incredibly isolated when Deaf - there’s is always some kind of intellectual conversation going on somewhere and I’m missing out on a lot. Many of them have been learning sign language but it’s not quite that simple. I’ve been learning to be okay with not understanding everything that is going on and to wean it down to one-on-one conversations, but I’d still really like to have intellectual conversations with my peers.
Yesterday we went to a big potluck dinner with many interesting folks bumbling around and I was straining so hard, trying to understand what was going on. It was very frustrating and stressful for me and I ended up not socializing as much as I would have liked. Next time I would like to try to leave my implant behind and bring a notebook and pen to communicate.
My question is: how do YOU communicate with hearing people? One-on-one / groups? What are some tips / advice / suggestions you may have?
Another thing is our farm collective tends to have many group meetings and I barely can catch on with my implant. I’ve been raising awareness that they need to slow down, speak clearly and take turns speaking. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I could do in these situations while Deaf - when we need to come together collectively and make group decisions? I really want to be a part of those group meetings but am not sure how. Perhaps have a volunteer note-taker I could sit next to or encourage the group to sketch out their discussions / ideas / plans on the white board for me to see and add onto?
I’m looking around for local deaf souls as well but good-ness, we really like to hide in our little corners! Any pointers for Hudson Valley / NYC deaf groups would be greatly appreciated - especially the younger crowd!
I hope you are all having a lovely day / night and thank you for putting up with such big introduction / ramble!
Yrs,
KatByrd
Well my name is KatByrd and I was born deaf. My parents were repetitively told “she is not deaf” by doctors who felt that if I was put through speech therapy and raised as an oral child, I’d be ‘normal’. So then, I received hearing aids, went through ten years of speech therapy and was mainstreamed into my public school. I was implanted when I was in fourth grade and my other side was done when I was in eight grade but I have yet to use that side to this day. I was around very few other deaf people and though I did have an interpreter all throughout school, I only knew the very basics. It wasn’t until I went to a deaf camp the summer of ninth grade that I was fully immersed in the deaf culture and my life was turned the right side up. From there, I started to embrace my deafness and not try to hide it. I left mainstream and jumped around three different deaf schools and met many incredible beings who taught me a lot about being Deaf.
I’ve been travelling around the country the past few months and am currently nestled in upstate New York on a lovely community / collective farm with many other intelligent and beautiful souls who have taught me a lot. I’ve been using my implant less and less the past year - and am definitely feeling a huge part of me wanting to just be Deaf all the time but I’ve been struggling in the sense that I’m always surrounded by hearing people. Though they are quite patient and understanding, I still feel incredibly isolated when Deaf - there’s is always some kind of intellectual conversation going on somewhere and I’m missing out on a lot. Many of them have been learning sign language but it’s not quite that simple. I’ve been learning to be okay with not understanding everything that is going on and to wean it down to one-on-one conversations, but I’d still really like to have intellectual conversations with my peers.
Yesterday we went to a big potluck dinner with many interesting folks bumbling around and I was straining so hard, trying to understand what was going on. It was very frustrating and stressful for me and I ended up not socializing as much as I would have liked. Next time I would like to try to leave my implant behind and bring a notebook and pen to communicate.
My question is: how do YOU communicate with hearing people? One-on-one / groups? What are some tips / advice / suggestions you may have?
Another thing is our farm collective tends to have many group meetings and I barely can catch on with my implant. I’ve been raising awareness that they need to slow down, speak clearly and take turns speaking. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I could do in these situations while Deaf - when we need to come together collectively and make group decisions? I really want to be a part of those group meetings but am not sure how. Perhaps have a volunteer note-taker I could sit next to or encourage the group to sketch out their discussions / ideas / plans on the white board for me to see and add onto?
I’m looking around for local deaf souls as well but good-ness, we really like to hide in our little corners! Any pointers for Hudson Valley / NYC deaf groups would be greatly appreciated - especially the younger crowd!
I hope you are all having a lovely day / night and thank you for putting up with such big introduction / ramble!
Yrs,
KatByrd
