Puck
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2014
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Hey guys,
My name is Puck (It' a nickname--don't ask. My real name is Michelle) and I am a hearing individual who is beginning the Sign Language Interpreter's program at Tarrant County College next Spring. Right now I am taking lower level sign classes at the Dallas Deaf Action Center and in TCC's Continuing Ed program.
I currently work as a teacher in a "differently abled" classroom (the term I prefer over "special needs"), and over the years I have seen many deaf /HoH and other forms of non-verbal children who are years behind grade level due to their lack of a solid linguistic background (of any language!). Their inability to communicate easily with others has kept them from getting the education they deserve, and it really makes me sad.
I very much support the Deaf culture's belief that being Deaf is in no way a handicap, and want to help perpetrate that notion to my colleagues, to the families and friends of my students, and to the world in general. I believe it is important to make an extra effort to connect with people who are different than ourselves by learning their culture and their ways of communication rather than insisting they try their best to become like us. When it comes to dealing with my more challenging non-verbal students (many are on the autism spectrum), I often have to implement complex strategies in order to really connect and communicate with them, but when I do, it is totally worth it because I have a special, amazing relationship with them--a relationship they may have never had with anyone before, as many parents are not well-equipped to deal with their kid's different abilities. Not to say, of course, that deafness and autism are comparable in more than a few ways, but one of those ways is that the Deaf and kids with autism both face immense challenges when it comes to communication, while another is that they are both often misunderstood by the world at large, causing their challenges to be mishandled in a way that can be frustrating at the lowest level and traumatizing at the highest.
That was probably more about me than you wanted to know about me, but I wanted to try and really express why I want to learn ASL. Partly because it's a cool language--I think it's pretty awesome in general--but mostly because I want to help the Deaf and non-verbal kids I come across connect to the world and overcome their challenges so that they can go on to be successful and fulfilled adults.
NOTE: If you are a student in Dallas/Fort Worth (especially in the mid-cities--I live in Arlington) I would LOVE to get together weekly for coffee or something and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
My name is Puck (It' a nickname--don't ask. My real name is Michelle) and I am a hearing individual who is beginning the Sign Language Interpreter's program at Tarrant County College next Spring. Right now I am taking lower level sign classes at the Dallas Deaf Action Center and in TCC's Continuing Ed program.
I currently work as a teacher in a "differently abled" classroom (the term I prefer over "special needs"), and over the years I have seen many deaf /HoH and other forms of non-verbal children who are years behind grade level due to their lack of a solid linguistic background (of any language!). Their inability to communicate easily with others has kept them from getting the education they deserve, and it really makes me sad.
I very much support the Deaf culture's belief that being Deaf is in no way a handicap, and want to help perpetrate that notion to my colleagues, to the families and friends of my students, and to the world in general. I believe it is important to make an extra effort to connect with people who are different than ourselves by learning their culture and their ways of communication rather than insisting they try their best to become like us. When it comes to dealing with my more challenging non-verbal students (many are on the autism spectrum), I often have to implement complex strategies in order to really connect and communicate with them, but when I do, it is totally worth it because I have a special, amazing relationship with them--a relationship they may have never had with anyone before, as many parents are not well-equipped to deal with their kid's different abilities. Not to say, of course, that deafness and autism are comparable in more than a few ways, but one of those ways is that the Deaf and kids with autism both face immense challenges when it comes to communication, while another is that they are both often misunderstood by the world at large, causing their challenges to be mishandled in a way that can be frustrating at the lowest level and traumatizing at the highest.
That was probably more about me than you wanted to know about me, but I wanted to try and really express why I want to learn ASL. Partly because it's a cool language--I think it's pretty awesome in general--but mostly because I want to help the Deaf and non-verbal kids I come across connect to the world and overcome their challenges so that they can go on to be successful and fulfilled adults.
NOTE: If you are a student in Dallas/Fort Worth (especially in the mid-cities--I live in Arlington) I would LOVE to get together weekly for coffee or something and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!