rebeccalj

Duplicate post. See post #2.

Deafness

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rebeccalj

Hi everyone. I'm Rebecca and I'm a deafie.

I've had some interesting discussions, over the last couple of years, about the fact that I don't *think* in English. I think in deafie. Hearies are dumbfounded by that and one person even suggested that it was a load of crock but he's a yahoo so ignore that comment.

While my typing skills are fairly accurate I often find that I have to edit in the little words that hearies use in sentences to make it readable for them. Even when I speak I find that I have to pause to remember which little word needs to go where when I'm talking.

I'm curious if this is common for other deafies or is this experience exclusive to me? Thinking in deafie all the time and having to translate to English (or Australian or British, etc.) hearie in order to communicate effectively with them. This isn't meant to be about conforming to the hearing world as I know that's a heated topic for some in our community. To me, it's no different than going to a different country. You learn the language so that you can communicate.

Incidentally, I was raised in a hearing family, ASL was not allowed so I went to mainstream school, I learned to read lips, body language and I also taught myself how to speak properly. Hence, my sometimes funny, but unique, accent.

jillio

Actually, this is very common no matter what environment you were raised in. That is a testament to the fact that the deaf person uses different cognitive processes to access understanding. It is also why we need to look at those differences so that education can address their strengths.

rebeccalj

Thanks jillio. Could you expand on that just a little so that I can understand better what you mean?

Beowulf

We are like peas in a pod, you and I, lol. I suggest you explore this site a bit for answers, then if you have any questions, fire away!

LinuxGold

[trying to translate here]

It is very common everywhere.

True that is how deaf think while they try express themselves to hearies.

We need to explain that area where deaf try to communicate to professors so we can make our schools better for the deaf.

jillio

Well done.

Bottesini

With whom? Why not understand now?

Those little words called "articles."

LinuxGold said.

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jillio

I will certainly try.

All people perceive information through sensory avenues such as vision, hearing, touch, etc. That information is then sent to particular areas of the brain to be processed. Seeing, hearing, feeling are the result of that process. Then we translate that information into something that we can relate to in order to give it meaning.

The deaf tend to use different avenues in processing various types of information than the hearing do. For instance, hearing people tend to process sound exclusively in the auditory centers and to give it meaning by relating to something they have heard before. The deaf tend to process sound in both the auditory and the visual centers and give it meaning by relating it to something they have seen before.

Also, the deaf tend to use a technique known as top down processing more often than the hearing. That is the process of seeing something as a whole and then breaking in down into the elements that make it up. Hearing people rely on bottom up processing more, where they first see the elements and then put them together to form the whole.

This can get confusing, I know. But I am happy to answer any questions you have, and to keep explaining until I make it understandable.

Bottesini

Don't worry. I told her already. Above yours.

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LinuxGold

Can you rewrite that for 4th grade audience? I'm not saying that we are 4th graders -- but readable everywhere.

jillio

**smile**

jillio

Sorry. I assume that the deaf posters are literate and able to understand until they ask me to phrase it differently. I have had many ask me not to change the way I put things because they learn English skills from my writing.

But I will try to put a complex concept into simplfied terms:

We get information from hearing touching and seeing things. This goes into the brain so the brain can change it into something we understand. For the hearing it goes one place, for the deaf, it goes another place.

LinuxGold

Your writing is EXCELLENT, beyond impeccable. Something that I can use on my own thread. But for this thread, abase ourselves. =) Good flexibility to possess.

jillio

Absolutely. I will try to keep that in mind.

jenniifer

So you mean that when you think, it is in a different grammar but with English words? Such as the syntax of ASL?

Bottesini

Posting the same subject twice in two different threads is not allowed.

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posts from hell

Not really up for a debate...

We are visually based. Its been proven over and over.

rebeccalj

Discussions with hearies. Most friends; some not so much. Some are truly interested in knowing about the deafie world but some are just ignorant. They can't comprehend that since we look like everyone else that we could be *so* different in how we think and communicate. When hearies aren't, how do you say, exposed to our culture, it seems to be a new concept that they cannot, or won't, grasp.

Reba

Mods:

Please consolidate this thread with the following one:

It's up for debate, or is it?

jillio

Even after exposure, there are those hearies that refuse to grasp that there are differences. Oh, well. Just leave them in ignorance, I guess.

The simplest explantion would be the one that PFH gave: deafies are just more visual.

rebeccalj

Thanks! I was lurking for a bit to get a feel for the community here and finally decided to register. I'm looking forward to having lots of, "That's exactly how I feel," moments.

rebeccalj

Thank you *so* much! The only thing I don't quite understand is the bolded part. Are you saying that hearies think in little bits and pieces and then make a puzzle? Are you also saying that deafies have the puzzle put together already and then detach the little bits and pieces to understand the whole picture?

That's kind of how I think. I see a puzzle and this is how I explain it to my hearie friends; as a puzzle. That I can see so many things in that puzzle.

jillio

Yeah...that is a pretty accurate description, I'd say.

And you are very welcome.

rebeccalj

That's what I always say to hearies. That I'm more visual and sensory (ie: touch, taste, smell).

This particular yahoo, let's call him Rambo, prompted my joining this site. He suggested that deafies don't find it difficult to communicate at all. I'll post for you what Rambo said because I couldn't for the life of me try to convey or articulate how wrong he was.

5. [poster] I have to say I am pretty much in confusion with the way you are leaving common sense and logic at the door when you are coming in here. Thinking Deafie? are you freaking serious? I am with hearing issues myself and to me this nonsense about being abrupt and blunt or not being able to articulate due to a hearing impairment is a load of horse dung. Quite frankly that is an insult to the many people with a hearing impairment

I would particularly love some input on Rambo's observations of deafies. Is he right? Wrong? Belongs in a dark room where Bif and Rex can teach him how to be a little more respectable to those who are different from him?

jillio

He is the most wrong person I have encountered today! Would appear to be one of those jerks that will never learn because they already believe they know it all. I also see evidence of a bully in there.

rebeccalj

duplicate

rebeccalj

Interesting that you can see evidence of a bully in there. You're not the first person who holds that opinion.

I'm speculating here but I think his hearing issues might be helped out with a Q-tip and a good clean. There's a huge, huge difference between being a deafie and being a hearie who may not have good hygiene that contributes to a temporary hearing loss.

Bottesini

Respectful?

This is a poster from another site? You joined us to find fighting allies?

Ignore him and don't go to that site. Problem solved.

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rebeccalj

No, that is not why I came here. I came to find out if I am the only one who thinks deafie. Obviously, based on the replies here, this is not the case.