Anij

yeah ... I'd like to know that too ... I'm not sure separating us all out really helps - gosh knows most of us have faced enough separation without adding to it on the AD board

Deafness

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AquaBlue

Everyone is welcome. Hearies Only is not a firm rule.

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Yes, I'm a book junkie.



Books I Plan to Read Next (A List)

Do I Have Good Taste In Books or What??

jillio

Actually, AquaBlue, to title a thread "hearies only" on a deaf message board could very well be perceived as offensive. Historically, the deaf community has been oppressed by what the "hearies" think is best for them, rather than having been treated as autonomous, capable people that are able to determine their own needs. Not a criticism, just a suggestion for perhaps a change in language.

AquaBlue

Thanks jillio. The title of this thread is not meant to be disrespectful toward any/all Deaf individuals. I am sorry if it has caused anyone hurt.

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Yes, I'm a book junkie.



Books I Plan to Read Next (A List)

Do I Have Good Taste In Books or What??

jillio

You're welcome. It was just a suggestion!

Cloggy

Learning to communicate more with my deaf daughter (born deaf, at the time age 1)

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Holly

well, much like someone else said (can't remember who, sorry) I remember watching sesame street and seeing linda signing, i guess it always stuck with me because as a child and even now as an adult I have always been interested in signing, asl in particular. I guess because I tend to be a very visual person, always interested in theatre, dance, very visual things so sign language has always appealed to me. I want to be an interpreter someday, I have signed some songs before, but they were learned beforehand.

Dharma

I always wanted to learn it, but it took having co-workers who sign to get me to enroll in a class.

AjSaylor

I became interested in sign language at a young age I had a deaf neighbor who would sign to be when I was walking to the park. He would tell me about the weather for the day, mostly always sunny and clear ( I was going to the park). I decided to learn ASL in school as a lanuage requirement 1) Because I don't do well at Spanish and 2) I want to be able to work with deaf and hard of hearing clients when when I become a counselor, pending a Bachelors and Master . But yea, thats why.

P.S-is it weird that I am awake @ 5am signing to myself in the mirror after my third class ?

Cloggy

AjSaylor, welcome...

Weird... no. I remember learning sign and being intrigued about how I look signing.. Not being used to signing I was very self conscious about it... Needed to see how it looked - me signing...

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Mayberry

When I was fourteen I taught riding lessons and one of my students was Deaf. Started learning then and have been in love ever since!

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Gobae

When I was first out of college I worked a bunch of typical retail jobs. As fate would have it, it seemed like I was always running into deaf customers. Writing back and forth was ok, but it really seemed to me that ASL would just be so much more efficient. But of course time slipped away and classes were forgotten until.....

The final straw came when the Rescue Squad I rode with (I was an EMT) was informed that there was a chronically ill person (meaning we'd be doing lots of transports with them) in our district who was deaf. The Squad promptly handed out copies of the manual alphabet. All it took was one call in the ambulance doing Rochester method to make me take as many ASL classes as I could.

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Gobae - The Blacksmith
Historic Strides Blog
Ancient Celtic Clans

Nadja

I came across a short story with a deaf character. There were only a few paragraphs, but I was immediately fascinated. I’d never come across a deaf character before.

When I was asked to write a novella for a vampire anthology, I decided that I wanted to include a deaf character, for two reasons: 1. I’d only ever found that one deaf character in fiction and though that wasn’t very representative and 2. I knew nothing about the deaf community and thought that was very ignorant of me. I can’t stand ignorance!

Learning ASL seemed like the natural choice. I’ve seen the comment made on this forum before: if you go to a foreign country, you should make an effort to learn a bit of the host language. I learned English before I came to the US and I learned Japanese when I went to live in Japan for a few years. It never occurred to me not to learn ASL.

My reason in a nutshell: I realized there was a great group of interesting people out there in the world that I knew nothing about and couldn’t communicate with, learning their language seemed like the only respectful and polite thing to do.

Chase

Nadja, I think you're right. The market is there for stories with deaf protagonists. I have a completed novel featuring a deaf amateur detective for sale, as well as its first sequel ready.

Currently, I'm working on a third novel with a deaf beekeeper trying to solve why honeybees are disappearing all over the world.

You're also correct about writing what you know. Those who don't come off looking very silly to editors, who return the manuscript with form rejections saying, "Thank you, but this doesn't fit our needs at this time."

Nadja

Chase, that's awesome. I've been looking for books with deaf protagonists and haven't really found anything. I would love to read a deaf amateur detective.

Keep looking for a sale, please. Good luck with that.

lilitalia89

Well I didn't start losing my hearing or ever really noticed my hearing being a problem til i was 16, i had really bad tinnitus and then i was like hmm things sound a bit weird..so i went to audi and presto hearing loss. I was interested in asl before i found out i was hoh and now I want to learn it because I think it would be beneficial to myself for the future and to communicate with other hoh/deaf ppl. As well as, i currently work in a bank and we have deaf customers, and i kno it must stink sometimes to have to come in and see all these ppl smiling and being nice ( i always get good quarterly pa's/reports cuz my cust. service is excellent) so i throw in a thank you and ur welcome in asl and i'd like to be able to sign how's your day etc and have a good feeling that I may have just made someone else's day a bit better. N2m i think asl is pretty cool so far!

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My Blog http://myhohlife.blogspot.com/

Phonak Una
Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.
Helen Keller

Alicia

Semi

Nothing special, I just took the class and now I wan tot learn everything I can.

SorEncarnacion

I started "bootlegging" sign lessons from my very close friend/former roommate. She is Deaf, but becoming progressively more deaf, and has taken ASL 1-4 at the local community college. After returning from the classes she would teach me what she learned. Wish I had gone to class with her, though. Through all this, I am a hearie-enculturated-Deaf, and know sign words now, but not so much grammar.

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That's "me" on the right, and I'd be overjoyed to have a guy like the one on the left.

lcsw2b

I am a social work student that was born deaf. Back in the 60's people that had hearing issues were only labled slow. At least that was what they thought was wrong with me.

I was interested in sign from about the age of 11 when I had my first experience with ASL.

I am graduating with my BSW on May 12th and will go on to get my MSW. While I am working on my licensure, I plan to go back to the community college and finish up my ASL classes. I have had 1, 2, and half of 3.

I believe the people in the deaf and hard of hearing population deserve the same respect hearies have when they see a helping professional.

jillio

Congratulations! The profession needs people like you!

traciedowell

I'm a coda so I didn't make a choice to learn it. What I CAN say is that I am a better person because I know ASL. I think it makes me different than many people I meet and I am proud to tell people that I have a Deaf mom.

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~Tracie Dowell
LifeMark Career Development
http://www.deafcareer.com

"For a few years I will set aside the time that most people won't so that I can live the rest of my life the way most people can't."

dreamchaser

Great Question!!!!!!

When I was a kid, I lived in a foster home about 12 miles out of town. I was little so don't remember lots of details. For about a year, my only friend was a little Deaf girl. I don't remember how we communicated back then, but kids seem to manage.

My brother was engaged to a Deaf woman named Desi, I loved her dearly. She was oral only though and wore aids. I never learned anything about Deaf culture from her. I just loved her dearly. They split up, Haven't heard from her since my mom died and brought us together. We still love each other though.

My daughter in law is totally deaf in one ear, slight loss in other ear. She was learning ASL.

Mostly, I have always felt terrible when I would see a deaf person and I couldn't have a conversation with them. For many years I have told people I wanted to learn ASL. For many years I was too busy raisin nine kids and working two jobs to persue it.

My husband died in 05, and my kids are raised, I could now chose to follow my dream. It was like a magnetic thing... No particular reason, but a really deep feeling. I started to study Deaf history and culture. I literally cried, and still do, when I found out just how much Deaf people have misunderstood and mistreated. I decided I would dedicate what is left of my life to changing that in any little way that I can. I wanted to advocate for the Deaf and to volunteer as much as I can to help people who can't afford interpreters. Anyway, I entered the interpreter's program,,, and everyday my desire to be a bridge over the river of ignorance just gets stronger. I hope I can become fluent in sign, and be an asset to the Deaf community. Some of my most favorite people are Deaf, and they have been a treasure to me.

dreamchaser

AMEN Jillio!

dreamchaser

dreamchaser

Off topic, sorry,,, What is the "TITLE" of the book.... LOL, you know I am old, you gots to spell it out for me! will you sign a copy for me,, and I will send you a check??? That is if you have any copies layin around?

tinyk10

I absolutely love ASL! I'm going to be a Junior next fall in Scranton, PA for studying Speech Pathology/Audiology, but I also want to go for a Masters in Enterpretive Sign Language.

I started taking interest in ASL 1, which was manditory for us to take. It's an absolutely beautiful way of communication and I really can't wait to learn more. Now that I'm home for the summer, however, I really don't know what to do about keeping up with it. I'd love to take a few hours out of my week to meet with someone who uses ASL in everyday life because I wish to become somewhat close to that point. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them! THANK YOU!

For class one day, as a project in college, we had to be deaf for a day. It was humbling and an amazing experience. I think everyone who is hearing should try it. Just once to understand the difficulties and hardships in order to realize and appreciate what you have.

It's absolutely amazing and I love ASL!

P.S. Not all of us hearing people are assholes. I've seen some of