Braille and wheelchairs...

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Double-U

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I have a question for any Deaf signers who wish to answer, and it is totally NOT for a survey:

Have any of you ever been offered a braille menu at a restaurant, or a wheelchair at the airport? I've heard a few Deaf people report these two things.
 
I think there was a wheelchair looking for me at an airport a few years ago when I had first id'd myself on an airline's website that I was deaf/HoH. There seemed to be someone looking for someone to transport in the wheelchair while I was waiting at the gate for my flight.

I did send the airlines an email to let them know that the deaf/HoH don't need wheelchairs. I don't recall seeing a "lost" wheelchair again when I've gotten to gates.

When I'm traveling alone, which is most of the time, I go up to the gate agent and let him/her know that I am deaf and where I'll be sitting in case there are any announcements that I need to hear. At one airport, the gate agent actually asked me if I signed. I told her no, so she wrote down the info she wanted me to know. She had me sit with the people who would be pre-boarding. This was not the first time I've been pre-boarded. I don't ask for it, but it's nice to be able to.

I don't recall ever being offered a braille menu.
 
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Never handed a braille
 
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I have heard of being handed a Braille menu before. I have only been yelled at or given paper. I sign but I also speak and my husband has better hearing than me. I know they were trying to be helpful and they got bright red when my husband spoke to them. I find it funny how people don't know how to react sometimes.
 
*raises a hand*

Well, I was a kid. It wasn't at the airport. It was a large conference, and terps were available. Anyway, My mother wanted to know where the seating locations are, so I can watch terps. This ticket conductor obviously had no experience with people with disabilities. He brought a wheelchair and gestured me to sit there. I was thinking, why am I needing this? I looked up my mom and, oh, boy, she made a face. She bit his head off. I did laugh inside.
 
I feel like you guys are trolling me. People can't be this stupid.
 
Lysander said:
I feel like you guys are trolling me. People can't be this stupid.
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Oh yes they are. Why are you thinking you're being trolled? I never had a Braille menu offered to me, nor a wheelchair, but I've had countless flight attendants and waitstaff and the like talk dumb to me. I remember one time when I landed on a flight, the flight attendant said they were going to hold the rest of the passengers and let me off first. I was like, why? If you don't want to believe this stuff happens to us deaf people, you don't belong here.
 
AlleyCat said:
Oh yes they are. Why are you thinking you're being trolled? I never had a Braille menu offered to me, nor a wheelchair, but I've had countless flight attendants and waitstaff and the like talk dumb to me. I remember one time when I landed on a flight, the flight attendant said they were going to hold the rest of the passengers and let me off first. I was like, why? If you don't want to believe this stuff happens to us deaf people, you don't belong here.
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I suspect my pre-boarding offers were so that I would not miss when they called my group to board.
 
AlleyCat said:
Oh yes they are. Why are you thinking you're being trolled? I never had a Braille menu offered to me, nor a wheelchair, but I've had countless flight attendants and waitstaff and the like talk dumb to me. I remember one time when I landed on a flight, the flight attendant said they were going to hold the rest of the passengers and let me off first. I was like, why? If you don't want to believe this stuff happens to us deaf people, you don't belong here.
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Hey AC. Sorry that I struck a nerve here. My intention in this post was one of incredulousness at the stupidity of people. The intention was not to say that I didn't believe what people were posting. I was being playfully stupid. I wasn't discrediting anyone's experience.

Which, however, brings me to a different point here. In the future, can we not go straight to, "you don't belong here." I'm keenly aware of the fact that I don't belong here. I'm a hearing person with near perfect hearing. I'm a freelance singer as well my day job, so my existence is tied in large posse to my hearing. I understand that my experience of life is vastly different from yours. But I'm also trying to understand your side of life. That's why I'm on here. Why else would I be? I'm learning ASL, I'm on here to try to understand Deaf culture better so that I'm not like the people this thread is about.

I get that I'm a guest here. I fully understand that this is your space and I'm lingering in it, uninvited. I know that I'm the outsider here. No one need make that any more clear to me than I make that for myself. But what I would appreciate is a little more benefit of the doubt when responding to me. Instead of jumping to "you don't belong here," you instead could say, "that came off a little rude, could you clarify what you meant." Or you could ignore me. Or even block me, if you feel so inclined. But please understand that I'm learning, I'm new here, I'm trying, but I'm gonna make mistakes. I don't understand all the ins and outs of Deaf culture. But I'm trying to be better. If I say something wrong, feel free to correct me. Educate me. Which I also understand is in no way your responsibility, but I would appreciate it.

So basically, educate me, ignore me, call me out on my bullshit. But don't go straight to a polite version of, "Get the fuck out." All that accomplishes is the Deaf and the hearing further alienating one another.

And that's my whiney snowflake moment for the day.
 
You are more than welcome here. But don't start a post with "I feel like I'm being trolled here". That was offensive. Can't have your cake and eat it too.
 
I had a Deaf friend who took a flight and once boarded, the flight attendant gave her a menu in braille. She was not pleased with it... she told them "I can see but can't hear" Unfortunately, we encounter some ignorant people out there. :(
 
Barbaro said:
*raises a hand*

Well, I was a kid. It wasn't at the airport. It was a large conference, and terps were available. Anyway, My mother wanted to know where the seating locations are, so I can watch terps. This ticket conductor obviously had no experience with people with disabilities. He brought a wheelchair and gestured me to sit there. I was thinking, why am I needing this? I looked up my mom and, oh, boy, she made a face. She bit his head off. I did laugh inside.
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Your mother was right to give him the face. I can't imagine why anyone would try to give a wheelchair to someone he sees standing and walking. There are apparently some REALLY dumb people out there.
 
Calvin said:
I had a Deaf friend who took a flight and once boarded, the flight attendant gave her a menu in braille. She was not pleased with it... she told them "I can see but can't hear" Unfortunately, we encounter some ignorant people out there. :(
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I wonder if the FA thought she was blind. Probably not. I think some people live inside their individual zones and don't think that much about anything outside of their own experience.

Truth be told, I can name a dozen people off the top of my head who might make that same mistake - and need help to figure out where they went wrong. I've been to Argentina a couple of times, and a certain in-law of mine asked me how the tacos and burritos were. It actually took me a minute to convince him that those foods are particular to Mexico and are not prevalent in other Latin American countries (except in Mexican restaurants). He reasoned that because Argentina is "down there," there simply must be tacos and burritos. Not exactly the same thing, but it gives you an idea of the kind of dumb assumptions people sometimes have.
 
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Double-U said:
Your mother was right to give him the face. I can't imagine why anyone would try to give a wheelchair to someone he sees standing and walking. There are apparently some REALLY dumb people out there.
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I see what you mean when it is a kid. But I had two different aunts (from different sides of the family) that could walk fine but had developed heart conditions and used wheelchairs for longer distances.
 
Jane B. said:
I see what you mean when it is a kid. But I had two different aunts (from different sides of the family) that could walk fine but had developed heart conditions and used wheelchairs for longer distances.
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No, not because s/he was a kid but because the mom said s/he need to be able to see the terps. That's what pissed off the mom.
 
LoveBlue said:
No, not because s/he was a kid but because the mom said s/he need to be able to see the terps. That's what pissed off the mom.
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Look at the post I was replying to! To make it easy here it is with bold added to the part that prompted me to post what I did.
Double-U said:
Your mother was right to give him the face. I can't imagine why anyone would try to give a wheelchair to someone he sees standing and walking. There are apparently some REALLY dumb people out there.
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Jane B. said:
I see what you mean when it is a kid. But I had two different aunts (from different sides of the family) that could walk fine but had developed heart conditions and used wheelchairs for longer distances.
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I think this kind of boils down to people need to ask questions before the start assuming anything.

As an example, this past Friday my last patient of the day was an IAC CAT Scan. I'm sure a lot of you have had these, but for those that haven't, it's a CT of the hearing bones. The patients always come with a diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss. Which means my patient can be anywhere in the spectrum of hearing loss. This one happened to be wearing hearing aids.

On the way back to the CT I asked, what is your current level of hearing loss, which I need to know for the doctor anyway. I asked, "Is the volume I'm speaking at comfortable for you?" "Are there any accommodations I can make that will help you?" Then I explained the test in full before we got in the CT area, because you have to take the HAs out in the scanner. That way she knew everything that was coming before it ever happened.

I find people assume they know what you need instead of taking the time to ask. Unfortunately these people probably think your an asshole for getting frustrated with them. It's that, "I was only trying to be helpful" mentality. Well next time ask how you can help first and I can tell you what I need. Don't just assume you know what someone needs. Cuz then you're basically saying I know you better than you know your own body, so I'm going to tell you what you need.
 
Jane B. said:
Look at the post I was replying to! To make it easy here it is with bold added to the part that prompted me to post what I did.
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Let's put it into context.
I can't imagine why anyone would try to give a wheelchair to someone he sees standing and walking <when he was told that they needed to be closer to see the terp>.
 
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