Hard Of Hearing But Do Not Use Asl...

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CaseyH15

CaseyH15

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I understand that many who are faced with this physical limitation are bound to learn sign language. This was not the case for me. I have never used sign language, not once. Just lip reading really... I have been hard of hearing all of my life, and severely too. I have absolutely no hearing in one ear, the other ear is just about done.
I feel somewhat ashamed of this... Once I went to target, an employee who was deaf had spotted my implant. She was overjoyed and began to sign to me. I was dumbfounded, confused and could do nothing but to offer her a sheepish grin. So, I wrote to her, and we had communicated through that. It was overwhelming how guilty I felt.
Has anyone experienced this?
 
I'm in the same boat as well, I can't talk on the phone but never did any signing. But as for people who try to sign me I don't feel guilty about their confusion. It's not common for a deafie to not even know ASL so I'm sure it's a bit of a shock to them.

But whatever, that's the main reason why I don't always announce to new people about my hearing. Ironically, if I tell them upfront then they'll start writing down stuff or talk really slowly. I've had better experiences by only telling them if it becomes an issue. For example, a person might turn around and I can't read their lips or they'll say "I'll call you" but overall if someone gets flustered by the uncommon experience well it's their problem not mine.
 
A Nihilist said:
I'm in the same boat as well, I can't talk on the phone but never did any signing. But as for people who try to sign me I don't feel guilty about their confusion. It's not common for a deafie to not even know ASL so I'm sure it's a bit of a shock to them.

But whatever, that's the main reason why I don't always announce to new people about my hearing. Ironically, if I tell them upfront then they'll start writing down stuff or talk really slowly. I've had better experiences by only telling them if it becomes an issue. For example, a person might turn around and I can't read their lips or they'll say "I'll call you" but overall if someone gets flustered by the uncommon experience well it's their problem not mine.
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I do the exact same thing, it feels good to know that someone can relate.
 
Just curious, why did you not learn how to sign? As for me it was just a matter of practicality and wanting to survive in the "real world". I know that there are interpreters and disability laws but the reality is that it's not realistic to expect everyone to cater to you. Like with interviewing for jobs most employers would be kind of turned off if all I could do is sign.
 
CaseyH15 said:
I understand that many who are faced with this physical limitation are bound to learn sign language. This was not the case for me. I have never used sign language, not once. Just lip reading really... I have been hard of hearing all of my life, and severely too. I have absolutely no hearing in one ear, the other ear is just about done.
I feel somewhat ashamed of this... Once I went to target, an employee who was deaf had spotted my implant. She was overjoyed and began to sign to me. I was dumbfounded, confused and could do nothing but to offer her a sheepish grin. So, I wrote to her, and we had communicated through that. It was overwhelming how guilty I felt.
Has anyone experienced this?
Click to expand...

why no learn sign now?

its waiting for you...
 
:wave: Casey. I'm hoh with auditory processing issues....do sign some but poorly. I do not hide that I'm hoh and do not consider it a physical limitation, for me. I don't know if I was born this way or not. Hub hoh/deaf raised oral.
 
A Nihilist said:
Like with interviewing for jobs most employers would be kind of turned off if all I could do is sign.
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They're still kind of turned off even if they didn't know I sign. As a reference- technically I could be "hard of hearing" (I call myself deaf tho)... grew up oral, have good speech (lots of compliments on that...:P). In the past I have done voice phone but over the years I've stopped because I have so much difficulty in using that method. Recruiters in general were still 'turned off' or never bothered to contact me again once they found out I was deaf/hard of hearing (whatever I say to them). So I use VRS when I can or ask to use email (some still don't get it "Call me" or "Can I have your phone number?" AFTER I explicitly say I'd rather communicate via email or text chat. So even though I can function fairly well in the "hearing world", a lot of recruiters still run the other way when they guess or know (other things play into that also but that is one part).

So.. I'm still glad I know ASL- it helps tremendously with communication and not making a misstep at least by phone. Rarely use interpreters if the interview is one on one but would take the opportunity if I could (recently did).
 
dogmom said:
do sign some but poorly
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You wood be surprised on how little sign you know goes a long way. I am not a hardcore signer or nothing, I make up half my signs and no one cares.
 
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:ty:Cappy. My experience has been that Deaf people are very patient with me because of the tiny bit that I do know, and that I respect the language and have some experience of the cultural norms of the community.
 
as far as interviewers being turned off, in my experience - it's perceived attitude about "Can't" and perception of "disability" that unfairly turns off potential job situations, regardless.
 
I'm proficient in ASL, been using it all my life. I don't really get a chance to use it at work but it provides me with an interpreter for staff meetings, etc. My boss has been learning sign from me, I have been amazed at her retention. It's not our primary form of communication, but it's fun anyway.
 
I have fun regardless of your degree of sign. I am at the LOW end. But, who cares.
 
I grew up in the hearing world... no one in my family is Hoh or Deaf... I was the only Deaf/ Hoh student in my grade. It was a lonely feeling, and you'd be surprised how impatient people could be. A teacher actually told me I wasn't going to make it passed the ninth grade... I ended up taking advanced placement classes and accepted into a private college. But, it's a struggle everyday... I would love to sign because I understand the importance of it. I really do.
 
CaseyH15 said:
I grew up in the hearing world... no one in my family is Hoh or Deaf... I was the only Deaf/ Hoh student in my grade. It was a lonely feeling, and you'd be surprised how impatient people could be. A teacher actually told me I wasn't going to make it passed the ninth grade... I ended up taking advanced placement classes and accepted into a private college. But, it's a struggle everyday... I would love to sign because I understand the importance of it. I really do.
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i grew up hearie, got lucky and went Deafie at 9. their was a brief stint main streamed if you can call it that, where i was segregated from the others and put with the severely mentally plmed in the school, (i wasnt crazy then, cough)in a room with the ones who wear helmets and cant be left alone..because i was now deaf, to many eyes obviously the clever hearie administration of the school i also went stupid..or worse. thus i languished ignored by the teachers and just did my thing.. my hearie friends turned to hungry dogs and i the only Deaf kid took the beatings....and everything else dealt my way. it sucked...lonliness and that wall that deafness is was crushing me until my mother got me into Deafie school,

the only sign i knew was the middle finger my first day..it served me well with the hearies so i took it with me...

sign, literally set me free. no longer was their even a wall. sign breached that wall of deafness as a curse with each sign i learned ,that wall tumbled in the face of the gift of being Deaf
 
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WOW ! You would think things were a lot better today for deaf and hoh students . That kind of stuff happen a lot when I was going to school in the 50's -60s'!
I wish you could tell that jerk of a teacher how wrong they were about you... I was born HOH and the only one in my family and class room until I was 11 yo.
There another girl that was HOH in my reject class . All the students that any kind of LD were throw into one class with a burnt out teacher.
 
That was the one thing I'm almost grateful for- that I didn't wind up in a 'special needs' classroom (I refuse to call it the reject class like someone above this post). Partly because my elementary school was fairly small and out in the semi country I guess. Was the only deaf-blind kid in the entire school.. that I know of.. until around 6th grade when there was another HOH kid in the grade below mine. HS was even smaller and a private school. All I ever had was speech therapy ( :P fun...not) so always missed some class or another (probably why i suck in math now).
 
Things are still pretty rough. Like DeafDucky, I didn't go into special education, I was allowed to be in mainstream classes... But the thing I really wanted to learn was another language, and they wouldn't allow it... It was ridiculous. Schools have a rep to uphold, and if you pose a threat to that, they'll strip you of your basic rights.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
WOW ! You would think things were a lot better today for deaf and hoh students . That kind of stuff happen a lot when I was going to school in the 50's -60s'!
I wish you could tell that jerk of a teacher how wrong they were about you... I was born HOH and the only one in my family and class room until I was 11 yo.
There another girl that was HOH in my reject class . All the students that any kind of LD were throw into one class with a burnt out teacher.
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It still does. As a matter of fact, that is the reason why acheivement levels have stayed so flat. Dhh mainstreamed kids don't always get placed in the on grade level classes. There's still special ed, and low expectations, and teachers who are not trained to teach dhh and other low incidence kids in the mainstream. There are some kids who are on grade level or even above it, but most of those kids are kids who would have thrived in the mainstream even back in the '40's.
 
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