A question which reveals my ignorance!

Moon-child

Moon-child

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Ok, as I have been posting tidbits of my story around lately, you may or may not have read that I grew up in the hearing world without any diagnosis. I am 42 now and got my first HA when I was 19 years old. I am a single Mom and work out of my home. I am quite anti-social when it comes to the hearing world. I have never been exposed to or sought out the deaf culture.....until now....my goal is to take enough sign courses with my young son so that I might find a place and some friends in the deaf culture.

Now, for some kinda embarrassing questions, but honestly I do not know....

-Does everyone in the deaf culture sign?

-Is there a variety of us that tend to hang or do CI implant folks, HA folks, totally Deaf folks, do people tend to segregate into groups defined by their specific deafness. Or do interests seem to define the groups (example:church goers, political party, club hoppers)

-Where would you recommend I start, all my hobbies are quite solitary, from gardening to practicing my pagan beliefs to carving. In the hearing world, I can count my friends on one hand, I am not the type to just jump in and go to bb-q's and things like that. Any suggestions?

Do I need to complete all my levels in sign courses before I could communicate and be accepted in the deaf culture? I am more and more isolated as my hearing rapidly declines and I feel an impatience to learn this new language so i can communicate with someone!

I apologize if my comments and questions seem rude and ignorant, but quite frankly, I just don't know these things and I do not intend to offend anyone, I hope I have not.
 
Those are some very good questions, Moon-child. Re: having to complete all levels of sign courses....I actually learned my ASL from the Deaf community. I knew no sign at all when I sought them out to help me understand what my son was experiencing. So, no, you don't need to be fluent in sign first. The deaf people I came in contact with were very patient with me, and took time to explain and teach me.

Yes, you will find sub-groups of people within Deaf culture the same as within hearing culture. People with similar interests and experiences will naturally gravitate toward each other. But I am sure that you will be able to find other deaf that share your interests.

I don't see that you are being rude at all. And not knowing something is nothing to be ashamed of. It is only ignorance if you choose not to learn, and you are making the effort to learn what you do not know. I applaud you for that.
 
Thanks for your response jillio, once again your support hits home with me, hugs to you.
 
Wish you luck! I, too, am somewhat anti-social, with deaf and hearing. I know ASL, but am not really proficient with it, and I lip read/ speak (late deafned). It's not easy, being "in the middle", takes a lot of adjustment.
 
Thanks rockin'robin, it is so great to realize that I am not alone in the 'middle'. I sure do appreciate your response, somehow shring this 'middle' is easier on the spirit than thinking I am alone here! Hugs!
 
You are not alone Moon Child, I am the same way. I wear 2 hearing aids and have never learned sign or been around any hoh or deaf people. Besides my family I have very little friends. I am extremely shy.

I think you might consider a community college class in signing and take it from there. You might make friends in that class and some might be hearing and some might be deaf or hoh.
I have always wished I had learned sign but even now today I am not sure what I would use it at since I have no deaf or hoh friends.
 
:wave:I am hearing,love drawing, carving, sculpting, very isolated activites, also not so many friends anymore, anyway I come here because of such wonderful memories when I was in high school with deaf students. I saw a beautiful girl and really want to meet her but I didnt think she would talk much with me because she is deaf and I didn't know sign language. I went to speak with her teacher on her break about teach me sign, she said okay, then deaf students seen me learning and they were so helpful even to write things in notepad for awhile, before I knew it I was signing with that beautiful girl and soon she was my girlfriend. Later I started teacher aide at deaf school for three years and do many activities with so many deaf people, unfortunatly we did not stay together and the state would not pay good to work at deaf school, now I don't have many friends hearing or deaf but I can definatly say that deaf people were so helpful and wonderful I will always remember how they welcome me! I am learning sign again, should be faster this time as I remember, and soon I will go visit my nephew who is deaf and hopefully I will meet new deaf friends and maybe even run across some old one's also. I hope my story will help you with feeling confident learning sign and meeting new deaf friends and maybe even some hearing ones.:ty:
 
BIG thankyou's to Melissa and Art Life, yes indeed your posts do give me hope and courage. Thanks for taking the time to share and encourage me, so very kind of you, and I truly appreciate your energy.
 
Moon-child said:
BIG thankyou's to Melissa and Art Life, yes indeed your posts do give me hope and courage. Thanks for taking the time to share and encourage me, so very kind of you, and I truly appreciate your energy.
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Hi Moon Child

Where do you live in the state? I can send you link of Deaf Community information for you to social with them.

Kalista
 
Moon-child said:
Ok, as I have been posting tidbits of my story around lately, you may or may not have read that I grew up in the hearing world without any diagnosis. I am 42 now and got my first HA when I was 19 years old. I am a single Mom and work out of my home. I am quite anti-social when it comes to the hearing world. I have never been exposed to or sought out the deaf culture.....until now....my goal is to take enough sign courses with my young son so that I might find a place and some friends in the deaf culture.

Now, for some kinda embarrassing questions, but honestly I do not know....

-Does everyone in the deaf culture sign?
This is a little hard to answer because of the way the question is phrased.... part of being considered a part of Deaf culture is the ability to use Sign Language. However, not all deaf people know Sign.
-Is there a variety of us that tend to hang or do CI implant folks, HA folks, totally Deaf folks, do people tend to segregate into groups defined by their specific deafness. Or do interests seem to define the groups (example:church goers, political party, club hoppers)
This is the individuals decision, but I know there are instances where some deaf exclude CI people and do not consider them part of the Deaf community. However, instances such as this are based on several aspects that make up Deaf culture which I will describe in a moment!

-Where would you recommend I start, all my hobbies are quite solitary, from gardening to practicing my pagan beliefs to carving. In the hearing world, I can count my friends on one hand, I am not the type to just jump in and go to bb-q's and things like that. Any suggestions?
The best thing to do is just jump right in. Find classes, start socializing with deaf people and going to deaf events. Total immersion is always the best thing, and while it can be scary and intimidating, it is ultimately the most rewarding path.

Do I need to complete all my levels in sign courses before I could communicate and be accepted in the deaf culture? I am more and more isolated as my hearing rapidly declines and I feel an impatience to learn this new language so i can communicate with someone!
Here it is! This is described wonderfully in the Green Books. What they say is that there are 4 main avenues into the Deaf Community. They are audiological, political, social, and linguistic. One must be a part of at least 2 of these 4 aspects to be considered a member of the Deaf Community. There are various degrees in which you can belong to the Deaf Community, and they depend on your involvement in these 4 areas. To be at the core of the Deaf Community, you must be involved in all 4 aspects. There is also the degree of attitudinal deafness, which is when a person identifies themselves as part of the Deaf Community, and other members accept that person as part of the Community. It is believed that attitudinal deafness is actually more important than the degree of hearing loss. So, some people who have hearing loss are not considered part of the Deaf Community because they do not function in the Deaf World. Likewise, there are hearing people who are considered part of the Deaf Community because they function in that Community. There is much more detail to go into, but this is a basis!


I apologize if my comments and questions seem rude and ignorant, but quite frankly, I just don't know these things and I do not intend to offend anyone, I hope I have not.
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:)
 
You would only reveal ignorance if you tried to bluff your way through an ASL chat after telling others you knew what you were doing. I am LDA, and have very weak signing skills. I am a fairly intelligent guy, but have found it difficult to learn a new language at this point in my life (50's) even though I have lost most hearing over 10 years ago. I have learned some, as I took a course at night school, then signed up for part 2, which was cancelled because of lack of interest. My initiative to learn was drained when the class was not held. Perhaps I will become more skilled as I age. I just need incentive to learn.
 
Thankyou pathymo, your words make sense and reveal more to me than the questions I asked, awesome.

saywhatkid, my incentive to learn sign right now is my fear. Good or bad, that is my truth right now. Are you isolated, do you really feel trapped in a box? Is that not incentive? I don't mean to be pushy, I ask with a hand on your shoulder, too bad we didn't live closer, it would be fun to have someone to learn and practice with eh?
 
Moon-child said:
saywhatkid, my incentive to learn sign right now is my fear. Good or bad, that is my truth right now. Are you isolated, do you really feel trapped in a box? Is that not incentive? I don't mean to be pushy, I ask with a hand on your shoulder, too bad we didn't live closer, it would be fun to have someone to learn and practice with eh?
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Trapped in a box refers to my icon....it's a joke. :giggle:
Yeah, I live in the northern plains. A bit of a drive for ASL practicing. My nephew will be home from college soon. He is studying ASL interpreting for a degree. I could also use a mirror.
 
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