I hope the title of this posts doesn't seem sarcastic or anything. I just couldn't think of a better titles.
I haven't done this in about 5 years but for a few years I worked in a summer camp for kids with "Differences" (That's my word for disability
). My job was basically one of the councilors but they called us "Mentors" because we are adults with a "Difference". The kids (Mostly teens) and Mentors had a wide range of differences. From being in a wheel chair, deaf, blind, ADD, missing limbs and so forth.
Now even though I'm deaf and know some ASL, I'm not fluent in ASL. But they did tend to stick the deaf kids with me. While working this camp I ran into some kids that had to deal with things that made me feel stupid when I think of the times I felt sorry for myself because I was deaf or times that my deafness, for what ever reason, was getting me down. Keep in mind that I'm late deaf and had to go through all the emotions that came with the adjustment. My job was to be there for these kids and teach them things. But you won't believe how much I learned form them in return. Here are a few examples.
I had one deaf/blind girl. She could see but you had to finger spell inches from her eyes. Took me a while to get used to that but her bright personality made it easier.
One guy was deaf and very hard to communicate with. His right hand works fine but his right arm barely moves. His left arm works fine but his left hand barely moves. For example if he signed the word "Family" you'd be able to see the "F" hand shape in his right hand but his hand would remain near his side. At the same time you see the left arm is up and making the motions of the word family but his hand is just a lose fist. He ended up having to repeat a lot by finger spelling.
Another guy was deaf and had MS. He could hear a little with his aids but communication was very tough. He had the shaking hands and very slow movement and speech that was a real challenge. He was a very fun guy too. I can't imagine the frustrations this must bring because people tend to talk to them as if they are children or not very bright. Believe me, this guy was as smart as a whip.
I have to to admit I still feel the frustrations of loosing my hearing from time to time. But these people remind me that it could be worse and if they can get by then so can I.
Ron Jaxon
I haven't done this in about 5 years but for a few years I worked in a summer camp for kids with "Differences" (That's my word for disability
). My job was basically one of the councilors but they called us "Mentors" because we are adults with a "Difference". The kids (Mostly teens) and Mentors had a wide range of differences. From being in a wheel chair, deaf, blind, ADD, missing limbs and so forth. Now even though I'm deaf and know some ASL, I'm not fluent in ASL. But they did tend to stick the deaf kids with me. While working this camp I ran into some kids that had to deal with things that made me feel stupid when I think of the times I felt sorry for myself because I was deaf or times that my deafness, for what ever reason, was getting me down. Keep in mind that I'm late deaf and had to go through all the emotions that came with the adjustment. My job was to be there for these kids and teach them things. But you won't believe how much I learned form them in return. Here are a few examples.
I had one deaf/blind girl. She could see but you had to finger spell inches from her eyes. Took me a while to get used to that but her bright personality made it easier.
One guy was deaf and very hard to communicate with. His right hand works fine but his right arm barely moves. His left arm works fine but his left hand barely moves. For example if he signed the word "Family" you'd be able to see the "F" hand shape in his right hand but his hand would remain near his side. At the same time you see the left arm is up and making the motions of the word family but his hand is just a lose fist. He ended up having to repeat a lot by finger spelling.
Another guy was deaf and had MS. He could hear a little with his aids but communication was very tough. He had the shaking hands and very slow movement and speech that was a real challenge. He was a very fun guy too. I can't imagine the frustrations this must bring because people tend to talk to them as if they are children or not very bright. Believe me, this guy was as smart as a whip.
I have to to admit I still feel the frustrations of loosing my hearing from time to time. But these people remind me that it could be worse and if they can get by then so can I.
Ron Jaxon
