The excerpt "I find it hard to to believe that this culture and language is so prevalent around us around us, but, as a hearing person, I knew absolutely nothing about it" is very applicable to my life as well. Similar to Roger Mindel, before taking ASL I was never very aware of the depth of the deaf community, however I am taking steps to increase my awareness and knowledge. I think that it is so awesome that this manager took it upon himself to enroll in a basic ASL course in order to communicate with this employee! I totally agree that just by being in a basic ASL class, your eyes can be opened and you can become very interested!
This chapter yet again touched on speech training and it's importance. I feel like this is beginning to get somewhat repetitive, but I enjoyed how this chapter took a different approach touching on how deaf individuals feel about their voice. Again, I'll refer to the day I job shadowed at the local elementary school. Before I attended the speech session the teacher of the deaf informed me that the young girl I would be watching was slightly embarrassed about her voice. She told me that her mom had noticed her practicing using her voice in the mirror more often, but wouldn't practice around her family or any public setting. I can not imagine the humiliation they must feel, but I feel that it is the duty of SLP's, Audiologists, Teachers of the deaf, and families of deaf children to provide comforting feedback when they notice individuals practicing using their voice as well as encourage them if they CHOOSE to voice.
Chapter 35
This chapter continues to touch on deaf individuals talking."If you're deaf how come you can talk?" Everyone has the capability to talk, deaf or not, but does it mean that all people SHOULD talk? Certainly not. The authors inform us that all deaf people are different in the sense that they posses a wide range of speech skills. Depending on the deaf person's skill level or their personal preference sometimes depends on if they choose to voice or not.
I like how this chapter offers categories as far as communication mode. Although labels can be dangerous, the Deaf Community creates these categories to clarify individuals based on their communication abilities.
These categories include:
1. Deaf
2. "Deaf Speech"
3. "Hard-of-hearing"
4. "ex-hearing"
5. "oral"
6. "HH voice"
7. "hearing-impaired"
Before reading this chapter, I was unfamiliar with the terms "deaf-speech," "hard-of-hearing," and "ex-hearing."
After discussing the categories the authors describe that some hearing people don't use their voices when in the company of Deaf individuals. This reminds me so much of Stacey and her stories about dating a deaf guy and going out with her deaf friends. I think it is the most respectful norm and hopefully one day I'll have a group of deaf friends and be able to do this as well! I guess right now I'll stick to using ASL at DCE's! HA. I think it would be cool if a waiter thought I was deaf. Wouldn't it be a compliment if I was in a group of deaf individuals?
"Laugh out loud" at the conclusion to this chapter about the high school student. I would feel kind of silly.
Coming into ASL I really was uninformed with matters concerning the deaf community. I think your right, we are on the right track to learning more about it. I totally agree with you about the manager who learned some basic ASL in order to interact with an employee. I respect him for that. It’s awesome that you were able to job shadow before coming to college but I was sad to read about the girl you saw who was embarrassed to use her voice. I do agree with you that it should be the person’s choice if they want to use their voice or not. I enjoyed reading your blog.
ReplyDelete-Claire Graham-
I like your comment at the end of your entry for chapter 35. I never thought about it, but I would feel really good if I was signing amongst Deaf people and others thought I was Deaf, too. It would show that I at least looked like I knew what I was doing!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I was just being pessimistic when I read chapter 34, but I got the feeling that the manager wanted the coworker to meet him half-way; he learned some signs, so he expected the coworker to speak more and did not understand why he or she would not. The authors mention that not only is speaking a Deaf person's choice, but signing is a Hearing person's choice. Just because one makes the choice (in this case the Hearing Manager), does not mean that the other is required to make the choice.
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