How to learn American Sign Language
Sharing resources for learning American Sign Language.
Read MoreCochlear implants
Cochlear implants. A taboo word in the deaf world. For those who aren’t familiar with what cochlear implants are - it’s an electronic device installed under the skin behind the ears.
Read MorePart 5: The continued search
The search for a job after American School for the Deaf took a long time again. I faced many rejections as I mentioned in Part 2. This time, I contacted the vocational rehabilitation counselor to help me with the search. She assigned me a headhunter, which is an individual who helps me find opportunities. I spent a lot of time with the head hunter applying to jobs, fixing up my resume and following up with the businesses. I saw a huge difference in the search process with a headhunter.
Read MoreDeaf and Dating
Dating is an adventure for everyone. It was especially hard for me because of communication barriers. I mentioned that I grew up in mainstreamed school. My only options for dating were the hearing guys. How do I approach them? How do I let them know that I have a crush on them? Will they learn American Sign Language (ASL) for me? It was challenging to develop friendships so dating was even harder.
Read MoreDeaf identity
There are a lot of struggles with being deaf in a hearing world, but also within our own deaf community. Unfortunately it is challenging to find my place in the deaf community even as a deaf individual. I mentioned in the cochlear implants blog that there are many subgroups of the deaf community. I learned about them when I attended college at RIT (which also had a college for the deaf - National Technical Institute for the Deaf - NTID). During my childhood, I was mainstreamed with all hearing peers so I never truly found my identity until college.
Read MoreThe Deaf Mainstreamed Life
Happy Deaf Awareness Month! It’s the time to increase deaf awareness issues and culture. Accessibility is so important for us - sign language for one. The deaf world is constantly trying to teach and expose people to sign language. It will help reduce the problems formed by communication barriers. Many are not aware of the issues we face daily such as lack of open captioned movies, availability of employment, receiving high quality interpreting services, etc. It will always be a life long battle to educate people, but it’s my hope with deaf awareness month (and anytime!) to offer better quality of life for us deaf folks!
Read MoreTraveling in Ireland
I was born into an Irish family with strong pride for our Irish heritage. I love everything Irish and about Ireland. It was natural that the first time I left America was for the beautiful countryside of Ireland. It was on my bucket list to see everything that my ancestral country had to offer. I recall being so nervous to leave the customs that I am familiar with especially with my deafness. I had no idea what to expect - how the people over there would react to my deafness? How will they talk to me if I didn’t understand them? Will they be more mean? Will I meet deaf people in Ireland and will they be nice?
Read MoreHappy 2019!
The holidays is always one of my favorite time of the year since I get to spend a lot time with family. I was also lucky enough to visit Rochester, NY during the winter break. A visit to Rochester always helps to reset my self esteem being around my “people” since Rochester is one of the largest deaf community in America. It was great to have that right before the New Year.
Read MoreCan you lipread?
The very first question that I get asked every time once someone finds out about my deafness is “can you lipread?” (and yes, they’re verbally asking me this). It’s a misconception that every deaf person knows how to lipread. It’s a skill that is learned.
Read MoreInteractions
Happy International Week of the Deaf! This past Sunday was the International Day of Sign Language. It was amazing to see videos, photos, posts, etc. all over social media celebrating my culture. Back in the day, it wasn’t this widely recognized. It’s a great feeling to see the deaf culture getting more mainstreamed and celebrated. Some day I hope that the daily challenges I face as a deaf individual will be lessened with more awareness!
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