How to learn ASL

February 03, 2023 by Kelly Holland in deaf, Deaf 2

Sharing resources for learning American Sign Language.

Cochlear implants

May 11, 2022 by Kelly Holland in deaf

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.

Part 5: The continued search

April 05, 2020 by Kelly Holland

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.

Deaf and Dating

September 29, 2019 by Kelly Holland in deaf

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.

Deaf identity

September 22, 2019 by Kelly Holland in deaf

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.

The Deaf Mainstreamed Life

September 08, 2019 by Kelly Holland in deaf

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!

Traveling in Ireland

August 04, 2019 by Kelly Holland

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?

Happy 2019!

January 03, 2019 by Kelly Holland in Personal

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.

Can you lipread?

November 09, 2018 by Kelly Holland in deaf

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.

Interactions

September 25, 2018 by Kelly Holland in deaf

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!