Bridging the Gap Between the Hearing & Deaf Worlds
Check out the blog posts and read various stories about the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing worlds, as well as some personal stories from Ahmed.
In this episode, Annie Tulkin from Accessible College helps to smooth that transition for disabled students, and in this episode, we specifically focus on deaf students journey, the difficulty that could arise when they don’t have access to certain services that can help to smooth that process.
But that the transition is not always a smooth one and the consequences can be very difficult for any students let alone those who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing.
I have noticed a few articles talking about the popular U.S program ‘What Would You Do?’ (WWYD) where in this particular episode, a waiter is being rude to a deaf customer.
And we ask: “what would you do” if you witnessed this at a restaurant?
So I decided to watch the episode and record myself reacting to watching it the first time so that I can provide unbiased thoughts and opinions about the programme and the scenarios that’s being played out.
I’ve read a few tweets a while back where there is a common trend where the hearing person in question either walks away because they can’t be bothered, are scared or they stands still and ignores the d/Deaf individual.
You’d think that it can’t get worse or more ridiculous than that, but it can. If only they learnt some simple tips on how to get over that.
There are so many idioms like “fit as a fiddle”, “strong as an ox”, “cute as a button” and “cool as a cucumber”.
The same applies to anything that starts with “deaf as…” and I’ve encountered quite a few of the the common phrases below and their origins too.
As someone who is considered to be fairly multi-lingual (with English, Arabic and Spanish at various levels), I’d like to think that I understand the process and the benefits that comes with learning languages.
But as someone who is currently going through the process of learning BSL, it requires a slightly different learning process but still comes with a rich learning experience and a fantastic skill to have.
And there are many benefits that comes with it too.
You may have seen via ‘My BSL Journey’, where I document my early stages of learning British Sign Language, that I actually use a form of Sign Supported English instead of a true BSL.
But what is Sign Supported English and how is it different to British Sign Language?
What does a deaf 12-year old girl and a whale that doesn’t belong in a pod has in common?
Surprisingly quite a lot, as beautifully illustrated by by Lynne Kelly’s ‘Song for a Whale’.
12-year old Iris, who is the only d/Deaf person in her school and family, learns about a whale called ‘Blue 55’ who is unable to communicate with other whales and is known as a lonely whale. Since Iris can resonate with that, she went on a journey to see if she can find a way to “sing” with the whale herself to let him know that he is heard.
And what a beautiful journey it was.
Deaf vs hard of hearing. What’s the difference and what am I?
It’s a very common question that I hear all the time. Well, 1) it is different, and 2) it’s very different.
What do I mean by that? Check it out below.
Even though I have been learning BSL (British Sign Language) for a few months now, I was thinking about ways to make myself accountable.
It’s so easy to trail off your latest interests, passions and hobbies after the initial excitements. It’s no surprise that many people give up their New Year resolutions in February every single year.
Thankfully for me, I have continued to keep learning BSL but in order to keep myself accountable and also document my progress, I have decided to start ‘My BSL Journey’, which will document my journey as I learn British Sign Language.
