Bridging the Gap Between the Hearing & Deaf Worlds
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?
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.
One thing for sure about The Silent Child; it managed to deliver a strong message at the end of the short 20-minute clip, right before the credits, with several different sobering facts.
The whole essence of the film is to highlight the importance of sign language to allow d/Deaf children to have the same experience and opportunities in life that other children would also have.
Not only managed to do that well in just 20 minutes, but they also bagged themselves an Oscar for it too
There is a very good chance that you’ve seen it on many differences places.
Online videos, films, TV programmes, video games…captions are gradually becoming a norm and many of us are expecting to have the option to check whether it’s available and to switch it on (whether it’s available or not is another debate).
But one thing that many of us have noticed is that there are 2 types of captions: open and closed captions.
However, it’s not very clear on what are the differences between the two and when to use them respectively.
If you are a hearing person, there is a chance that your hearing is different from another.
But for anyone who is d/Deaf or hard of hearing, it’s even more different as different people have their own level of capabilities of what they can and can’t.
In my own personal situation, it’s a bit complex as, even though I can hear many things, there are certain things and scenarios where I would struggle.
When watching any video-based content, I tend to automatically switch on subtitles/captions (if available) and make use of any transcription if listening to a podcast or watching a video online.
It’s just an easy way for me to consume the content with ease and enjoy the experience better.
But I have realised it’s not just d/Deaf people, as there are many benefits of subtitles that everyone can take advantage of.
Find out what are the benefits of subtitles/captions and transcriptions
There’s no doubt that hearing aids can be very useful and have come a long way since the days of wearing those which are, not only big, but also lacking quality.
But despite the advancement in design and technology, I can’t help but still have my moments of doubts when wearing them. So in this post, I have explained I don’t really like wearing hearing aids.
For those who are not familiar with hearing aids, you may have your own assumptions on what you think it can and can’t do. However, you will be surprised about some of the myths out there but people assume, like it’s a “cure” (spoiler alert: it’s not).
So in this post, you will learn about what hearing aids can and can’t do so that you are aware of what to expect when meeting anyone who is wearing one or two.
