WNY Deaf Awareness Week: ASL Usage
Note: This was written on September 13, 2014
What a long day!
It was great to attend Deaf Awareness Week Kickoff! There were new organizations this year that I did not see last year. For those who missed out, this week long awareness isn't just about the deaf, it is also about those who are hard of hearing as well. There is an organization who does home visits to teach one-on-one ASL and I will be checking that out to learn more about their services.
I know many have there reasons for not learning ASL, and that's fine. However, in the event where there is an emergency and one goes without their hearing aid and/or cochlear implant, in worst case scenario, there is no pen and paper nearby, what would one do to make communication effective? Without the technology, depending on where your hearing falls on the audiogram, if you are in the sever to profound hearing range, you are technically deaf. I know in the sever to profound range, people will pretty much be yelling at you but you won't be able to tell that because their tone is muffled but you can catch a few words here and there. This is why hearing individuals tend to think "yelling" is better. In order to bridge the hearing world with the deaf and hard of hearing worlds, we all must come together to understand each other so that we may all be on the same page and have equal access to information all around us.
I understand lipreading is a skill that one must master. I have been known to be a great lipreader. There are individuals who are also very good at lipreading but mastering it takes years of constant lipreading. But there are those who never have had to learn to lipread until later in life and that can be a tough place to be. Even an isolated place to be. But it doesn't have to be that way. I understand ASL may not come easy for some people and it could be due to arthritis or swelling due to medication or a health condition, and that is understandable. For those who don't have any physical ailments, I encourage you to get to know the deaf culture, it's history and what they have fought for over the years. HLAA and other organizations are the reasons why some of us can get our hearing aids fully covered under medicaid in some states. However, they are fighting to get medicare to also cover the cost of hearing technology as many baby boomers are being diagnose with hearing loss but cannot afford the hearing aids and/or cochlear implant plus the treatment and rehabilitation needed to measure success with such technology. As the younger generation ages as well, everyone must learn to understand that at one point or another you will need the help of insurance to cover the high cost of hearing technology down the road and if it was you who suddenly loss your hearing overnight, your whole world changes and you would want to get your life back. But what if because hearing aids and other solutions available were not affordable to you? Make a difference, think about the future and understand people like myself knows what's its like to live in silence but we also know that we gotta fight to improve equal access for all. Support Deaf Awareness Week and don't be afraid to learn something new!
Also during the last week of September it will be International Deaf Awareness Week. I will connect links here to this blog specifically so that many can check out the events being held here in Western NY and surrounding areas.
Sorry for the delay in links! Here they are for the WNY Region:
WNY Deaf Access Services
Service Bridges, Inc.
Buffalo Club of the Deaf
University of Buffalo ASL Club
Niagara University ASL Programs and Club
Buffalo Implant Group - Cochlear Implant Support
HLAA Rochester, NY
RIT/NTID
Please note that there are additional resources within these links. Thank you!
What a long day!
It was great to attend Deaf Awareness Week Kickoff! There were new organizations this year that I did not see last year. For those who missed out, this week long awareness isn't just about the deaf, it is also about those who are hard of hearing as well. There is an organization who does home visits to teach one-on-one ASL and I will be checking that out to learn more about their services.
I know many have there reasons for not learning ASL, and that's fine. However, in the event where there is an emergency and one goes without their hearing aid and/or cochlear implant, in worst case scenario, there is no pen and paper nearby, what would one do to make communication effective? Without the technology, depending on where your hearing falls on the audiogram, if you are in the sever to profound hearing range, you are technically deaf. I know in the sever to profound range, people will pretty much be yelling at you but you won't be able to tell that because their tone is muffled but you can catch a few words here and there. This is why hearing individuals tend to think "yelling" is better. In order to bridge the hearing world with the deaf and hard of hearing worlds, we all must come together to understand each other so that we may all be on the same page and have equal access to information all around us.
I understand lipreading is a skill that one must master. I have been known to be a great lipreader. There are individuals who are also very good at lipreading but mastering it takes years of constant lipreading. But there are those who never have had to learn to lipread until later in life and that can be a tough place to be. Even an isolated place to be. But it doesn't have to be that way. I understand ASL may not come easy for some people and it could be due to arthritis or swelling due to medication or a health condition, and that is understandable. For those who don't have any physical ailments, I encourage you to get to know the deaf culture, it's history and what they have fought for over the years. HLAA and other organizations are the reasons why some of us can get our hearing aids fully covered under medicaid in some states. However, they are fighting to get medicare to also cover the cost of hearing technology as many baby boomers are being diagnose with hearing loss but cannot afford the hearing aids and/or cochlear implant plus the treatment and rehabilitation needed to measure success with such technology. As the younger generation ages as well, everyone must learn to understand that at one point or another you will need the help of insurance to cover the high cost of hearing technology down the road and if it was you who suddenly loss your hearing overnight, your whole world changes and you would want to get your life back. But what if because hearing aids and other solutions available were not affordable to you? Make a difference, think about the future and understand people like myself knows what's its like to live in silence but we also know that we gotta fight to improve equal access for all. Support Deaf Awareness Week and don't be afraid to learn something new!
Also during the last week of September it will be International Deaf Awareness Week. I will connect links here to this blog specifically so that many can check out the events being held here in Western NY and surrounding areas.
Sorry for the delay in links! Here they are for the WNY Region:
WNY Deaf Access Services
Service Bridges, Inc.
Buffalo Club of the Deaf
University of Buffalo ASL Club
Niagara University ASL Programs and Club
Buffalo Implant Group - Cochlear Implant Support
HLAA Rochester, NY
RIT/NTID
Please note that there are additional resources within these links. Thank you!
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