RE; random things you wonder about deaf people

LP11509

The thread was kind of dead, so I decided to start a new one...but as a deaf person, I thought I would answer some of the questions related to deafness.

Many deaf people have vibrating alarm clocks that they put under their pillows.  Some have this http://www.harriscomm.com/index.php/sa-sbt425ss.html

There is all kinds of technology for deaf people these days.  i have a videophone, which I can use to call anyone.  it has a camera, and I can see a sign language interpreter on my TV screen.  So I sign what I want to say, the interpreter voices for my and signs back what the other person says.  It's called video relay service (VRS).  http://sorenson.com/services/ I can also use my videophone to call other deaf people directly and we can see each other on our TV screens.

They even make baby monitors with cameras now, so deaf parents can see the baby on a handheld screen instead of listening to monitors.  I also have a smoke alarm with a flashing lights and a doorbell with lights too. 

People who are deaf and blind communicate through tactile sign language.  Basically, they feel what you are signing by placing their hands over yours while you sign.  Here's an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8yXWactj38

Some deaf people can lip read well (like me), some can't.  Some can speak well, some can't.  Some feel comfortable using writing to communicate with hearing people, some are more adamant about needing interpreters.  Each person is different based on how much residual hearing they have left, how comfortable they are with the people they are with, how well they can lipread, if they can benefit from hearing aids or not, if they were born deaf or became deaf later in life etc.

Just wanted to share!  I don't post often, but I feel like when I do it's about being deaf most of the time...so sorry if I'm becoming redundant, but since people were wondering just thought I'd chime in.

louisvillebride21

For the record, I didn't know you were deaf, so no redundancy here! I think someone asked in the other thread. Can you 'hear' anything in your dreams? I'm sorry if that's stupid, it probably is.

beatlesgirl25

Thanks for all the info! I know some of us were wondering about this last night. I think the technology for the video phone sounds pretty cool. And I've noticed you posting before, but never about being deaf, so no worries!

Have you ever seen deaf dancers? My sister is a dancer and every year her troupe performs at Gallaudet University, and I went out to see them once. Most of the other dance groups are deaf, and it's amazing to see what they do with vibrations and flashing lights. They were great.

LP11509

Fpr me personally, sometimes I hear/speak in my dreams, sometimes I see ASL (american sign language) in my dreams.  But, I grew up "oral', meaning I didn't start learning sign language until I was 17 or so, and I have pretty good spoken communication skills considering my hearing loss.   It might be different for deaf people who grew up with ASL as their primary language. 

Another question I get asked a lot since I work with severally mentally ill deaf adults is if deaf people with schizophrenia can "hear' voices/experience auditory hallucinations.  Some of my clients say that they do hear voices in their heads, some say that they see people signing things to them that aren't really there (visual hallucinations).  I think it's interesting.

LP11509

Beatles, I graduated from Gallaudet with my MA degree in 08 and my FI just graduated from there yesterday with his doctorate. The Gallaudet dance group performed before the graduation ceremony.  it was pretty cool.

beatlesgirl25

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_re-random-things-wonder-deaf-people?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:4ee1d852-3efc-4bdc-8534-64e57f038893Post:7ac20049-b6ed-413e-84cc-83a9dc044d8c">Re: RE; random things you wonder about deaf people</a>:
[QUOTE]Another question I get asked a lot since I work with severally mentally ill deaf adults is if deaf people with schizophrenia can "hear' voices/experience auditory hallucinations.  Some of my clients say that they do hear voices in their heads, some say that they see people signing things to them that aren't really there (visual hallucinations).  I think it's interesting.
Posted by LP11509[/QUOTE]

This is really interesting! I'm in mental health as well and I hadn't learned anything about this. But the deaf clients I've worked with have not had major mental illness. That is good to know.

LP11509

Ugh, I hate to post and run but FI's parents are in town for his graduation and just texted me to go meet them for lunch.  Keep posting questions if you want though, I will come back and answer tonight when i get home!

beatlesgirl25

Haha, I should have looked at your location before telling YOU about Gallaudet, lol! That's great, congrats. And congrats to your FI! Did you guys meet in college or did you know each other before?

Edit: Have a nice lunch!

ohwhynot

Hi! How gracious of you to post all this information; thanks.  And congrats to your fi on his graduation! 

Is the Gallaudet campus kind of split on the question of cochlear implants for children?  IIRC, Gallaudet has a reputation for being very deaf-community-oriented and many students & faculty there were kind of radical in their anti-implants stance when the issue first surfaced.  Is that still true (if it ever was - I may be way off here)? 

janedoe1113a

Thanks for taking the time to post that information.  I learned a lot from your post.

samurai21

OWN, Sound and Fury, I think that's the name, is a really interesting documentary about a deaf family and their splits in feelings on the implants and how the feel it impacts them and the Deaf community. It's worth watching IMO.

Edit: soundandfuryfilm.com

crfische

LP! I'm sorry I missed this! I wanted to give you an update on my niece! She's doing so great!

Thanks for popping by!

Mrs.B6302007

LP -Based on your posts, I had no idea you were deaf until now.  Your sentence structure is perfect; I suppose that's because you grew up oral and not communicating in ASL.  I have several deaf friends (one of whom was on the cheer squad with me in HS) and a hearing friend who is an ASL interpreter and reading Facebook updates can be difficult at times because they write in ASL.

Thanks for educating us on technology for deaf people.

pooh8402

wow, I missed this discussion. I am legally deaf as well, but most people can't tell when they first meet me. LP, I think you and I have discussed this before.

[quote]The thread was kind of dead, so I decided to start a new one...but as a deaf person, I thought I would answer some of the questions related to deafness.

Many deaf people have vibrating alarm clocks that they put under their pillows.  Some have this <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.harriscomm.com/index.php/sa-sbt425ss.html">http://www.harriscomm.com/index.php/sa-sbt425ss.html</a> <strong>yep, I used to have one too. I need to get another one, as my vibrating alarm clock was WAY more reliable than my cell phone at waking me up.</strong>

There is all kinds of technology for deaf people these days.  i have a videophone, which I can use to call anyone.  it has a camera, and I can see a sign language interpreter on my TV screen.  So I sign what I want to say, the interpreter voices for my and signs back what the other person says.  It's called video relay service (VRS).  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://sorenson.com/services/">http://sorenson.com/services/</a> I can also use my videophone to call other deaf people directly and we can see each other on our TV screens. <strong>I retain enough that I can use a regular cell phone.</strong>

They even make baby monitors with cameras now, so deaf parents can see the baby on a handheld screen instead of listening to monitors.  I also have a smoke alarm with a flashing lights and a doorbell with lights too.  <strong>my sister has a baby monitor with a camera, which I plan to have as well way in the future. once I move into FI's house, we are installing alarms with lights throughout the house--I have actually slept through a fire alarm before. I'm not too concerned about the doorbell.</strong>

People who are deaf and blind communicate through tactile sign language.  Basically, they feel what you are signing by placing their hands over yours while you sign.  Here's an example: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8yXWactj38">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8yXWactj38</a> <strong>this is how Helen Keller communicated. Annie Sullivan signed into Helen's hand, and Helen signed back. Annie translated.</strong>

Some deaf people can lip read well (like me), some can't.  Some can speak well, some can't.  Some feel comfortable using writing to communicate with hearing people, some are more adamant about needing interpreters.  Each person is different based on how much residual hearing they have left, how comfortable they are with the people they are with, how well they can lipread, if they can benefit from hearing aids or not, if they were born deaf or became deaf later in life etc.  <strong>I use a combination of lipreading and a hearing aid. I lost my hearing after gaining language (at 17 months) and retain enough that the loss wasn't noticeable until I was 5 years old. however, the hearing aid is necessary now to do my work. I also use a specialized stethoscope to allow me to assess my patients.</strong>

Just wanted to share!  I don't post often, but I feel like when I do it's about being deaf most of the time...so sorry if I'm becoming redundant, but since people were wondering just thought I'd chime in. [/quote]

aggiebug

thanks LP!  very interesting information.

how deaf are you?

I have a classmate that is mostly deaf. It is very interesting the technology they have out there- the stethoscopes they have for hearing imparied are quite impressive. 

LP11509

I'm FINALLY back from lunch/going around the city with FI and his parents/their friends. Thanks to everyone for their congratulations to David! He has worked very hard and I'm so proud of him....but gosh, the graduation celebration the past few days has been exhausting with tons of people coming in and out of town.

OWN - in the past, Gallaudet has been known for being very Deaf Culture oriented.  Many culturally deaf people/people from deaf families have been afraid that cochlear implants will lead to ASL/deaf culture falling apart.  However, I think that we are beginning to see a slight change.  People are realizing that a deaf person can have a CI AND still learn ASL and are starting to embrace this a little more.  It's a slow process, but I knew a good number of Gallaudet students who had CIs when I was there in 06-08.  We will see what the future holds.

FWIW, I had a hard time my first semester at Gallaudet.  I wasn't completely fluent in ASL at that point and had never really experienced Deaf culture firsthand.  Some of the students there were not very accepting or accommodating at first.  It took me a semester to realize that I had nothing to prove to them and I did not have to constantly defend myself.  But I also met many other people in the same shoes as me and developed a great support system through them. 

Despite my rough start, looking back I am so glad that I went through it.  My experience there not only helped me to begin to develop my own deaf identity, but also taught me how to stick up for myself and made me an overall stronger individual.  And like I said, I think that Gallaudet will start seeing more and more students like me and is slowing starting to change to be more accepting.

Sound and Fury is an excellent documentary on that topic as well - thanks for mentioning that samuari!  But keep in mind that the movie is also 10 years old now, so some things have changed a little bit since then.

Mrs B/aggie- I was actually not diagnosed with my hearing loss until I was 4, and at that time it was mild.  i was already ahead for my age in regards to speech development, reading and writing.  I experienced a severe drop in hearing level when I was 7 and it's been relatively stable since then.  I actually have some residual hearing in the low frequencies - so things like bass music, drums. and some low frequency speech sounds I can hear.  But i have basically 0 hearing in mid/high frequencies.  So if someone is talking, I can hear the vowel sounds (which are lower frequency) but not the consonants.  Basically everything sounds like Charlie Brown unless  I'm reading your lips.  Without captions, I can't even tell if the Tv is one English or Spanish.

WHEW that was long!! if anyone wants more information, feel free to page or PM me!

jesscoletta

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_re-random-things-wonder-deaf-people?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:4ee1d852-3efc-4bdc-8534-64e57f038893Post:e5e76a0f-14d6-440b-8fd7-f857177ce2b1">Re: RE; random things you wonder about deaf people</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: RE; random things you wonder about deaf people : It might be a relief, but no intepreter in a program should be accepting jobs.  It's like a doctor still in school, and practicing without a degree.You run the risk of the message not being translated correctly and equally with using inexperienced interpreters.  The agency might be able to recommend some pro bono interpreters.
Posted by charlsie26[/QUOTE]


Oh I have checked with my dad and step mom. they actually are using the experience as credit hours towards their degree. I have also gone through an agency, and they came highly recommended. They are seniors.

Also, free beats 60++ dollars an hour. I say its win/win. I'm helping them with school and they are helping me in my situation. i will be giving them all the reading and things they will need for the ceremony. I honestly was mostly concerned with the reception and communicating with my fi's family. they have never met since my dad is in NY and I live in NC. I just want the communication to be available. My sign skills are not great either. I have a lot of "home signs" that I use with my family. If they can understand me they should not have a problem with the girls Im using haha.
My step mother is an asl teacher as well so she is soo glad to give these girls the experience.

And I hate when people get loud talking to deaf people as well,..the louder you talk is not going to make it easier.

katiewhompus

People also do the "louder is clearer" thing when dealing with foreign languages in this area. I'm sorry, but if the native Spanish speaker didn't understand your English the first time, saying it louder is not going to help. On the flip side, they can repeat their spanish word as loudly and slowly as they want, it does not mean it will magically appear in my brain.