We are NOT disabled.

S

Southern

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My first class in ASL was a few weeks ago. We did an ice breaker and if you didn’t know the sign you had to act it out. One of the things was to tell what your job is. A woman works with disabled, special needs children. She has talked before about how she loves her job, it takes a special type of person to do that and she seems to have that personality. She knows a few signs she has picked up from some of the Deaf children she works with. She was trying to describe her job and signed “same” at our teacher who is Deaf. Eventually she fingerspelled “handicap or disabled”. My back was up! But I know she didn’t know any better and she is a sweet woman. I didn’t say anything and the teacher just smiled and said okay now I understand. Last night as the teacher was going over Deaf culture she talked about Deaf people not being disabled. She wrote I. King Jordan’s quote on the board, “Deaf people can do anything a hearing person can do, except hear”. She talked about Deaf people are NOT disabled do not call them that! Unfortunately the woman who did that was not in class. I will probably mention it to her as a passing conversation so that she knows not to say that again and to start changing the way she thinks. I have to say though as touchy as that topic is our professor handled it with grace and just let it be part of her regular teaching later that that is not acceptable. I think people learn better when they aren’t defensive because you are jumping down their throat about something.
 
I wonder if the woman in question wears glasses...
 
I think DOH is referring to the fact that this person’s eyesight is less than perfect. If the problem was with her ears rather than her eyes she would be wearing HA’s. If she is not disabled by wearing glasses, Deaf people are equally not disabled.
 
Southern said:
I think DOH is referring to the fact that this person’s eyesight is less than perfect. If the problem was with her ears rather than her eyes she would be wearing HA’s. If she is not disabled by wearing glasses, Deaf people are equally not disabled.
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That's exactly what I was getting at.
 
Southern said:
I think DOH is referring to the fact that this person’s eyesight is less than perfect. If the problem was with her ears rather than her eyes she would be wearing HA’s. If she is not disabled by wearing glasses, Deaf people are equally not disabled.
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Southern and doh,

Okay, now I understand. Thanks for clarifying! :)
 
Southern said:
I think DOH is referring to the fact that this person’s eyesight is less than perfect. If the problem was with her ears rather than her eyes she would be wearing HA’s. If she is not disabled by wearing glasses, Deaf people are equally not disabled.
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Most people who wear glasses can achieve 20/20 vision, or close to it. Most people who wear hearing aids cannot attain the kind of hearing a hearing person has. Quite a difference there.
 
ismi said:
Most people who wear glasses can achieve 20/20 vision, or close to it. Most people who wear hearing aids cannot attain the kind of hearing a hearing person has. Quite a difference there.
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Quite true, isme. And vision difficulties do not result in communication barriers.
 
If i don't wear my glasses or contacts i can see but everything is blurred. At night on the other hand i cannot drive without them. Things are way to blurred then and depth perception is way off. The analogy is a loose one i admitt but it helps people who may think things like that to think in a different way. Because i cannot drive at night with out some assistance to my sight am i now disabled? NO. And it is a good way to put this hearing person some what in the Deaf persons shoes to see that Deaf people aren't handicapped.
 
The politically savvy know when to call deafness a disability and when not to.:fingersx:
 
Well............I think as a disabilty rights activist, we ARE disabled. The controversy comes up b/c people use "disabled" as a synonym for "unable"
Like deaf rights folks equate "disabled" with total unabilty, such as seen in conditions like quadupeliga, profound mental retardation ,minmally aware conscious state , and persistant vegetative state.
 
jillio said:
Quite true, isme. And vision difficulties do not result in communication barriers.
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...unless a person is also hard of hearing or deaf. That may seem obvious, but I thought I'd point that out since there are people who are hard of hearing and unable to lipread because of a visual impairment (corrected acuity of 20/70 or less).

To expand on Southern's comments, I'm totally deaf and blind yet I do *not* consider myself disabled. I may do some things differently (reading Braille instead of print, getting around with a guide dog or white cane, using alternative techniques for cooking/daily living activities), but that does not mean I'm less capable than a sighted-hearing person.

A deafblind woman I regard highly and who served as my mentor while I was training at my local deafblind center said it best, "I am not disabled. I am differently abled." :)
 
Hear Again, from what i have gleaned of your personality from your posts I would not think you were less capible in any way shape or form.
 
Southern said:
Hear Again, from what i have gleaned of your personality from your posts I would not think you were less capible in any way shape or form.
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Southern,

Thanks! :)

I didn't think you felt that way...I just wanted to share some of the negative attitudes I've experienced from the general public. The things I do that people consider "amazing" (going to college, volunteering, running errands, etc.) are normal everyday activities for me -- just as they are for many people with disabilities.

If people could experience what it is like to be deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, physically or mentally disabled for a week, they would quickly realize the experience isn't anything like they imagined -- nor is it the end of the world. :)
 
If people could experience what it is like to be deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, physically or mentally disabled for a week, they would quickly realize the experience isn't anything like they imagined -- nor is it the end of the world
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Agreed.......that's b/c we can ADAPT to our disabilities.
Hear Again, read what I wrote here.
KASA - Kids As Self Advocates
 
deafdyke said:
Agreed.......that's b/c we can ADAPT to our disabilities.
Hear Again, read what I wrote here.
KASA - Kids As Self Advocates
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DD,

This was a *terrific* article! I've already bookmarked it so I can share it with others.

I co-facilitate a weekly support group for the deafblind and your article would be a wonderful springboard for discussion. Thanks for sharing it with me! :)
 
Southern said:
If i don't wear my glasses or contacts i can see but everything is blurred. At night on the other hand i cannot drive without them. Things are way to blurred then and depth perception is way off. The analogy is a loose one i admitt but it helps people who may think things like that to think in a different way. Because i cannot drive at night with out some assistance to my sight am i now disabled? NO. And it is a good way to put this hearing person some what in the Deaf persons shoes to see that Deaf people aren't handicapped.
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So, without glasses you are disabled.!! With glasses you are not.
My wife has the same problem. When she does not put the glasses at the correct place in the morning, and she would be unable to find them... she will be disabled!!

When disablility is not taken to describe a person or to set a fixed status on a person, but to describe what the person can or cannot... things change. With this kind of thinking, disability can be switched off....

When I met a deaf person, when visiting the kindergarten of my deaf daughter, I had to ask her some questions. She spoke with difficulty so I couldn't understand her. She signed, but I did not know sign at the time.
Are we now both disabled....?? Perhaps. On her "turf" I was the one who is disabled.

In a dark room, no vision... I will be disabled. HearAgain will not even notice....
In a situation where sound and speech is used to communicate, a deaf person will be disabled...

BTW... are you conciously making a difference between deaf and Deaf people...??
 
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