Are deaf kids bullied/harrassed more frequently than hearing kids in mainstream?

deafdyke said:
Oh yeah I feel for you...I'm even that way with my second mom and she's VERY dhh friendly and signs and all..
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^^^^^^ Jealous. :eek3:

My second Mum is very accepting but also, now, legally blind.
 
rebeccalj said:
Yes, same here. :hug:

And, yes, hearies *expect* you to be like them even though you look like them.

The deafie came first. For proof just look for my link in the 'News' or 'Current Events' forum. No chicken or egg needed. :giggle:
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To be honest, I think that it works like this. Some diseases and disabilities are visible, others are invisible. Our culture is visual and people make lots of assumptions subconsciously when first looking at someone. This is the 'first impression lasts' thing. People expect a deaf or HOH to behave like them at first sight unless you explain to them what it is like to have a hearing disability. But this does not apply for the blind (at least not as much), because everyone can see a white stick or guide dog or whatever the blind have (and awkward eye contact is another thing if you are observant).

I am sure that it is tough to be blind too just like it is for us deaf/HOH, but perhaps I am right about the initial impression of hearing people.
 
nancyj said:
This is exactly what I don't want my daughter to go through. We learn everyday people are just outright mean. She is only 10 months and already get negative remarks and looks when she is wearing her hearing aids.

Sorry you had to go through this....
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already? :shock:
 
rebeccalj said:
^^^^^^ Jealous. :eek3:

My second Mum is very accepting but also, now, legally blind.
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I love how it worked out. Her kid and I met and became friends b/c we worked on a work crew at a folk fest....turned out Nancy is fluent in ASL and even works as a 'terp?!?! How funny!
 
With all this said; would you consider this to be an extreme form of audism whether or not the bullies even know what audism is? Audism is defined as a belief that the hearing are better than the deaf, yes?

From my understanding, very few hearing people know what audism is.
 
I doubt most hearies have a clue what audism is.

Heck, my spellchecker thinks it is spelled wrong.
 
Dixie said:
With all this said; would you consider this to be an extreme form of audism whether or not the bullies even know what audism is? Audism is defined as a belief that the hearing are better than the deaf, yes?

From my understanding, very few hearing people know what audism is.
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I think it's important to remember- just because a kid bullies a child who is DHH, they are not automatically coming from an "Audist" place. They may very well bully other kids too who are "typical". I'd say most of the time, (if not all the time) the problem lies with the bully. There is a reason why they act like jerks.
 
From the victim's point of view it doesn't matter why she gets bullied. The victim experiences shame because of what she is (deaf/hoh). The not hearing part is the focus.
Bullies have problems and need help but the initial focus must be on protecting the victim. Teachers and adiministration leave kids on their own too often, especially at the secondary level. It's a cultural problem. The solution has to be addressed as a societal problem.
 
sallylou said:
From the victim's point of view it doesn't matter why she gets bullied. The victim experiences shame because of what she is (deaf/hoh). The not hearing part is the focus.
Bullies have problems and need help but the initial focus must be on protecting the victim. Teachers and adiministration leave kids on their own too often, especially at the secondary level. It's a cultural problem. The solution has to be addressed as a societal problem.
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I get that... I'm just saying a bully doesn't automatically=Audist.
 
CSign said:
I get that... I'm just saying a bully doesn't automatically=Audist.
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When it comes down to it, bullying is targeting perceived weaknesses, be it gender, race, disabiity, economic status. A bully who targets a deaf person because s/he perceives deafness as a weakness IS audist, consciously or subconsciously. To say a bully is not necessarily audist when he targeted a deaf person is an exercise in a fallacy of logic.
 
CSign said:
I get that... I'm just saying a bully doesn't automatically=Audist.
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Were you bullied as a deaf person? It's most likely ALWAYS an audist situation.

So, please.... please.... refrain from talking about things you have zero experience in.
 
CSign said:
I'll comment on what I choose to comment on.
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but it's mostly useless and unhelpful.

you keep invalidating it and say - "hey it happens to hearing kids too."
 
Many deaf students in the mainstreamed setting aren't really able to speak out about what is happening to them, as they are isolated socially and language-wise. Sad.
 
One kid did try to bully me, but I kicked his ass on the playground. He never messed with me again...and I got my reputation. No one bothered me.

This may sound really strange, especially coming from an educator, but sometimes the best thing you can do for a kid is to teach that kid to stand up to others. If that means punching the bully's lights out, so be it. I told my daughter, who had a kid picking on her, to shove him back if he does it again. She did tell the teacher, and the teacher has tried to deal with the kid numerous times...nothing really seems to work. Finally, one day, he shoved her out of the way while she was drinking water from the foundation, and she shoved him back and kicked his leg. He never bothered her again.
 
Jiro said:
but it's mostly useless and unhelpful.

you keep invalidating it and say - "hey it happens to hearing kids too."
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Funny- the same could be said about yours. :lol:

As to your second comment, it seems you are quite confused.
 
deafbajagal said:
One kid did try to bully me, but I kicked his ass on the playground. He never messed with me again...and I got my reputation. No one bothered me.

This may sound really strange, especially coming from an educator, but sometimes the best thing you can do for a kid is to teach that kid to stand up to others. If that means punching the bully's lights out, so be it. I told my daughter, who had a kid picking on her, to shove him back if he does it again. She did tell the teacher, and the teacher has tried to deal with the kid numerous times...nothing really seems to work. Finally, one day, he shoved her out of the way while she was drinking water from the foundation, and she shoved him back and kicked his leg. He never bothered her again.
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I totally agree with you... The child should be taught how to defend themself and stand up to bullies. We have had similar conversations with our son.
 
CSign said:
Funny- the same could be said about yours. :lol:
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where?

CSign said:
As to your second comment, it seems you are quite confused.
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it appears that you are oblivious to what we are saying to you. and it also appears that you are oblivious to what is happening to deafies. looks like you'll learn it painfully thru your deaf son.
 
DeafCaroline said:
When it comes down to it, bullying is targeting perceived weaknesses, be it gender, race, disabiity, economic status. A bully who targets a deaf person because s/he perceives deafness as a weakness IS audist, consciously or subconsciously. To say a bully is not necessarily audist when he targeted a deaf person is an exercise in a fallacy of logic.
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Exactly what I wanted to write but couldn't think of all the right words. Thank you for expressing it so eloquently.
 
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