Select one: _x___ Deaf _____ Hearing _____ Hard of Hearing
1. What is your age? 48 this year.
2. If you have some degree of deafness, explain and state when this event occurred: Severely-Deaf from birth. Born 2 months premature.
3. What is your primary language? (Note: a primary language is the language you learned first. If you learned more than one language simultaneously, please state both.) English is my primary language, raised oral and mainstreamed.
4. At what age did you learn ASL? Starting learning ASL and Auslan 2 years ago.
5. At what age did you begin speak? Additional comments are welcome. Said my first word just after one year old.
6. Do you consider yourself fluent in ASL? (This is a question for both native prelingual and non native postlingual speakers.) Please describe your ASL skill here: Only know limited ASL, but can understand and follow Auslan, quite well, enough to hold and respond in sign to a decent conversation.
7. Rate your written English skills on a scale of 1 to 5: 5
1 (very poor)
2 (functional)
3 (average)
4 (above average)
5 (exceptional/finished quality/could edit someone else's work).
Add'l comments:
8. Rate your reading comprehension skills (English) on a scale of 1 to 5: 5 (despite being dyslexic as well)
1 (very poor)
2 (functional)
3 (average)
4 (above average)
5 (exceptional/finished quality/could edit someone else's work).
Add'l comments:
9. At what age did you learn to read English? Younger than 5. Although I remembering comparing the written word to the way I was then speaking at age 7. 10. Do you speak or use a language other than ASL or English at home? If so, explain: I can read and write in Thai and also my husband's ethnic language; speaking - not good.
11. Are any of your immediate family members native signers of ASL? No. No native signers in my immediate family.
12. If any of your immediate family members use ASL, please explain who and describe their fluency: My younger children are learning Auslan and ASL with me. They can understand basic requests and simple statements.
13. When using sign, do you primarily use ASL or another form (such as SEE)? AUSLAN and some ASL (definitely not SEE)
14. Has anyone told you that you had a foreign ASL "accent"? (Like a hearing or late signer - not a regional accent.) No, not to date.
15. IF you learned ASL fluently before you learned English and your family speaks English at home as dominant language, will you share that? And may I PM you? N/A.
16. Finally, if you have used CI, HA, or any kind of hearing device, can you share what, how long, and age/number of years used? i was introduced to my first hearing aids when I was 11, wore them for a year, then discarded them because they irritated me, the sounds I could hear were amplified to the point of hurting my ears and giving me headaches; I lived a lot of the time while growing up in tropical climates, the humidity would cause severe chaffing and ear infections; I did a lot of swimming when I was younger and other sports, the hearing aids were a problem more than a help; having to buy batteries all the time was also an unnecesssary expense; as an adult they interferred with my ability to drive safely. I did try them again at age 15 and as an adult very briefly, but discovered I was more comfortable without them. Haven't worn them in over 20 odd years now. They are also too expensive to buy these days. As for CIs, when I researched into them, would never consider them because a) they are very expensive; b) it is invasive surgery; c) they are just glorified HAs not a "cure-all" plus I am happy being Severely-Deaf because that is how God made me and it is for a Purpose.[/COLOR]
