Deaf People Learning ASL - Later.

Dixie said:
From the few I have met here - they seem to be a bit more understanding. I've met one ADer IRL and she was completely cool with me.

I've not met any of the other deafies in POCO yet to say whether I'm included or not. Once I get moved over there and settled in a bit more I will be looking for opportunities to check out the local deaf community.
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Cool!!!
 
Frisky Feline said:
I know the feeling. I admit I am bad at it. I am an asl user. The large number of deaf people (deaf community) that i tend to go after someone I can chat as just be myself. If there is small number of people then I do check with someone who just learns ASL. But it depends on how they are, who they are. That's why i really like ALLDEAF where there are tons of oral deaf or HOH here that I dont mind meeting since i know a little from online and then meet them in person that will work for me. I don't do well with stranger (oral deaf or hoh) who just learns ASL. same for hearing people (who wants to be interpreter).

remind you that large number of deaf people that I tend to look for old faces that i grew up with and try to catch up with news to chat rather than meet a new people who just learn ASL.

i feel awful for saying the truth. :o

EXCEPT alldeaf so i am half bad at it. ;)
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Thanks for being honest. Some of the deaf and HH folks who are learning ASL or signs probably are far more behind in news than you are...in years of being isolated. Something to think about. :)
 
deafbajagal said:
Hi! I remember that day you joined my ASL class. :). Anyways, tell P to post her story on here, too. :). So, you have no interest in joining more deaf socials? Nothin' wrong with that, I just want to make sure I understood your response. Can't use the why excuse...anyone who is shy would not get cake from a stranger's birthday bash next door. LOL!
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I ate your presents the other time when I wasn't supposed to because I got lazy. :D

I'll still go, and have gone to them, no problem. Not much deaf events for my location the past year though.
What I meant was I haven't been/gone anywhere enough to transition from where I am. I'm still feeling like a wedge in between but yea that's because of what I am.

Noone natively Deaf I've met has been interested in making good 'Deaf-world introduction and bridging type' acquaintance... yet. <- that's the key word. :wiggle:
 
Deaf gatherings in my area are quite large so there are usually folks in various groups. Some of the groups are very accepting of newbies and some are not. I usually seek out the new signers just because I enjoy it. But I admit, when I get really tired, I migrate over to the groups with better signers. Unless the new signer is really cute, then I just cannot help myself... :Oops: :giggle:
 
Chiming in late here. At first, my deaf club was not wanting me there at all. I kept going to the Deaf Movie Night and now I am going to the Deaf Church. Little by little, the people of the Deaf Club are opening up more and more. they are noticing more people learning ASL later in life and also becoming more tolerant of CI's. So far, only one CI user comes in. We have an interpreter who voices all the signing for the few hearing people and luckily I can read her lips. I am picking up more and more ASL. Also, a few people have offered to teach me ASL outside of the church. Two went to Gally, one went to FSDB and two others went to a Clark school.
 
Wirelessly posted

I have just come from the Deaf Groupies thread before I saw this one.

As I had mentioned...it's when it becomes a necessity when meeting someone new to have to sift out who is genuine and in for the long haul and who are there because it is just a fad and will leave as soon as the novelty wears off. It is not easy for those of us who are learning sign language late because not only do we have to prove to our family and people who already know us that it is not a fad or passing novelty to us but also to the Deaf Community we are finally coming 'home' to.

It is even harder when you (like me) only get the chance to meet with other Deafies for a day, once or twice a year. Thank you AD for being there for me in the inbetween times. :ty:
 
DeafCaroline said:
That too - signing how one grew up with the circling of the mouth. The Deaf didn't tell me they call me HOH because I can understand people, but because I grew up oral and wear hearing aids. When we were at the restaurant, the Deaf had no problems communicating with the waiters and seem to be able to lipread them quite well and some of them can speak.

I guess it varies from place to place - how one defines HOH and Deaf.
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At the recent deaf meet I was at, i observed a deaf woman speaking on the cellphone. No one seemed put out by that. She and her husband is a regular in the community.

For me, this was the second time I had met these people. We went to a restaurant a couple times and I spoke my order to the waitress. There was one deaf woman who dropped her head (looked like sadness?) when she saw me speaking my order.

I wonder if it's sort of "bad etiquette" somehow to be verbal around other deaf people? I mean, for things like placing a meal order or whatever? Not in conversation with other deaf people, of course.

But they also observed me trying to understand the waitress with difficulty when she was speaking to me. They know I speech read.

I'm kind of curious too, how I am (would be) perceived in different deaf social groups around the country.

But the local group I'm hanging out with has been very welcoming and open to me so far, for which I am grateful. Now I have to prove to them I'm worthy of sticking around by learning ASL. :)
 
I usually ask before I intervene on someone's behalf. When I do it, the person is grateful. It's really a two way street. The same people help me as I struggle to learn ASL correctly.
 
Wirelessly posted

When I started trying to integrate into the deaf school, I ran into a lot of patronizing people. They would talk to my like I was a bit slow and yell at me in English. That doesn't even make sense! It made me feel really self conscious and shy to go to Deaf anything. I still feel that way, and my ASL has suffered for it because the only people who I sign with are mostly hearing people who are just learning.
 
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