For ORALISTS: Do people ever take you seriously?

why dont you learnASL join a deaf club if there are any left...i known deaf people who have suffered because oral skill not good and been treated like retarded person sadly they get use to it and that honest fact.Others good oralists but people forget they deaf and fail to be considrate may not be on purpose,were you asking a question or stating a fact...i think life what you make it you get arse.s in every walk in life
 
I gve the same problem- lip reading is a lot of work

Sylbea

I have the same problem. Remember this, deaf people who sign with their ASL language as their native language do not respect me because I speak fluently and sign as well. Deaf people think I am not deaf enough and I am not good enough being deaf. Deaf people discriminate as well as hearing, no difference. No matter how much you try, you need to walk away with pride and be proud of who you are. I was born deaf and I was denied to sign until I went to college. I learned ASL by the time I went to the university level. That's why deaf people don't like me because ASL is not my native language. It's sad. All Deaf people need to accept ALL deaf people regardless of their background challenges. Keep up the good work; you are just fine!!
Hearing and Deaf have a problem; not you. I see you completely accomplished! Praise yourself! :) Snowavalanche:wave:





sylbea said:
For those of you who can speak despite your deafness, how do people generally treat you?

Do you often feel you are not being taken seriously because of how you communicate with them? Assuming you can lipread, do you find it difficult to listen to them speak as well?

Say, even if your speaking and lipreading skills are top notch, do you still feel you aren't getting enough respect simply because of the fact you are deaf? How do you deal with this? Do you feel compelled to do something about this ignorance in general?

Do they not take you seriously because of your personality as well?

Being raised oral and never having learnt sign language myself, the hearing world has no doubt been full of trials and tribulations. Most of it is to blame on my personality - I am rather introverted and hence I'm not one for small talk, and it doesn't help that I lose interest easily when I have to lipread all the time - I'm successful only half of the time. While I can speak fairly well enough, it still leaves a lot to be desired if I really want to express myself properly without coming off as awkward because of my deafness, which people probably take that as socially inept on my part, hence they do not treat me as seriously.

Of course, I still have much room to improve in terms of skills and confidence. But it is also disheartening to think how there is still not enough awareness about deafness, and how it impacts communication especially with hearing peers. Most people have yet to realise that communication is something they seem to take for granted - not everyone has the privileged sense of hearing for such an vital aspect, just as not everyone can not see the beauty. Nevertheless, we try to make with our limited sense and can come a long way if only with a little more understanding and appreciation for what we are all given.
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you seem to got it all in hand well, some deaf are incredabley arrogent and militent but not all are you just have find your neitch in life explain communication and sometimes need thick skin..most people know my limitations and i not in work place so i do not have same communications problems that you and many others have...Maybe i been lucky because when people realise they ok
 
Snowavalanche said:
Sylbea

I have the same problem. Remember this, deaf people who sign with their ASL language as their native language do not respect me because I speak fluently and sign as well. Deaf people think I am not deaf enough and I am not good enough being deaf. Deaf people discriminate as well as hearing, no difference. No matter how much you try, you need to walk away with pride and be proud of who you are. I was born deaf and I was denied to sign until I went to college. I learned ASL by the time I went to the university level. That's why deaf people don't like me because ASL is not my native language. It's sad. All Deaf people need to accept ALL deaf people regardless of their background challenges. Keep up the good work; you are just fine!!
Hearing and Deaf have a problem; not you. I see you completely accomplished! Praise yourself! :) Snowavalanche:wave:
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You sure there is no other reason?
 
Unforntunately, speech is seen by hearing people as some sort of miraculous achievement by anyone who is DHH which takes away the hearing person's share of responsibility in good communication. They think they're taking the easy way. Until they are frustrated out of their wits with you saying 'Sorry, I didn't hear that, could you say it again' for the zillionth time that day. Or, you're watching a DVD with no subtitles....'what was that again, I missed it' or please rewind it to the beginning again otherwise I miss the whole plot of the story'. (if I don't catch the movie right from the start, I usually walk away and not even participate because I'm totally lost and disappointed). All these scenarios (being just a few examples of everyday experiences) end up with you being the receiving end of explosive frustration, raised voices, 'never minds' and rolled eyes from the hearing people around you. It's compounded multiple times worse when it's the ones closest to you, your family, friends and work colleagues, whom you're with day in and day out. As the DHH person, having to remind people constantly that you can't hear them, bracing yourself for the reaction that you know full well. (These are the people who know and love you, support, and do their best to accommodate you without the knowledge of sign language) This is just one side of the coin, the other side is all the effort the DHH person has to put in just to keep up the appearance of being 'hearing' (and all the baggage that comes with it) for the convenience of everyone else. It is a no-win life. It's the pits. Visual communication in all its forms minimises these problems.
 
wow, you made some valid points here. I can relate and i KNOW what you mean. Thank you for really share your information here! I feel better by reading your post. So many hearing people dont get it! Are you deaf or HH or hearing? Just curious.
 
Snowavalanche said:
wow, you made some valid points here. I can relate and i KNOW what you mean. Thank you for really share your information here! I feel better by reading your post. So many hearing people dont get it! Are you deaf or HH or hearing? Just curious.
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Severely-Deaf.
 
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