Friendship?

[Kellysaurus]

Hi all.

I know this is completely out of the blue as far as topics seem to go here, but... Anyone wanna be pals? :3

I'm such a big fan of this forum as I love reading about everyone's viewpoints on different aspects of deaf culture. I'm ... somewhat wary to say that I am hearing, because I am very much aware of how ignorant most hearing people can be. However, I'm really hoping to just be viewed as a person without any consideration to what my ears can or cannot do. :p I'd love to do the same to any other forum member who loves the deaf community as much as I do, hearing or not.

About me: I am a 22 year old college student majoring in psychology. I hope to become a special education teacher with a BCBA certificate. BCBA is basically a certificate that says I have learned about and can legally use applied behavior analysis techniques. I've been learning ASL to try to help me communicate with autistic population as well as anyone with hearing loss. Once I started, I couldn't believe I've gone my whole life without knowing such an awesome community was out there. I've fallen in love with deaf culture and strive to perfect my signing. Other than that, I'm kinda nerdy. I love games (both video and board) and animals. I also draw when I have the time to.

Anyway, I'm just hoping to become more involved with the deaf community. I don't have a lot of free time, but I'm always up for chatting and would kill for some buds who are either part of the deaf community or just love it as much as I do.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Mewtilation]

 

[Kellysaurus]

Sup? ^_^

 

[ohmylight]

Welcome! I studied psych in undergrad also (double major, art and psych). What area are you trying to work in - something that works with autistic people? My neighbor has two autistic twin boys. One of them is verbal and the other uses home sign.... signs that the family and teachers use but not necessarily ASL.

 

[Kellysaurus]

Welcome! I studied psych in undergrad also (double major, art and psych). What area are you trying to work in - something that works with autistic people? My neighbor has two autistic twin boys. One of them is verbal and the other uses home sign.... signs that the family and teachers use but not necessarily ASL.

Hi, thanks! Psych is such a great major ^__^ I do have an AAS degree in communication design (like graphic design) too, so we are quite similar! And yes, I want to work with children with developmental disabilities and intellectual disabilities. I am particularly interested in autism, but I've worked with individuals with down syndrome, cerebral palsy, tourettes, etc. ASL is a wonderful method to communicate with kids with autism, because most of the time they have the capability to communicate, but they can't form words. Oh! And a lot of people with down syndrome have hearing loss. I learned my first sign from a wonderful boy with DS. He showed me the "T" for toilet. So awesome. But I really do hope to use ASL for more than just work. My boyfriend has a photographic memory, so he is catching on very quickly. If we get married, we agreed to raise our kids on English, Spanish, and ASL. ^__^ (I don't know how to say much in Spanish though... The only sentence I know is "The cat says meow!") :p

 

[ohmylight]

Hi, thanks! Psych is such a great major ^__^ I do have an AAS degree in communication design (like graphic design) too, so we are quite similar! And yes, I want to work with children with developmental disabilities and intellectual disabilities. I am particularly interested in autism, but I've worked with individuals with down syndrome, cerebral palsy, tourettes, etc. ASL is a wonderful method to communicate with kids with autism, because most of the time they have the capability to communicate, but they can't form words. Oh! And a lot of people with down syndrome have hearing loss. I learned my first sign from a wonderful boy with DS. He showed me the "T" for toilet. So awesome. But I really do hope to use ASL for more than just work. My boyfriend has a photographic memory, so he is catching on very quickly. If we get married, we agreed to raise our kids on English, Spanish, and ASL. ^__^ (I don't know how to say much in Spanish though... The only sentence I know is "The cat says meow!") :p

lol one of my first phrases in french was "Je ne said pas encore morte" - I'm not dead yet. I learned it while studying... lol the test didn't kill me. I stuck a sign on the front door with that for my mom to come home to (this was 6th grade lol)... My first phrase in spanish was "Dame mas gasolina" lol "give me the gasoline" (annoying club song)

I did know about the DS thing actually... I studied special education+linguistics before I moved back from AZ when I went through the most dramatic of my hearing loss. I focused my psych degree in the study of grief and loss - thanatology. I thought about being an art therapist.

 

[Kellysaurus]

lol one of my first phrases in french was "Je ne said pas encore morte" - I'm not dead yet. I learned it while studying... lol the test didn't kill me. I stuck a sign on the front door with that for my mom to come home to (this was 6th grade lol)... My first phrase in spanish was "Dame mas gasolina" lol "give me the gasoline" (annoying club song)

I did know about the DS thing actually... I studied special education+linguistics before I moved back from AZ when I went through the most dramatic of my hearing loss. I focused my psych degree in the study of grief and loss - thanatology. I thought about being an art therapist.

Lol, I took french in highschool, but I only know how to say "Je ne sais pas" :p I don't absorb language so well because of my ADD, but I seem to be doing alright in ASL. I definitely need another semester before I'll be able to sign fluently and actually feel confident with my signing.
As far as thanatology.. Well, I had to look up what that is. I'm surprised I've never heard of it. It seems very interesting, though. Much darker than art therapy for sure. I did consider art therapy too, but I never looked into it enough.
So what do you do now?

 

[ohmylight]

Lol, I took french in highschool, but I only know how to say "Je ne sais pas" :p I don't absorb language so well because of my ADD, but I seem to be doing alright in ASL. I definitely need another semester before I'll be able to sign fluently and actually feel confident with my signing.
As far as thanatology.. Well, I had to look up what that is. I'm surprised I've never heard of it. It seems very interesting, though. Much darker than art therapy for sure. I did consider art therapy too, but I never looked into it enough.
So what do you do now?

Thanatology and art therapy have a lot of cross over! You can help people tremendously with art. Kids in hurricane Katrina had art therapists flown in, as did Sandy Hook. So do adults.... It's just calming.

I'm a photographer now. I finished the double major in art and psych and loved art so much I decided to do an MFA in painting, but switched to photo because it's more employable. I tried art therapy as an intern and it was hard because of the communication... A lot of them are on heavy meds or their illness made them twitch or look away too much.

So now I'm a full time photographer (finished grad school 11 months ago) I run my own business and it's awesome. I mostly photograph newborns, maternity, families, Pets, and models. I still use the psych/thanatology because I do a lot of volunteer work for hospice photographing families, "flashes of hope" with kids with cancer and "now I lay me down to sleep" with stillborn or short life babies. I use Kebler-Ross alllll the time.

 

[dogmom]

Kellysaurus

I'm hoh. In college I majored in Sociology and Spanish. I have also worked with children and adults with cognitive and behavioral disabilities as well as people on the severe/non-verbal end of the Spectrum. My first full-time post-college job I was a case manager with a caseload of about 20 clients. Also have experience with people who use wheelchairs or other mobility equipment due to CP, MS, spina bifida or other things. When I was in college I volunteered with VSA <Very Special Arts> for a while and that was a great learning experience.

Hubby majored in psych. <his no-so-great idea in college, based on the idea he wanted to know the exact and detailed reasons why and how people did things...not quite how it ended up in terms of how the major was done and he also couldn't hear most of the prof's....hubby oral deaf/hoh> and also in computer systems.

I saw that you love animals..I'm a dog trainer and humane society volunteer. I've also worked with deaf dogs.

I have LD and went through DVR in college.

welcome on

 

[ohmylight]

Kellysaurus

I'm hoh. In college I majored in Sociology and Spanish. I have also worked with children and adults with cognitive and behavioral disabilities as well as people on the severe/non-verbal end of the Spectrum. My first full-time post-college job I was a case manager with a caseload of about 20 clients. Also have experience with people who use wheelchairs or other mobility equipment due to CP, MS, spina bifida or other things. When I was in college I volunteered with VSA <Very Special Arts> for a while and that was a great learning experience.

Hubby majored in psych. <his no-so-great idea in college, based on the idea he wanted to know the exact and detailed reasons why and how people did things...not quite how it ended up in terms of how the major was done and he also couldn't hear most of the prof's....hubby oral deaf/hoh> and also in computer systems.

I saw that you love animals..I'm a dog trainer and humane society volunteer. I've also worked with deaf dogs.

I have LD and went through DVR in college.

welcome on

Hubby might enjoy the book "Snoop: what your stuff says about you"

 

[dogmom]

I think I've heard of it from somewhere!
cool-

 

[A Nihilist]

I know you don't mean to but at least in my perspective it's a little lame asking, "Wanna be friends?" Even though there are some people who think hearing people are the devil most of us are tolerant and even embrace hearing people into our world.

A lot of my best friends are hearing and I know this sounds crazy from a HoH person I went to deaf school summer camp and I really hated it.

If you want to have some kind of dialogue with a deaf/HoH person just go ahead and send a PM or reply to a thread. Have fun with it!

 

[Kellysaurus]

Thanatology and art therapy have a lot of cross over! You can help people tremendously with art. Kids in hurricane Katrina had art therapists flown in, as did Sandy Hook. So do adults.... It's just calming.

I'm a photographer now. I finished the double major in art and psych and loved art so much I decided to do an MFA in painting, but switched to photo because it's more employable. I tried art therapy as an intern and it was hard because of the communication... A lot of them are on heavy meds or their illness made them twitch or look away too much.

So now I'm a full time photographer (finished grad school 11 months ago) I run my own business and it's awesome. I mostly photograph newborns, maternity, families, Pets, and models. I still use the psych/thanatology because I do a lot of volunteer work for hospice photographing families, "flashes of hope" with kids with cancer and "now I lay me down to sleep" with stillborn or short life babies. I use Kebler-Ross alllll the time.

That's so cool! I actually find it very interesting that you have both drawing/painting skills *and* photography skills. Many artists that I've met are just either one or the other. I personally have difficulty expressing myself through photography, so kudos to you! And congrats on graduating! If I could take decent pictures, I would choose similar themes. If there's anything I love to see captured, it's the connection, the relationship between two souls that is thought to be invisible. Yet, sometimes it's visible.. and those moments are precious. As far as the hospice work -- all I can say is ...
That's truly amazing. I mean, that's really the ultimate thing you could do for the world. It's one thing to have compassion/empathy for others, but another to do something with it. You really need to be tough for that... I don't think I could do it. I have the empathy, but... I'm too soft. The reason why I never went for vet related jobs is because I know I wouldn't be able to handle it when the animals don't make it. :c
I think it's really important that the people who *can* handle tough situations actually do it. That's why when I get my degree, I will work with the more severely disabled population. Why? Because I can, and therefore I should. If I don't, someone who really can't handle it will. Don't ask me why on that one... I have no clue. People without compassion, without the ability to empathize with the developmentally/intellectually disabled should NOT work with them.... yet they do. There is too much negligence out there. I have to do something. Even if it's just taking one spot that they can't have. So for you -- the fact that you can do even more for the world, it's spectacular, and important. Makes me happy to see people so driven to help others, even when it's hard.

... Yup, I'm a cheeseball. Haha. Sorry. I just treasure these "faith in humanity restored" moments.

 

[Kellysaurus]

I know you don't mean to but at least in my perspective it's a little lame asking, "Wanna be friends?" Even though there are some people who think hearing people are the devil most of us are tolerant and even embrace hearing people into our world.

A lot of my best friends are hearing and I know this sounds crazy from a HoH person I went to deaf school summer camp and I really hated it.

If you want to have some kind of dialogue with a deaf/HoH person just go ahead and send a PM or reply to a thread. Have fun with it!

It's okay! I know, it is kinda lame. I guess the truth is that I've been nervous to approach people because things can easily be taken the wrong way. I'm generally shy, but I've really wanted to talk to people here. So this was my wimpy attempt to do something about it. :p
As far as tolerance -- I know both hearing and hard of hearing can and do get along very well. However, I also knowing that being hearing is kind of like an unconscious turn off to those with hearing loss.. Not that it's intentional, but it's there for a lot of people. So.. I donno, I guess I wanted to express myself somewhere on here to test the waters before being bold enough to be more active in the forum. I will do that, though! So thanks.

But hey... lame as I may be -- I got you to reply, didn't I?

 

[whatdidyousay!]

Hi, thanks! Psych is such a great major ^__^ I do have an AAS degree in communication design (like graphic design) too, so we are quite similar! And yes, I want to work with children with developmental disabilities and intellectual disabilities. I am particularly interested in autism, but I've worked with individuals with down syndrome, cerebral palsy, tourettes, etc. ASL is a wonderful method to communicate with kids with autism, because most of the time they have the capability to communicate, but they can't form words. Oh! And a lot of people with down syndrome have hearing loss. I learned my first sign from a wonderful boy with DS. He showed me the "T" for toilet. So awesome. But I really do hope to use ASL for more than just work. My boyfriend has a photographic memory, so he is catching on very quickly. If we get married, we agreed to raise our kids on English, Spanish, and ASL. ^__^ (I don't know how to say much in Spanish though... The only sentence I know is "The cat says meow!") :p

The only ASL sign I really know how to made is 'turtle' and it's very hard to communicate in ASL knowing that one word. I just read in another forum I uses a person has child that autism and because the child can't talk and only made sounds it scaring their dog so badly they may have to give the dog up.
I wonder if that child was taught some ASL if that would help .

 

[Kellysaurus]

Kellysaurus

I'm hoh. In college I majored in Sociology and Spanish. I have also worked with children and adults with cognitive and behavioral disabilities as well as people on the severe/non-verbal end of the Spectrum. My first full-time post-college job I was a case manager with a caseload of about 20 clients. Also have experience with people who use wheelchairs or other mobility equipment due to CP, MS, spina bifida or other things. When I was in college I volunteered with VSA <Very Special Arts> for a while and that was a great learning experience.

Hubby majored in psych. <his no-so-great idea in college, based on the idea he wanted to know the exact and detailed reasons why and how people did things...not quite how it ended up in terms of how the major was done and he also couldn't hear most of the prof's....hubby oral deaf/hoh> and also in computer systems.

I saw that you love animals..I'm a dog trainer and humane society volunteer. I've also worked with deaf dogs.

I have LD and went through DVR in college.

welcome on

<3
I considered majoring in sociology. I love it almost as much as I do psychology, as they are both so important for different yet similar reasons. The thing is, special education is generally not offered as a BA.. so I needed *something* under my belt so I could move forward towards my goal. They tried to place me in early education for my BA, but I really had no interest in it... I want to be a teacher, but not for "normal" or "typically developing" kids. I could've gone the sociology route, but something about psych just.. sucked me in. Ahhh! Spanish! It's creeping on me, I gotta learn! Haha. I've been with my boy for 3 years now and I still only know the basic curse words and random phrases. "El gato dice meow!"
Sounds like we're two peas in a pod, though. As far as my job opportunities, I worked full time in a respite-residental home for about a year. This gave me everything I needed to know about the population, because people were constantly coming in and out. I'm not sure if you're aware of what a respite is, so I'll describe it. (Sorry if you do know!) Respite is where family/care-givers would drop off their loved one(s) for anywhere between the weekend to maybe two weeks so that they could get stuff done while the individual gets a little vacation from them. :p It is also used as a means of slowly adapting to residential life as it is sometimes unavoidable for many individuals. So I've worked with people who just have minor intellectual disabilities (or just learning disabilities in that case, right?) all the way to those confined to chairs as well due to CP. I know that CP is not always an intellectual disability, it can be just physical. However, the people that I've met were unfortunately impossible to communicate with. I actually find CP very interesting, because of the fact that it is not always an intellectual disability. It gives me a lot of hope for autism, as so many means of communication has been created for CP. Similar research needs to be done for autism (imo) so that we can really know what goes on inside the minds of those on the more severe side of the spectrum. Right now, I'm involved with project REACH at my school. It aims to help autistic college students adjust to college life. I am a mentor, and I also help with the research. It's really cool to work with the other side of the spectrum. I have a friend with aspergers, but she never talks about it. Now I interact with many people my age who have autism/aspergers daily, it's so awesome.
Anyway, I'm totally rambling! Sorry!
I DO love animals!! I have two cats and a ton of reptiles. I love all animals. I'm actually really excited to get ABA certified (applied behavior analysis) because I'll learn how to use it with animals as well. And that is the essential skill for training, no? If I had the time to, I'd definitely volunteer with rescues. I've never met a deaf dog, but I'd love to one day! Whenever I get my first dog, I hope to use both verbal and sign cues/commands as I've seen that there's really not much of a difference between both. It seems as though dogs follow both just as well. But then again, I've never had a dog.. and you can't train a cat. Haha.
If your hubby has any psych related questions, let me know! I have the same curiosity, which is why I won't walk away from school without taking psychopathology. :P But I know all about the major contributors to psychology and their theories on behavior.

 

[Kellysaurus]

The only ASL sign I really know how to made is 'turtle' and it's very hard to communicate in ASL knowing that one word. I just read in another forum I uses a person has child that autism and because the child can't talk and only made sounds it scaring their dog so badly they may have to give the dog up.
I wonder if that child was taught some ASL if that would help .

Are you on the spectrum? Turtle is actually my favorite sign! I honestly can't communicate fully in ASL yet but I'm working towards it. I don't think that the severely autistic can fully utilize ASL, but some signs help. "Bathroom", "Drink", "Food/eat", "Home", "More", etc are all signs that I use in my part time job. I am a home attendant for a girl who is severely autistic. She cannot speak, but when she's thirsty she signs "drink", hungry - "eat", sometimes when she has to use the bathroom she'll sign "bathroom/toilet" .. It really helps. She understands a lot of what I say as she follows multiple step directions ("Walk over there and wait for me") but she has difficulty expressing herself. I think it has to do with the speech part of the brain. But the beauty of ASL is that a different part of the brain is used, and those severely autistic can usually learn words.
As for the dog... Even if the child learned ASL, I assume he/she would still make noises. They're probably better off getting a better dog! There are many wonderful animals that react well to children like that.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

Are you on the spectrum? Turtle is actually my favorite sign! I honestly can't communicate fully in ASL yet but I'm working towards it. I don't think that the severely autistic can fully utilize ASL, but some signs help. "Bathroom", "Drink", "Food/eat", "Home", "More", etc are all signs that I use in my part time job. I am a home attendant for a girl who is severely autistic. She cannot speak, but when she's thirsty she signs "drink", hungry - "eat", sometimes when she has to use the bathroom she'll sign "bathroom/toilet" .. It really helps. She understands a lot of what I say as she follows multiple step directions ("Walk over there and wait for me") but she has difficulty expressing herself. I think it has to do with the speech part of the brain. But the beauty of ASL is that a different part of the brain is used, and those severely autistic can usually learn words.
As for the dog... Even if the child learned ASL, I assume he/she would still make noises. They're probably better off getting a better dog! There are many wonderful animals that react well to children like that.

I don't think the people will get another dog as they have two kids and the child with autistic need a lot attention.
That is funny you like the sign for turtle too, I loves turtles.

 

[A Nihilist]

So.. I donno, I guess I wanted to express myself somewhere on here to test the waters before being bold enough to be more active in the forum. I will do that, though! So thanks.

But hey... lame as I may be -- I got you to reply, didn't I?

Well at least in my experience sometimes it's just a numbers game. Of the hundreds of people I've met maybe 1 or 2 will be a long-term friend. And sometimes its not your fault but the other person. If you don't get a reply despite you being nice and all they're just probably having a bad day or don't feel like making another friend. What-ever

After all we have all met that annoying person that despite no matter how well you treat him/her the person just won't reciprocate. :roll:

 

[Kellysaurus]

Well at least in my experience sometimes it's just a numbers game. Of the hundreds of people I've met maybe 1 or 2 will be a long-term friend. And sometimes its not your fault but the other person. If you don't get a reply despite you being nice and all they're just probably having a bad day or don't feel like making another friend. What-ever

After all we have all met that annoying person that despite no matter how well you treat him/her the person just won't reciprocate. :roll:

Yeah, I've actually made friends from websites before and sometimes conversation dies out for no real reason. Or sometimes the person ends up being kinda mean, like you said. But I'm a big fan of this forum, so I'm hoping the odds will be in my favor so that I can at least make a few pals. :p