okay ad'ers. ask me anything (but be nice! :))

Guess you would be able to understand what I was talking about in Spanish with David in the other thread :laugh2:
 
Hear Again said:
that's a good question! :)

i would say the most difficult challenge in my life has been accepting and loving myself as a deafblind person.

after i lost my hearing, i had an extremely difficult time coping and took my anger out on everyone. even the director of the deafblind center at the time was afraid to say something wrong for fear of upsetting me. she constantly had to walk on eggshells because i was so sensitive and angry.

it wasn't until i started learning alternative communication techniques, met other deafblind people like myself at aadb (american association of the deaf-blind) and joined a support group that i began to understand that there was life (and a happy one at that!) after deafblindness.

the more communication skills i learned, the stronger i became inside. the more deafblind people i met, the less ashamed i was of my own dual disabilities.

in this process, i also had to learn how to advocate for myself and identify myself as someone who was deafblind rather than "blind and hard of hearing."

it took a long time for me to do that, but eventually i reached the point where i was proud of my own deafblindness and felt no shame in calling myself such.

even though i have ci's, i still feel that way today.

first and foremost, i am a person who is proud of being deafblind and no one can take that away from me. :)
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Thank you for taking your time to answer my question. That's quite a journey you had to embark on.

What would you do to prompt the awareness that is related to the deaf/blind community? What are the DO and DONTs of when one is with a deaf/blind person?
 
being blind as well as deaf do you ever feel the need to talk to some bind people? just like sometimes just talking to deaf people about the issues and things related to that?
 
Hello Hear Again, I came back to ad for a moment. I read your thread is very interesting to me. I am enjoying your thread about deaf/blind. You're very special person! You're very brave and awesome woman! I am happy for you to have a relationship and get marrying and have a children. :)

I have a few questions for you


Have you even learn arts/painting and crafts?


Do you have a sense of keen "FEEL" ?


Can you smell anything?

If yes, What is your favorite and least favorite?


What is your favorite fruits?


Is your guide dog sleep with you in bed?
 
Hmmm, something popped up in my head. Is there brialle in other languages other than English? I've wondered how it is done.
 
typeingtornado19 said:
being blind as well as deaf do you ever feel the need to talk to some bind people? just like sometimes just talking to deaf people about the issues and things related to that?
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yes i do because deaf people obviously can't understand the challenges and frustrations of blindness (just as blind people can't understand the challenges and frustrations of deafness). i have alot of blind people i know on the internet that i talk to as well as local friends of mine who attend a center for the blind for monthly activities.
 
Hear Again said:
yes i do because deaf people obviously can't understand the challenges and frustrations of blindness (just as blind people can't understand the challenges and frustrations of deafness). i have alot of blind people i know on the internet that i talk to as well as local friends of mine who attend a center for the blind for monthly activities.
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thats cool, not all blind people dont know the frustrations of deafness, i like to hope i understand, as i want to interpret. do you see sometimes where deaf people are sometimes rude or fearful twords blindness. (not trying to be mean/point fingers)
 
~♥~Pinky~♥~ said:
Hello Hear Again, I came back to ad for a moment. I read your thread is very interesting to me. I am enjoying your thread about deaf/blind. You're very special person! You're very brave and awesome woman! I am happy for you to have a relationship and get marrying and have a children. :)

I have a few questions for you


Have you even learn arts/painting and crafts?


Do you have a sense of keen "FEEL" ?


Can you smell anything?

If yes, What is your favorite and least favorite?


What is your favorite fruits?


Is your guide dog sleep with you in bed?
Click to expand...

1. i learned to paint while listening to music when i was a child by painting whatever came to my mind as i was hearing the music. if the music had a deep, fast tempo, i would create dark, thick textures. if the music had a slower tempo that was light and gentle, i painted more freely, but with a lighter touch. i also know how to knit and crochet.

2. no, my sense of touch is no different than a sighted-hearing person's. the only difference is that i'm able to identify tactual cues much easier than a sighted-hearing person because i've learned how to identify tactual information and apply it to my daily living activities. if they work hard enough at it, a sighted-hearing person can learn how to use and identify tactile sensations just as well as a blind person, if not better.

3. yes. i don't have a single favorite smell, but a number of them. they include chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, freshly made bread baking in the oven, wood burning in a fire, (i know this sounds weird but...) yeast when it has fully risen (when i was a child being bussed to pre-school we used to pass the local brewery and you could smell yeast in the air), roses, bakery, the smell of food after it is cooked and oranges.

my least favorite smell is cigarette smoke. i'm highly allergic to it and it gives me a migraine. :(

4. some of my favorite fruits are bananas, pineapples, oranges, apples, strawberries and kiwi.

5. yes, tigger sleeps in my bed with me although she's good about staying on her end of the bed without hogging it like my previous guide dog did! :giggle:
 
typeingtornado19 said:
thats cool, not all blind people dont know the frustrations of deafness, i like to hope i understand, as i want to interpret. do you see sometimes where deaf people are sometimes rude or fearful twords blindness. (not trying to be mean/point fingers)
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yes, i have seen cases where deaf people are fearful towards the blind which is understandable when you consider they they rely on their eyes for communication. if that sense were ever lost, they would have to learn an entirely different way of communicating and traveling. i *have* witnessed some very rude deaf people. they're no different than rude sighted-hearing people or hearing-blind people. one example of rudeness that i've encountered was while attending a deaf get-together for lunch at my university. when my captionist introduced me, NO ONE said hello or wanted to use tactile sign. i thought that was *extremely* rude given the fact that i was introduced by someone and yet was completely ignored. :mad2: fortunately though, my experiences as a whole with the deaf community have been very positive. the local deaf community has welcomed me with open arms and were wonderful about helping me with my sign when i was a beginning signer in 1995.
 
Hear Again said:
yes, i have seen cases where deaf people are fearful towards the blind which is understandable when you consider they they rely on their eyes for communication. if that sense were ever lost, they would have to learn an entirely different way of communicating and traveling. i *have* witnessed some very rude deaf people. they're no different than rude sighted-hearing people or hearing-blind people. one example of rudeness that i've encountered was while attending a deaf get-together for lunch at my university. when my captionist introduced me, NO ONE said hello or wanted to use tactile sign. i thought that was *extremely* rude given the fact that i was introduced by someone and yet was completely ignored. :mad2: fortunately though, my experiences as a whole with the deaf community have been very positive. the local deaf community has welcomed me with open arms and were wonderful about helping me with my sign when i was a beginning signer in 1995.
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thats cool, i have never met any blind people that were rude to deaf people, but maybe i just didnt see it. i have had some of both experiences with deaf people, some love me, and cant wait till im certified to interpret, and others wonder why i am there signing when i am not deafblind. have you ever gone to any deaf clubs? it was nice when i went, because though they turned down the lights so i couldn't see very much, i met some of the ladies from my school lab, and we stood close to sign so i could see.
 
sequoias said:
Hmmm, something popped up in my head. Is there brialle in other languages other than English? I've wondered how it is done.
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braille comes in a variety of languages including spanish, japanese, russian, portuguese, british, arabic, american, czech, swedish, croatian, french, unified english, bharati-devanagari, korean, dutch, italian and vietnamese.
 
typeingtornado19 said:
i'm sorry your experience was bad with those people, did you tell them what a$$es they were?
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no, i didn't, but i wanted to. i thought better of it though because i knew it would only make things worse and cause me to embarrass myself. as you know, some blind communities are very cliquish. the same is true for the deaf and the last thing i wanted was for these people to criticize me. it was bad enough that they ignored me. :(
 
Hear Again said:
braille comes in a variety of languages including spanish, japanese, russian, portuguese, british, arabic, american, czech, swedish, croatian, french, unified english, bharati-devanagari, korean, dutch, italian and vietnamese.
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So seems brialle is universal in other languages, that's really nice. Do you know other languages in brialle?
 
typeingtornado19 said:
thats cool, i have never met any blind people that were rude to deaf people, but maybe i just didnt see it. i have had some of both experiences with deaf people, some love me, and cant wait till im certified to interpret, and others wonder why i am there signing when i am not deafblind. have you ever gone to any deaf clubs? it was nice when i went, because though they turned down the lights so i couldn't see very much, i met some of the ladies from my school lab, and we stood close to sign so i could see.
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yes. i attend local deaf events in my area. i've also attended a local deaf congregation as well.
 
Hear Again said:
no, i didn't, but i wanted to. i thought better of it though because i knew it would only make things worse and cause me to embarrass myself. as you know, some blind communities are very cliquish. the same is true for the deaf and the last thing i wanted was for these people to criticize me. it was bad enough that they ignored me. :(
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i understand, both deaf and blind are very cliquish, but sometimes that is a good thing. help and support
 
sequoias said:
So seems brialle is universal in other languages, that's really nice. Do you know other languages in brialle?
Click to expand...

the only language i know well in braille is spanish because i studied it in high school. i think i could also recognize german braille (edit: which i forgot to mention in your question about different languages in braille) as well (since i studied german in high school), but since i've never seen it before, i don't know for sure.
 
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