the "special needs" stigma

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sammvega

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my name is samantha and for the past three years I have developed a passion for Deaf culture and have so many questions. I hope you can help.


this is my first question of what im sure is many




How do you feel about hearing people classifying deaf or HOH people as "special needs" or "disabled" ?
comments stories rants anything to satisfy my need for knowledge would be helpful:)
 
I'm pretty sure we'll all feel differently on questions, like most people do. However, I'll give you my personal opinion. I do not believe hearing loss is a disability to me. I can still do everything a hearing person can do... ( except call center jobs lol ) Seriously, it's not a handicap or disability in my eyes. I don't want any different treatment at work, and expect to be held to the same standards as my hearing co-workers. I have no special needs. The only "special need" I have is that you look at me while you're talking to me so I can lip read you and to enunciate your words... =P I think disability is only disability if you consider yourself disabled. Nobody else can classify me as disabled if I don't place myself there... and I sure as hell don't! =P

P.S. Most deaf people I know personally would get totally peeved if someone called them disabled... Myself included... just FYI =P
 
thank you for correcting my gross generalization, as if everyone would feel the same way about this subject, ive edited my question accordingly :) Thanks so much for the post by the way, I completely understand what you are saying. My interest in deaf culture is completely alien to my family and as I come from a family who has no verbal filter, I get asked so many questions and I even have my own embarrassing questions that I just don't have the resources to figure out on my own. I wish the hearing were exposed to more deaf culture- Everywhere we look we are exposed to any other culture on the planet :P
 
Lol no worries, I'm the least easily offended person in existence... it takes a lot. =P I always just like to state that I'm answering with my own opinion and not for everyone because you always have someone who will burst through the doors like the koolaid man and scream " I DON'T FEEL THAT WAY!" So, before it can happen, I cut it off, that's all. =P It's normal to be curious about things you don't understand... that's human nature anyway. =P We're all pretty open here, some people take a bit to respond but I"m sure you'll get more. Just keep asking questions and I'm sure you'll get the answers. =P
 
I agree with Pheonix, but myself... I feel disabled and here is my reason:
I was born hearing but due to some infection or birth defect my hearing was affected since birth, and now at 45 I am profound deaf, very hard of hearing... because of the loss and being a hearing person it hindered me at jobs, my career and so on.
I miss out on a lot because Im practically deaf now and learning ASL is not easy as you age and adapt to a new world of silence. I never wanted to admit I was HOH and now I have no choice but to accept it. I don't care that Im classified as disabled due to my hearing ( Im now also disabled due to my spinal injuries) but as Pheonix says, everyone feels differently... I guess since its a life changing event for me, I feel differently as opposed to those who were born Deaf. At times I ask people to repeat as I cant hardly hear them, after a few times I give up as its frustrating to them as well as I, and nor knowing ASL good enough or someone else with asl skills to carry a conversation, I just know basics and still learning.
 
mike what you just wrote really hit close to home for me. this is why i really want to immerse myself in deaf culture and get involved any way I can not only as career but as a lifestyle change. I want there to be more ASL users out there so that you can have conversations. I believe that anyone should have the choice to communicate as much as you want or not at all and it is the hearing, as a culture who do not see this nearly as importantly as we should. regardless as to whether the silence is bothersome or not one should have to be silent. ever.
 
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" I want there to be more ASL speakers out there so that you can have conversations. "


One -signs or uses - ASL
 
I was born hearing and acquired hearing loss since age 19. To me I felt more disabled by my balance problems I also acquired than my hearing loss. I saw hearing loss as a communication barrier that I needed to get past while when I have vertigo I have to rely on other people and can't do everything I want to do. I don't like the term differently-abled but I guess that relates best to my hearing. I do things differently than I did before, but I still do them.

Above sonocativo said he/she feels disabled because they are at a loss for jobs... yea but some people still favor men over women for jobs or white over black. It's wrong, but honestly as a photographer I would never hire an assistant who was visually impaired or blind. There are a few situations where I could see some people feel disabled but to me it's just not a good fit for the skills I have. And there are skills I don't have that have nothing to do with my hearing. There's more to the hiring process. I have had a harder time finding a job since my hearing loss but I can't tell if it's because I'm applying for jobs as a 20 year old or the lack of jobs in the US.... pshhh I made my own job, screw the employers out there :D

Through college, I felt blessed to have assistance with "special needs" but I would NEVER want that label attached to me. Same goes with technology - I feel blessed to have enough of a label to get a VP and other benefits for the Deaf HOH but I don't see myself as disabled.
 
for me its a yes and no answer I have APD which means I function at the level of a severely hearing Impaired person most of the time:

the yeses first:

Struggle to hear in groups etc
Can't really hear on the phone so have to use Captel
Figtue is a major issue
Not being Deaf enough for services I need

The nos

Has opened up my world to include the Deaf community as well as the Oral deaf community
My support seeking experiences have the possibility of opening up career opportunities within the D/deaf communities and outside them
Has meant I now have the goal of becoming a total communicator (correct spoken language at the same time as correct sign language)
 
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