sarah-is-a-person

[sarah-is-a-person]

Once my friend Henry was accused of wearing wireless headphones by a substitute so she said for him to hand them over so he took them off and handed them to her. Then later on she asked him a question and he didn’t respond so she said it louder and he still didn’t respond. She asked why he was not responding and he said “I can’t understand you ma'am, you took my hearing aids.”

[sarah-is-a-person]

Reblog if you think there needs to be more Deaf representation in mainstream media

I want to prove a point.

also what form of media do you want to see ASL more present in? Books? Movies? Tv?

[sarah-is-a-person]

— he woke up.

[sarah-is-a-person]

Where are Jess’s writings? I’d love to give it a read! Hope you’re doing well

Ty honey 😘 Soz just saw ur reply n gave u a mention instead xo

[sarah-is-a-person]

[sarah-is-a-person]

Lipreading

Lipreading doesn’t really work if you can’t hear at all, but if you can hear some, then you kind of end up lipreading and manage to make out stuff easier with seeing lips.

Like with a lot of sounds, they look the same. I can think of one example, go to a mirror and say “pat a bat on a mat” in an ordinary way.. Then do it really exaggerated. You’ll probably notice that first off, it’s pretty hard to say…… But also, it’s pretty hard to see the difference… and saying it exaggerated doesn’t change that.

To some deaf persons, a lot of that example would look like you’re just repeating a word over and over… This is basically how most of spoken language is like. A lot of shit said over and over. It’s like the phrase “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo”.. You don’t really understand what’s said even if there’s imposed meaning.

As a HoH person, I can go off some things though, there’s a lot of shit that blends together… And lipreading sort of distinguishes it for me. I heard only bits of sentences… Sometimes it’s more “I can hear there is sound, but jut not what exactly it is”… Like I can hear tone of voice or what kind of sound there is.

It’s kind of hard to really put words on it, but I’m going to try. When I hear and see someone speak, if someone were to say something, I would hear syllables, and I would hear some consonant… And lip movement often puts it together in my head.

But whilst this might be the case… This isn’t magic. It’s just that moreso I go off what I can hear, and lipreading becomes a distinguisher… But what must be understood is, most of lipreading relies on context and cues, and also actually hearing some things that distinguish words from each other.

Lipreading requires context and visual cues, and I would even argue some hearing, to really work. I use it basically only when it’s noisy in the environment I’m in, because that’s when I’m forced to.

[sarah-is-a-person]

Everyday is Education Day

Especially when it comes to explaining the proper terminology of d/Deaf/HoH.

I have been called hearing impaired countless of times. No matter how much I clarify people that hearing impaired is an insult to us who are d/Deaf/HoH they still keep saying that term.

Hearing Impaired sounds like us d/Deaf/HoH are “broken” that we need to be “fixed”. There is nothing wrong with us. We just can’t hear. Audiologist, Doctors, and other medical professions use this term - it’s an ‘ancient’ terminology that I wish wasn’t used any more. But, some people who do have hearing loss, don’t mind this term. But it is important to ask the d/Deaf/HoH person what THEY preferred to be called.

Deaf - Capital Deaf means someone who is involved/raised in the Deaf Community/Culture/World and uses Sign Language as their mode of communication.

deaf - lowercase deaf means someone who has hearing loss.

deafened - those who lose/lost their hearing later in life.

Hard of Hearing (HoH/HH) - someone who has some residue hearing, can voice or use Sign Language or both. May uses asisstive devices in daily life (Hearing aids, Cochlear implant(s), BAHA, FM System, amplified phones, etc).

But this doesn’t mean that ONLY HoH people use assistive devices or are involved in only Hearing world. They can be involved in Deaf world too but identify as HOH. Same goes for d/Deaf - they may use HAs,CIs,BAHA, and assistive devices as well. 

It depends on the individual and what they prefer to be identified as. Don’t assume all d/Deaf/HoH people know Sign Language, some may voice too. Don’t assume ALL d/Deaf/HoH people use HAs/CIs/BAHA.

When meeting someone who is d/Deaf/HOH, ask what they prefer: to be called d/Deaf/HOH/(rare)HI, use paper/pen, Sign Language, voice, lipread. Don’t just assume. 

I could write an essay on this. But Please just remember to ask, don’t assume. 

[sarah-is-a-person]

When your friends make sure that the closed captions are on, without you asking. That’s the best kind of friends.

[sarah-is-a-person]

[sarah-is-a-person]

this user has partial hearing loss

[sarah-is-a-person]

So you think I can hear..?

 “You’re not really d/Deaf/HOH, you hear me just fine.”

If I had a dime for everyone who’s ever told me that…                                       Here’s what’s more than likely happening during what you perceive as me “hearing”:

1. I’m relying solely on social cues. Luckily for us d/Deaf/HOH, 93% of communicaton is non-verbal. Basically if you laugh, I laugh, and no one ever knows I missed the joke (..again).

2. I’ve known the speaker for a long time. We all have those topics we can (and do) talk about for hours on end. And the longer I’ve known you, the better I’ll be able to use your favorite topics to figure out what you’re saying.

3. ‘Neutral’ answers. “Yeah”, “No”, “I don’t know”, “Yeah, I get that”.. I’ve got a whole list of responses that can easily trick you into believing I have some idea of what you’re saying.

4. Mad Libs. Did you ever play mad libs as a kid? You know the one.. every so many words you insert a random one and you get a story that doesn’t make any sense? Yeah, being d/Deaf/HOH is pretty much just like that. 

5. Silence. You probably didn’t notice, you almost never do, but I haven’t said a word in 20 minutes. I gave up on trying to understand this conversation a long time ago and I’m really just planning what I’m gonna eat later.

6. Again with the social cues. Remember that whole non-verbal communication thing? Yeah, I probably use it even more than you do. Head nodding, and smiling works like a charm to get a girl through your incoherent story telling.

7. Just this once.. On this rare occasion I actually heard what you said; that happens sometimes.. But you’re still a jerk for dismissing my struggles, feelings, and identity. 

[sarah-is-a-person]

Reblog if 2017 is the year we stop interrogating d/Deaf/HoH people

If a d/Deaf/HoH person tells you that they are d/Deaf/HoH, you believe them. No questions asked.

If a d/Deaf/HoH person wants to communicate orally with/or without lip reading, using sign language, gesturing, cued speech, using their cell phone, or pen and paper, you respect their decision. No questions asked.

If a d/Deaf/HoH person speaks, do not comment on the “quality” or “tone” of their speech. If they choose to speak to communicate that’s their choice, no matter how it may sound to you. No compliments given, no criticism given, and again, no questions asked.

If a d/Deaf/HoH people talks/listens on the phone, uses hearing aids/cochlear implants, speaks clearly, grew up hearing, reads lips, etc, you will respect what they tell you about their being d/Deaf/HoH. No questions asked.

2017 is already an amazing year for equality, support, solidarity, and inclusion. Let’s band together to make the lives of d/Deaf/HoH people a little easier, and allow them to breathe easier when communicating with hearing people. 

Please reblog and add your own “d/Deaf/HoH No Questions asked”! I want to see what y’all have to say! 

Keep reading

[sarah-is-a-person]

Stop Craptions.

Okay so I’ve made a post about this before but this is just getting ridiculous. Actually, the post I made before regards the same freaking video I’m going to talk about now. This has to do with closed captioning. After my little rant in my other post about how big youtubers like Markiplier and Jacksepticeye have people writing captions for them and inserting stupid jokes and unnecessary commentary, there were edits made to the CC in the video I specifically talked about. A good start, but not revolutionary. 

I went back to watch that video tonight because it’s one of my favourite videos, and the captions have somehow gotten WORSE. Not only is there stupid commentary, but now there’s jokes that are actually offensive. 

(For context, they are doing the Whisper Challenge).

For YEARS people in the Deaf community have been trying to end the stigma/stereotype of deaf = dumb and then this BS rolls around. I’m just.. I’m just so done.

I shouldn’t have to turn the CC off for some of my favourite youtubers simply because they’re obnoxious, distracting, and/or offensive. I shouldn’t have to struggle to understand videos because I had to turn the CC off. So, to those who write captions for youtubers, please do it right oh my god. If you want to add commentary, do so in the comments like you’re supposed to. Otherwise you’re ruining it for a lot of people, and not just in the Deaf community. People who don’t have English as their first language, people with auditory processing disorder, people with ADD, etc. You’re ruining their youtube experience “for the lolz”. 

I just wish youtube had regulations for CC like television does. This shouldn’t be an issue. 

For more information about CC and “craptions”, check out @rikkipoynter​. 

[sarah-is-a-person]

When the closed captions are stuck on something said 15 minutes earlier in the show

[sarah-is-a-person]

Ren from Deaf West’s Spring Awakening going IN.

(Source: 11 Things You Should Know About Deaf People)

[sarah-is-a-person]

[sarah-is-a-person]