#deaf teens

In general, I really enjoyed the discussions that took place in the video, and even though none of them had the same background as I do, I was able to find a small connection in each of them to relate to.

Christianah, who takes her hearing aids out a lot (hm, reminds me of my childhood and stubborn refusal to accept my hearing loss, although not embrace it like Christianah does). Also in the way that she has frustrations when ordering/talking to strangers in customer service (like a fast food restaurant, hearing the repetition over and over again).

Jake and Adam – talking about employment, which I found heartbreaking. It’s true, but I like to think it’s better now with technology and more communication-based jobs revolving around computers/software. But to hear that he can’t become a pilot, that’s just disheartening.

Meghan, who I found myself relating to more, was a champ. I identified with a lot of her experiences – hearing silence for a month after the CI operation, not really enjoying music in that time period, and the audiologist telling Meghan that it takes time to recognize the sounds eventually – that is absolutely spot on. In addition, her frustration with the education system – having to struggle with lectures in the dark is something I never want to experience again.

Sarah’s educational experience was also illuminating. She relies on a notetaker and interpreter to understand and learn the material – her point about having to watch the interpreter and have a notetaker because she can’t look away to take notes – this is a salient fact many people fail to grasp when it comes to hearing loss support. When she dines with Asher and they explain how they take turns talking/eating – this is a great point of Deaf Culture – there is only one speaker at a time. AT ALL TIMES.