There was a huge uproar on Social Media over the weekend among the Deaf Community.

You might be familiar with Nyle DiMarco, the Deaf winner of "America's Next Top Model" and currently competing on "Dancing With The Stars".

The Deaf Community has been strongly supportive of him and his successes and are proud of him representing Deaf Culture and ASL.

Recently the Washington Post featured an article on him and his Foundation that aims at improving Deaf infants’ access to sign language education. Nyle got an invitation to the White House's Correspondents' Dinner where he plans to promote his principles of improving Deaf children's lives.

Great story and great goals eh?

Well....The Alexander Graham bell Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing got wind of it and just HAD to post a rebuttal article called "Dispelling Myths about Deafness"

Sure they "applaud" Nyles' accomplishments, but turn around and criticize pretty much everything the Deaf Community cherishes - American Sign Language.

Here's some excerpts that has the Deaf Community enraged:

I'm not going to go on about why the Deaf Community is hurt and offended, you can read all about it all across social media - #ASLStrong #AGBell #AGBellLies, from NAD, from Gaulladet and various other blogging sites.

To me this article basically states that ASL is NOT viable and is a waste of time. Oralism is the way to go and will make your child "a successful part of hearing culture".

​*Raises hand* Uh?? I beg to differ.

I was born deaf to hearing parents, one of the 95% AGBell quoted. Of course doctors back then pushed the misconceived notion (but one that AGBell still advocates and pushes) that I never be taught sign language as "she'll never learn to speak". I was fitted with hearing aids and then had years and years of speech and aural therapy, some fun ones initiated by my folks, some not so fun oones from the school system.

So, speech therapy from 2 years old until I was about 15 years old, my speech should be pretty damn good by now? Sure, people tell me I that speak "very well", But I still wonder why no one can understand my freakin' name when I introduce myself?? They hear "T C" "Radee", "CeeCee" "ChiChi". I've given up and have to say "It's Tracy....like Spencer Tracy" (or Tracy Morgan if you're too young to know who's the first).

I've also had aural therapy those years too, with powerful Phonic Ear hearing aids, listening to words and sounds over and over again and repeating them. I excelled at this, BUT all that work does NOT imitate "real life". No one in their right mind has one word sentences like "popcorn", "cowboy", "hot dog", "baseball" in a conversation!

I was mainstreamed in public school where there were other deaf or hard of hearing students and I had a few friends, but I was isolated and alone in the hearing classroom because there were no other deaf students my age. I suffered intense bullying from the other hearing kids. I was never part of any hearing kid's birthday party, outing or did after school activities. I holed up in my room with my pile of library books and shut the rest of the world out. I then begged my parents to start High School at the Deaf Institute because "they're the same as me".

I got a Cochlear Implant at 35 years old, I've been tested to have a "mild hearing loss". I can hear and identify a lot of environmental sounds, I've been tested for speech discrimination at about 70 - 80% in the booth. Which again I think is unrealistic because it's a completely quiet environment with a one word list or very simple sentences. It does not imitate reality at all. In the real world, my speech discrimination is pretty much 0%. I cannot understand you unless I'm facing you to lipread, and in a bright, quiet room.

If I'm one-on-one with a Hearing person I can manage pretty well, talking, lipreading and understanding. But, throw in a second person or a group, a noisy dark restaurant, noisy car, traffic, mall noise, or any other real-world situations and I'm lost.

I've been out of the work force since 2005, with sporadic work before that mainly due to headhunters' inability to look past my disabilities.

So is that being "a successful part of hearing culture"? I don't think so.

​Now let's flip the coin...

I went to a Deaf Institute for High School. I slowly learned ASL through those years. I attended Madonna University which has a strong support services system for Deaf students with plenty of interpreters and notetakers and the like. I had a lot of Deaf friends and attended social events. I could be in a noisy bar with a group of Deaf people signing and still understand what was going on.

After University I joined a Deaf Club, where I was a member for over 15 years until I moved away. I held various positions on their Board of Directors. I was also on the Deaf Dart League and was part of several Provincial and National Deaf Dart Tournament teams.

I have a hearing husband and have 2 hearing kids who are teenagers now. They know how to sign, the kids have been signing since they were 8 months old. Because of ASL at an early age, they were way ahead in their speech, language and reading levels than their peers throughout their school years.

Nowadays when I go to doctor's appointments, meetings, and such, I prefer to use a ASL interpreter.. Mainly because I feel comfortable and more at ease with Sign Language than dealing with the stress of misunderstandings, impatient and frustrated people, the headache and eyestrain of having to listen and lipread.

I'm now a freelance writer, and currently in the process of a job interview to be an ASL tutor.

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Now, I'm not going to criticize your choice for your child, that's a very personal and private matter.

I just wanted to show you the two sides - Oralism vs. ASL, that AGBell is not revealing to you.

​Be willing to look past the "inspiration porn" of cochlear implant activations and AGBell's Youtube videos of "successful" kids and seek out the dark side, there are videos out there to watch that counteract AGBell's stance.

Look for #WhyISign on Facebook filled with stories from hearing parents, hearing grandparents, deaf people, and deaf children showing why they chose ASL.

No ASL is not in decline and will always be around as long as there are Deaf people.

What it means to be Deaf has not changed for the thousands and thousands of us who are.

So, that's my story, I'm open to any questions you may have, just .

Tracy,
​ ​​"One finds limits by pushing them" ~ Herbert Simon

American Sign Language (ASL) is a beautiful vibrant language that uses hand motions, facial expressions and body language to convey its message

​ASL has consistently been the third largest language used  in the United States. So you’ve eagerly jumped on the learning bandwagon, but several lessons later you can’t figure out why you’re not a fluent signer or “reader”.

Here’s 5 reasons why you’re lousy at sign language:

1. You expect it to be like English

You go into class assuming it’s a translation of English and it’ll be easy to learn.

ASL has its own grammar system which means there are rules for phonology, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics. A simple explanation would be the difference in sentence structure. For example, in English “The girl kicked the ball” would be signed as “Ball, Girl kick”.

It takes just as long to learn American Sign Language as it does any other language like Spanish or German. It takes even longer to start “thinking in ASL” and stop using English grammar rules as you sign.

2. You’re not meeting other Signers

You take all the lessons, but go a long while before meeting a Deaf person or another signer, then struggle to sign or understand the other person.

Simply put, "if you don't use it, you lose it." If you really want to remember how to sign you need to keep ASL constant in your life. Watch videos, movies, find a Skype or FaceTime partner to sign with, go to Deaf clubs and events. Or even try a great online service called SignOn C.P.R. which connects you to Deaf ASL experts where you can practice one on one.

Secondly, if you're not around Deaf people, you will not build up your receptive skills (watching and understanding others signing) as well as never experiencing Deaf culture in all its glory.

3. You got a lousy teacher

Whether you take classes at a college, library, or online, it’s hard to verify that the instructor is qualified and capable of teaching. Unless they’ve been certified by the American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA), you’re pretty much left to the whims of a stranger.

There are also countless Youtube videos out there posted by students eager to teach, but end up showing the incorrect signs. So if they’re teaching wrong then you’re learning wrong.

Also don’t expect to get your signs right if you’re learning from a book. It’s pretty difficult to express a moving sign in a flat picture.

4. You’re not “Expressive”

As I mentioned earlier, ASL is an expressive language using facial expressions and body language.

The emotional impact of a message is conveyed in the movements, the more rapid or bigger the movements, the more excited or angry the person is. This is hard for non-signers to understand as one website’s headline states “Bizarre Sign Language Interpreter Steals Show”. If the interpreter stood still and quietly signed, that to Deaf people is akin to listening to Ben Stein speak – flat and boring.

So learn to relax and let the expressions flow, but don’t go the other extreme either and exaggerate everything either, especially with mouth enunciation.

5. You might be “Dyslexic”

There are a few people that have “Sign Language Dyslexia” as some Signers call it. They just cannot understand another signer no matter how much they study ASL.
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One way you could overcome this is to stand next to the signer instead of face-to-face. Watch them sign from behind, just like you would see your own signing.

You may also overcome this by sticking with one other signer for a while and learn their "accent" (Yes Deaf people have signing accents). This may help develop your receptive skills and then you can add another person and study them, and so on.

No matter the reason why you’re a lousy signer, please don’t give up! The Deaf Community needs more people who can understand their language, are willing to try to communicate, and enjoy Deaf Culture.

Sure, there’ll be a few Deaf people that will be harsh and critical of your signing, but just ignore them. This “ASL Police”, as we call them, are critical of other Deaf people’s signing too and do it to fill their own arrogant needs.

So be patient, keep learning, and have fun!

Tracy,
​ ​​"One finds limits by pushing them" ~ Herbert Simon

Do you have a Deaf patient at your medical office or hospital?

Need to know how to help them?

Need to understand their communication needs?

Wonder why they're reluctant, frustrated, skipping appointments?

Read all about it in this article.

Feel free to share this article with everyone.

Tracy,
​ ​​"One finds limits by pushing them" ~ Herbert Simon

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This is why many movie theaters are reluctant to turn the captions on during their movies. It's not difficult to do as it's just a matter of pushing a button. But too many "hearing" people complain that it's annoying. Well geez thanks on making it more difficult for us!

Life always has it's hurdles, barriers and mountains to face.

There's no escaping that fact, unless you're a wuss and don't dare challenge anyone or anything in your life. If this is you, I suggest you pay attention.

I frequently meet people, with and without disabilities, that comment on not being able to do something they'd like to do; are afraid to try something new; are giving up on a dream, or just plain old "I can't do that".

I ask them "Why not?"

Then I get the barrage of excuses:
"I'm disabled"
"I don't have the money"
"I don't know how"
"I'm too scared to"

I roll my eyes and ask "So?"

There's a vast array of information out there and the World Wide Web to find it all. Whether it's looking for money for education, or your idea, learning how to do something, forums and groups with like-minded people to share and learn with, and so on and on.

Whether you try to jump straight to your dream and are discouraged when you fail, or are overwhelmed just looking up at that "mountain", the secret is to start small. You want to be a CEO? Great! Start in the mailroom. Break down your dream into smaller manageable steps, gain experience and be patient.

Plus there are those, like me, who just don't know what their dreams are, haven't found their "passion" or talents. Then dabble! Try a bunch of different things and jobs to discover what you enjoy and have a knack for. There are a lot of courses available at your local Parks and Recreation department, college, and library. Go through the course listing and see if anything jumps out and go try it! You'll never know if something ignites your spark hmm?

​Next I get those negative comments:
"It's too hard"
"There's too many barriers"
"I can't"

It didn't stop these people:

Shira Kochavi, a deaf woman who achieved her dream of becoming an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces.
​Tim Harris, a man with Down's Syndrome who runs his own restaurant. 
​Haben Girma, not just the first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, but she's trying new things like surfing.
​Esref Armagan, born without eyes, follows his passion and creates paintings.

"But you said you don't like it when we get inspired by people with disabilities"

I said I don't want us to be your inspiration just because we're doing everyday things in our lives. ​Be inspired by us, or anyone, that challenge ourselves, challenge the system, get out of our comfort zones, and chase our dreams.

So, don't give up!

Tracy,
 ​​"One finds limits by pushing them" ~ Herbert Simon

After reading this news story online this morning it made me think of this e-card. It's 2016 people!!

Have a good weekend,
Tracy
​​"One finds limits by pushing them" ~ Herbert Simon