Today's Quote of the Day comes from Sharron Angle, an American Politician from Nevada. I like this quote because I believe it's true. You may not know your purpose or plan, but there's one for you no matter what situation you're in. Be patient, be determined and pursue it!
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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

~ Stephen Hawking

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

I like this quote because it means you have to be assertive and proactive in your needs. Whether you're facing discrimination, barriers, or ignorance, you need to know how to address it and solve it.

Too many times I watch vlogs or read stories about people complaining, hence whining, about hardships, about discrimination they endured, about barriers they faced in their daily lives, and so on and all I want to say is "What are you going to do about it?"

Yes it's a good idea to share your experiences as a way to educate others, but you also need to share how you solved the problem or propose a solution, otherwise it comes off as whining.

Be assertive, positive, and proactive in your life!

I was scrolling through Quora, a question-and-answer website where questions are asked, answered, and edited by users.

Of course I look up questions people have asked about Deafness, Blindness & Deafblindness.

There were some legitimate questions asked such as:

"What percentage of blind people are unemployed?"

Great question, according to the National Federation of the Blind, there's about 59.8% of blind people that are unemployed.

"How do blind people learn advanced mathematics?"

Blind people who use Braille can use the Nemeth Code which is designed for encoding math.

"Can a person with hearing loss "hear" an inner voice?"

If that person has some hearing, they'll "hear" in their sounds, some others who are lipreaders actually can visualize lips moving. Other fully deaf people see their inner voice visually in sigh language

"How does a deaf person indicate to someone that they're deaf?"

Well if the person noticed the deaf person isn't responding to them, that would be an indication that they're deaf. Many Deaf people start signing or gesturing for a "pen and paper". Others might cover an ear and shake their head "no".

"Can deafblind people use Facebook and other Apps?"

Yep, with a smartphone and refreshable Braille display, or a computer with a refreshable braille display, many deafblind people connect with the social world online. Although I read blind friends comments online that sometimes Facebook and other Apps are unaccessible for Braille readers. 

"What is a deafblind person's experience of Nature?"

Like I always say deafblindness isn't always "completely deaf, completely blind". They can use whatever senses they have like touch and smell to experience everything.

Then there are these questions:

"A boy loves a girl who is deaf, blind, dumb and uneducated and wants to marry her. How can he propose to her without touching her?"

Oh goodgawd seriously? I hope this is just research for a novel or something. First learn the proper terminology - "deaf, blind, dumb and uneducated" is a big no-no! Just call them Deafblind or deaf and blind, period. Many deafblind people do have an education, and some, like me, are certainly not mute! So, to answer this I'd suggest he text her or have someone transcribe a poem and proposal into Braille for her. But even better would be tactile sign language, deafblind people connect to others by touch, so how can you express love without touch?

"What things can deafblind people with both arms broken do?"

Whatever possessed you to think of this? In the rare chance that this would happen, I hope their hands would still be somewhat free to still be able to tactile sign and feel around.

"Why do deaf people still talk with their hands when they can just text each other?"

Why am I reading this in a California Valley Girl voice? "Like? Ok?" *head tilt* First off Deaf people would still communicate in their first language, usually ASL, which is easier and more natural, uses facial expressions and body language as well as signs. Secondly, texting takes twice as long, doesn't convey emotions and expressions well and doesn't offer the same emotional and spiritual connection that socializing in person would.

"Would a deaf person feel sorrow for not being able to hear the sound of running water?"

Would you feel sorrow for never being in outer space? (Ok for the 552 of you who have, Hush!) For deaf people, this pretty much wouldn't cross their mind. We're too busy dealing with our daily lives to care about mindless thoughts like these.

"Do blind people know about cinema?"
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You obviously haven't read any news about television and theater descriptive services, or seen signs at the theater or on your TV screen saying this. It's basically an audio option that describes the scenes in between dialogue. There's even a Blind Movie Critic.

"Would a blind person know they were blind if no one told them?"

​Unlike stupid people who can go through life oblivious to their own stupidity and how it affects those around them, disabled people can tell they are "different" from everyone else. It starts in childhood where they notice their peers doing things differently than them, hearing, seeing, walking, etc. Secondly they notice in the way that others treat them, usually not in a positive way either.

Like I've said in my old post, I don't mind answering curious questions from people, but please think them through! Think about how it would be perceived.

So yeah there's going to be some snarkiness, not because people with disabilities are mean and hateful, we've heard these questions countless times and it's "here we go again"

So here's to the scary world of ignorance out there, may you continue to be a source of humor, jaw-dropping dumbfoundedness & teeth-grating.

But in true reality we all wish ignorance would go away for good. Because with ignorance comes barriers, discrimination, hate, fear, misunderstanding, and hardship.

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

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