For the last day of #DeafAwarenessMonth (#DeafAcceptanceMonth) a thread of greatest hits:
1. Yes, I can drive--with my eyes. Studies show that many deaf people (particularly signing Deaf people) have better spacial awareness and quicker response times, so we can use our peripheral vision to see what's around us even if we don't hear your horn or whatever.
2. I don't read braille. Most deaf people don't read braille. DeafBlind people may read braille. Braille is different than signed language.
3. "Sign language" isn't universal. There are 200+ in the world, created organically by their Deaf communities. American Sign Language (ASL) is different than British (BSL) or Australian (Auslan) signed languages b/c it has nothing to do with English. 4
4. Signed languages were created by Deaf people, not invented by hearing people to "help" us. Also, if you feel the need to ask why we don't all just use one language, first ask yourself why all hearing people don't speak Esperanto. There's your answer.
5. Yes, deaf people are "allowed" to get married. Sigh.
However, Alexander Graham Bell, among other things, mounted a campaign to try and stop us. It's also true that internationally deaf people still face forced sterilization, and other familial injustices.
However, Alexander Graham Bell, among other things, mounted a campaign to try and stop us. It's also true that internationally deaf people still face forced sterilization, and other familial injustices.
6. Yes, my ears still get cold in winter. They're attached to my head. 🤷
7. "You're too cute to be deaf" or "you speak so well!" aren't compliments, they're just admissions that you expect deafness to be ugly (whatever that means) and think speech is a superior methodology.
8. Speech is different than language. You can make a bunch of incoherent babbling sounds and be speaking. That's not language. Likewise, signers aren't "nonverbal." Verbal actually means using language, not using speech. Remember this come IEP time.
9. I like music. Lots of deaf people do. We hear it, read lyrics, feel it, or some combo thereof. So you can keep your "I would just die without music" comments on the inside! 🙃
9.5 Also, please stop telling us you met a deaf dog once. We do not care, and we do not go around telling you about all the brunette dogs we once met...
10. Deaf people aren't a monolith. We have lots of different experiences, ways of communicating, preferences. A good way to find out is to talk to US, not parents of, people who "work with us," or randos on the internet. Real, live 🧏🏼 people. Here we are! 👋🏼 #DeafAwarenessMonth
Oh, and if you want to learn a bit more about the systemic nature of the discrimination and oppression deaf people face, this oldie is still one of my favorite essays that I've written #DeafAwarenessMonth guernicamag.com/sara-novic-sig…
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