Deafness

By Anonymous -
Stop, and listen. What are can you hear right now? I can hear the clicking of my keyboard, the sound of air blowing through the vents, my computer fan and CPU, the wind outside. Yet I was not really aware of them until I forced myself to pay attention. This makes sense becasue there are too many things going on in our surroundings in order for us to always be giving them our full attention; we have to allow certain things to become white noise or we would not be able to focus on the task at hand. However, after hearing Rachel Kolb speak I became acutely aware of how much our society is based on audio communication. Kolb's talk is an encouraging message to the hearing disabled and a wake up call to those who are simply unaware. I was/am a part of the latter category. I did not know that the majority of the parents who have a deaf child do not learn how to communicate with their child. How are you supposed to nurture a child if you cannot communicate? How can you teach them? I also did not know that a good portion of the deaf population are legally illiterate. How did we allow this to happen? Though it is difficult to learn English, there must be a way to learn to read without having to hear it or speak it. Why is ASL not a language option in a many liberal art colleges that preach global outreach and equality for all?
We have been talking about hearing and music in religion and how it provides a deep connection to spiritual things. When people are able to speak/chant/sing in unison it provides a sense of community and connection. However, those without hearing do not, and cannot experience. Thoughts like that make me somber yet so grateful for the simple, yet amazing blessings in my life.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 21, 2015 at 1:30 AM

    Snowballing off of the thoughts you have above, what complications do you think might arise from a romantic relationship in which one of the partners was deaf and one was not. Even if they both knew sign language perfectly, is it possible to have a relationship with no disconnects as a result of the inherent language barrier? What kind of forms of interaction are lost if one is not able to speak the english language to their partner? Does this parallel two people who are in relationships that might not have the same first language as each other?

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