Comments on Busy Hands: Audism

I can see how it would be very frustrating to have...

2009-04-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

I can see how it would be very frustrating to have your own family not sign on Thanksgiving Day.
I am an ASL student attending College. I have previously taken ASL classes in highschool and I am glad to know about the Deaf Community. On the comment about how hearing people will talk when they are around Deaf people, say a Deaf Activity, I have a new awarness about not talking infront of Deaf people. I mean I already know that it is rude, but I do slip up sometimes. Sorry.
I will say this on behalf of hearing people though English is my 1st Language Not 2nd. Just like your native tung is ASL, mine is Engilsh!
Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

-Jennifer Gates
West Jordan, Utah

The way you conveyed your feelings left little roo...

2008-09-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

The way you conveyed your feelings left little room for questioning the struggles someone has communicating with their family and friends. Though I'll never be able to comprehend what you feel, I now at least have a really good idea about it. I remember talking to an interpreter (facing them) to ask my deaf classmate a question, and how it hurt her that I didn't make any eye contact. I didn’t understand that I left her out. I guess I felt like it would have been rude to leave the interpretor out?
The reason I stumbled upon your site, was for an assignment for my ASL 1 class that I am taking at the University of Alaska Anchorage. I'm supposed to write a response to articles about the Deaf community for my class. I learned so much from you, and I don't think I could have gotten the meaning of Audism fully had I of read an article on it that was written by a reporter (who most likely hears.) Having it come from you is so much more educational than any newspaper column could hope to be. You have the facts. No one who hears could possibly understand the barrier you have.
I hope more people come across your story, because it made a huge impact on how I will communicate, especially in groups for the future. Leaving out a family member, especially childen, really hinders the quality of their relationships. But that could go for parents who hear, with hearing children as well. Children with ‘disabilities’ aren’t the only ones left out at the dinner table, that’s for sure. I can see it happening to you more than me of course because I know what they’re saying at the dinner table while they’re leaving me out.

But believe me, some of us who hear really wish we could be deaf sometimes.

Sincerely,
Jennica
United States, Alaska

This is to anonymous number 3,That isn't a quote f...

2008-07-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is to anonymous number 3,

That isn't a quote from my post. You must have gotten that from the article I linked to. Which said some things I may have or not have agreed with.

Also I wasn't talking about hearing people in general I was talking about FAMILY MEMBERS and friends who claim to be my friends who would hang out with me on a regular basis. HUGE DIFFERENCE there. I don't expect the world to learn how to sign. It sure would be nice but yeah never going to happen!

Also with my friends/family members it's not like I don't try to teach them how to sign. I DO. Even the ones who know how to sign will more often NOT sign in a group setting because the majority can speak and hear even though I am there.

Anyway my post wasn't intended to seem as if I was pointing my fingers at people but to simply express frustration and how I can identify with the "family's dog" term.

Hi! I'm taking ASL courses for the first time thi...

2008-07-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm taking ASL courses for the first time this summer, which brought this new term "audism" into my vocabulary. I read your post and the article you suggested and was both sympathetic and offended by the statements made.

Let me ask you this: If the majority of the population were deaf and not hearing, would you make the effort to learn to read lips or vocalize?
Not likely. ESPECIALLY if the hearing community didn't actively participate with/engage the deaf. In fact, you would probably expect the hearing person to learn to sign.

It's likely that most deaf people have been surrounded by hearing people on more than a few occasions. Many hearing people do not have the opportunity to even meet ONE deaf person so learning to communicate with them is foreign! It's THE DEAF COMMUNITY'S responsibility to facilitate education programs! Your community is so small and often so exclusive that hearing aren't given the opportunity to meet you and thus learn from you. This doesn't excuse alienation from hearing, but it accounts for why it occurs and how you can put an end to it!

"Every single audiologist & speech teacher in the world is an audist, period. If he/she truly realizes that their very position is a result of audism, then he/she would have the wisdom to make a career change."

That's a quote from your article, and I vehemently disagree. That statement is OUTRAGEOUS. It's like saying a teacher of sign language to the hearing is prejudiced, too! Aside from the fact that audiology and speech/language pathology are much broader than interacting with the deaf community, these are HIRED professionals! It is important that they exist so the deaf have the opportunity to communicate however they wish! Shouldn't a true proponent for deaf rights desire MORE choices instead of less?????? Why is learning to communicate in a way aside from ASL so awful??? It doesn't make sense. The choice lies with the varied preferences/interests/ambitions of the deaf person.

In any case. Interesting read. I'm going to be reading a lot more on the topic and plan on having presenters come to our college campus to promote awareness.

Hello, I came across your blog while doing researc...

2008-02-20T16:37:00.000-08:00

Hello, I came across your blog while doing research for a paper about audism that i'm writing for my ASL class. I'm going to school at the University at Buffalo for Audiology and have been trying to learn as much as i can about Deaf Culture. I've found your blog to be very interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing your experiences with the rest of us out here in cyberspace ;)

Your blog article is very well written. I can unde...

2007-04-30T00:54:00.000-07:00

Your blog article is very well written. I can understand 100% your situation, I went through the same thing myself.

It got so bad to the point where one day, at age 16, on Thanksgiving Day, I realized that even though every one (hearing) at the table knew sign language, they didn't use it. They left me out. I stood up and glared at everybody and said "Fuck you all. All of you know how to sign, yet you don't include me. You call yourselves family members? Shame on you! Fuck you all!"

And I stormed out. My family members tried to apologize, but I refused their apology. There just was no excuse for it.

When my son was born, we discovered he was Deaf! We both were overjoyed, as we thought we would have a hearing child... Since everyone in our family was hearing.

So, we set up house rules. We told our parents that they will be kicked out of the house if they speak to our son without signing. We also told them that we will not accept fake telephone toys, fake radio toys, or other such toys with sounds for our Deaf son.

My mother kept disrespecting me and talking verbally to our Deaf son. That day, I just lost it and screamed at the top of my lungs "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FUCKING HOUSE NOW!"

And my mom tried to resist me and tried to stay in the house. I grabbed her by the shirt and personally escorted her out of the house and slammed the door in her face. I refused to talk to her for the longest time.

Finally, I let her back in another time. Rest assured, she signed to our son, and to this day continues to do so.

Audism will continue to happen until we put our foot down, and say "We will not accept this shit"

Best Regards,
Erick Ketcham
(The author of the audism article)

Yep, that's the way it is...I love my cat so much....

2006-11-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's the way it is...I love my cat so much..I've grown up with cats thats why... just discovered your blog...let me read more...seems like I will follow your blog regularly.