[sasi] Deaf Culture

Dianne B. Phelps d.bphelps at comcast.net
Fri Mar 9 19:50:15 EST 2012 

Mike,

You are not unusual in this. I am told that people who have never used
Braille or who lose their vision later in life don't take to it well at all.
Many won't even learn to use a white cane or a dog and just stop going out
which, I think, is so sad. Braille is something which should be learned in
school or as I did, my work needed Braille. So, I finished learning it as an
adult. Besides, you do just fine. I have seen your work and know you have it
together.

Sending happy smiles,

Dianne

-----Original Message-----
From: sasi-bounces at acb.org [mailto:sasi-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of
jeffrey
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 4:45 PM
To: sasi, (sight and sound impaired) discussion list
Subject: Re: [sasi] Deaf Culture

don't know braille
relied on vision and/or hearing all my life
at age 70 i'm not about to learn braille
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Keithley" <mlkeithley at comcast.net>
To: <sasi at acb.org>
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 7:49 PM
Subject: Re: [sasi] Deaf Culture


> How about braille?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: jeffrey <jeffl989898 at verizon.net>
> To: "sasi, \(sight and sound impaired\) discussion list" <sasi at acb.org>,
> Date: Monday, Mar 5, 2012 09:36:03 AM
> Subject: Re: [sasi] Deaf Culture
>
>>
>>
>> sorry cindy,
>> my term vegetable was meant to reflect my feelings
>> when i lost my hearing with the CI as a result
>> of infection on 5 different occasions during
>> which time i could not use my CI for 10 days each time
>> which for the first time in my life
>> left me without vision (which left me about 10 years ago) or hearing 
>> (which
>> left me in 2008)
>> and that is exactly how i felt, nothing to do
>> no communications of any kind with anyone or anything,
>> just sleep, eat, and think of the days of the past, nothing
>> to live for but everything to die for, it was a living death.
>>
>> thank god i have been infection free for 13 months now.
>> the CI gives me music appreciation, up to 90% speech descrimination and I

>> am
>> able to
>> go for walks with my incredible docker,
>> use the telephone, use jaws on the computer, listen to the news
>> and so on.
>> Jeff with the moste incredible docker
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Cindy Flerman" <cflerman at verizon.net>
>> To: "sasi, (sight and sound impaired) discussion list" <sasi at acb.org>
>> Sent: Monday, March 05, 2012 11:54 AM
>> Subject: Re: [sasi] Deaf Culture
>>
>>
>> > Hi Jeff,
>> >
>> > Because I don't know ASL and have trouble communicating with deaf or
>> > deaf-blind people who are not oral (I don't know fingerspelling and 
>> > would
>> > only be able to communicate with the old Tellatouch, a braille 
>> > notetaker
>> > like the Apex, possibly a deafblind communicator or some other braille
>> > written form) I don't have an answer to your question.  But I did get 
>> > the
>> > definite sense from the clients I saw and heard about that the ASL 
>> > folks
>> > just wanted to continue with some form of ASL, fingerspelling, etc., 
>> > and
>> > that the more oral folks might go with the cochlear implant.  But this 
>> > is
>> > not my area of expertise.
>> >
>> > Your term "vegetable" disturbs me.  Even with a lack of vision and
>> > hearing, while a person is pursuing a person, he/she still has a mind,
>> > thoughts and
>> > feelings, and these can often be difficult decisions, often having to 
>> > be
>> > made with a lack of knowledge.
>> >
>> > Even though I have contacts via this list, and with HKNC, I feel that
>> > there is a great deal I do not know if I should have to survive at some
>> > time as a deaf-blind person.
>> >
>> >
>> > Cindy Flerman
>> > Original Message ----- 
>> > From: "jeffrey" <jeffl989898 at verizon.net>
>> > To: "sasi, (sight and sound impaired) discussion list" <sasi at acb.org>
>> > Sent: Monday, March 05, 2012 8:02 AM
>> > Subject: Re: [sasi] Deaf Culture
>> >
>> >
>> >> cindy,
>> >> regarding ASL,
>> >> in my view it is not a language but a method of communication as you
>> >> stated
>> >> it is an extension of
>> >> pantomime, more effective and advanced for sure
>> >> but nevertheless a communications tool
>> >> like speech and braille and writing.
>> >> i am curious
>> >> about your experience with deaf people,
>> >> did you ever meet one that was deaf for a good number of years and a
>> >> believer
>> >> in the so called deaf culture and then went blind but
>> >> still refused to go with a cochlear implant
>> >> and remain a vegetable
>> >> because it was the teachings of the deaf culture?
>> >> Jeff and incredible docker
>> >>
>> >> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> >> From: "Cindy Flerman" <cflerman at verizon.net>
>> >> To: <sasi at acb.org>
>> >> Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2012 10:54 PM
>> >> Subject: [sasi] Deaf Culture
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>> Hello,
>> >>>
>> >>> I wanted to comment about the idea of a deaf culture.
>> >>>
>> >>> I don't think this necessarily has to be a controversial issue, at 
>> >>> least
>> >>> the way I see it.  I worked at Braille Institute in Los Angeles for
>> >>> several years, where some of the clients were blind and had hearing
>> >>> impairments ranging from mild to profoundly deaf.  Many of those with
>> >>> little to no hearing had that disability first and then became 
>> >>> visually
>> >>> impaired later, some largely due to RP with Usher's syndrome.  For 
>> >>> some
>> >>> of the clients I saw when I attended a Confident Living week at Helen
>> >>> Keller National Center, it was the same: hearing impairment followed
>> >>> years later by visual impairment. Most of these folks used ASL as 
>> >>> their
>> >>> primary means of communication, and I think that language probably
>> >>> promotes the idea of a deaf culture.  At Braille Institute one of the
>> >>> social workers who does admissions counselling is well versed in many
>> >>> methods of communication for hearing impaired clients and can 
>> >>> probably
>> >>> talk to just about anyone with any degree of hearing impairment, 
>> >>> using
>> >>> any method from conversation to fingerspelling to ASL.  I really 
>> >>> think
>> >>> the term "deaf culture" is often applied to the group that uses ASL,
>> >>> since it really is a particular language for those who use it.  Not
>> >>> being a professional in the field as some of you on this list are, 
>> >>> this
>> >>> is my untrained guess at the situation. I don't think it has anything

>> >>> to
>> >>> do with asking for special favors or the idea of using every tool we 
>> >>> can
>> >>> to be independent.  Perhaps I'm missing something but that's my best
>> >>> guess.
>> >>>
>> >>> Even with visual impairment alone, using every means to accomplish a
>> >>> task can be a great idea.  Sometimes if I can't read a package 
>> >>> direction
>> >>> with a scanner, a website such as
>> >>>
>> >>> http://www.directionsforme.org/
>> >>>
>> >>> or a bar code reader, I try it on the optacon.  If that still doesn't
>> >>> work, then a sighted reader will get the job. In teaching I couldn't 
>> >>> be
>> >>> more in agreement with giving children the widest possible variety of
>> >>> skills, but wonder how common it really is for children to be both 
>> >>> oral
>> >>> with or without a cochlear implant and versed in ASL as well. And 
>> >>> let's
>> >>> just hope someone teaches them adequate braille skills!
>> >>>
>> >>> Just my thoughts.
>> >>>
>> >>> Cindy Flerman
>> >>>
>> >>> _______________________________________________
>> >>> sasi mailing list
>> >>> sasi at acb.org
>> >>> http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/sasi
>> >>
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