I was not born deaf.

It happened when I was four.

I had two bouts of spinal meningitis.

My mother spent years searching for the right schools for me to attend.

All her hard work was worth her time and mine.

Without my mom, I would not be where I am today.

Speech therapy, both the school and my mom worked hard with me.

I hated it so much but for today I speak like no one would notice.

I didn’t grow up in a deaf school, or a deaf community.

I didn’t use sign language during my childhood years.

During my high school years where I attended was a public school, I met some deaf people who lived in my area.

I learned pieces of the American Sign Language.

It took years before I actually used it.

My children did not grow up to learn signs with me.

I did get my GED….that was the easy part for me.

I wanted more.

An education for my future.

I put it off to raise a family.

Had four beautiful daughters.

They are now adults pursuing their own futures.

I made it through college and got my BA degree.

I am proud of my efforts and determinations.

I do not believe that anything shall stop me from achieving many goals I have on my list.

Life has been good to me.

God has been good to me.

I have kept my faith in my life and it is the reason why I have accomplished so much.

I might be deaf, but it never stops me from trying anything!

I have had to endure a lot of humiliation and betrayal over the years amongst some old friends and new.

They learned the hard way…and they treated me with respect in the long run.

I have my moments of miscommunications, and that is the normal part of my life because I can only lip-read, not hear the letters that get spoken about.

I have endured so many jobs in my lifetime, yet many Managers, Supervisors, etc have yet to learn anything about working with the deaf.

Deaf are generally the hardest working people and all they ever do is keep on trying, and not many companies give them a chance at all.

We deaf people are humans just like the rest of you.

We make mistakes, we learn from them, the same way the rest of the world does.

Deaf people have to endure the pains of people harassing, bullying and teasing us.

Many claim we make excessive excuses about being deaf, yet we do not.

People do not stop and take the time to listen and learn HOW we do such things.

It is an individual thing among the public and we have only been able to reach out to approximately 10% of the world’s population in understanding how the deaf live.

Deaf is like a much hidden disability and very unheard of by many.

Blind and wheelchair bound people have the most visible disability on earth.

The blind and the wheelchair bound people have more privileges and more people help them.

The number of Deaf people equals the number of blind and wheelchair bound people together.

Being deaf is not a physical disadvantage….it is a hearing disadvantage.

We just cannot HEAR.

We have alternative ways to hear.

We have special equipment that helps us answer the phone and use the phone.

We have special ways to get up in the morning by an alarm clock and other equipment among our homes.

We ARE ABLE TO TEACH you a lesson or two when we get hired.

It is a very sad society we live in because so many people tend to tell themselves: “The deaf are too hard to work with or the deaf are too much of a hassle and very costly.”

It is a shame that they say that because they get Tax Credit from the government for hiring those with deafness and they also get tax credit for upgrading to accompany the needs of the disabled.

There are resources out there that will come in and educate the Employer on how to work with them.

So what is the problem?

This world we live in just doesn’t have the time to sit down and listen and learn from us.

The words “Deaf and Dumb” lack the proper labeling.

Deaf is correct since we cannot hear properly or at all.

Dumb is not the correct word and is used as if the person is not able to speak.

Deaf people are sometimes able to speak, but only through a number of different ways.

Sign-language is one.

Lip-reading is another.

Body gestures also help.

We are afraid to use our voices because we sound funny in the way we speak; our tones are out of wack in many ways.

We strive to do our best.

We smile more often than any other person cares to.

We want a real world, a place to work in, a freedom to choose and a country that will give us greater chances at challenging and teaching our country what deaf culture is all about.

We pray that God will help us get through all of this.