When I first started school, I was the only hard of hearing/ Deaf student in my school. I lived in Bluffton, South Carolina when I was diagnosed with a hearing loss. I was in South Carolina for a couple of years until we moved back to New York. I went to APW, Altmar Parish Williamstown, elementary for about three years then headed to SandyCreekCentralSchool where I graduated in 2016. I was the only deaf person in mainstreamed high schools.

I have a moderate to profound bilateral hearing loss. Within everything in high school, it was hard to be around hearing people even though I had an interpreter who was very helpful. In high school, it was very hard to understand some people sometimes because they would talk really fast or not be facing me.

Another would be, I had an one-on-one who interpreted for me and captioned for me, of what the teacher was saying. So within years going by, it helped knowing I had someone to help me around a hearing school. With my inspiration, I started up the new program at my high school that I had graduated from, ASL I. I thought maybe if I started this, it would help the community communicate with deaf and/ or hard of hearing people.

Being in high school reminded me that Deaf people will be around hearing people. In my opinion, Hearing people are rude to deaf people.

I have experienced a lot of “Rudeness” in my lifetime with hearing people. People will get on your ass for nothing. They will ALWAYS want to be rude to you. In my other opinion, people will take you for granted… such as hearing people.

If you are deaf, you will probably experience these problems or already have, just like me.

1. When you are talking to a hearing person, they talk way to fast.

2. Hearing people do not know your language.

3. Hearing people will walk away from you when a conversation is occurred.

Now if you were a hearing person, you will possibly be confronted with a deaf person.

1. You can learn ASL, American Sign Language..
2. You can use paper and pen to communicate.
3. You can use phones to text. Some deaf people will tell you, that they do not like talking on the phone because it is hard to hear other end.

When you are talking to a deaf people, please be careful talking really fast.

Some people prefer text. Some prefer face to face and slow conversations. Some people prefer ASL and English. Some people prefer only English. Some people prefer only ASL. Some prefer an interpreter. Some others prefer friends and professors and other people using English or ASL. Some hard of hearing and Deaf people needs notes or email or text or interpreter to get the information pass to them. We call this equal access.

Some people were mainstreamed.

Some people went to a DeafSchool.

Some people went to one then the other.

Like I have said before, people will tell you they hate the term "hearing impaired".