Currently, I am minoring in ASL at Central Michigan University. For those of you that do not know what that means, it is American Sign Language. I absolutely love it. Not only am I learning an amazing language, but I am learning the history and culture of the Deaf Community.
There is one thing that I recently learned though in one of my classes that made me sad. I learned that the holidays were very exciting for most, but for some Deaf people, they sometimes didn’t look forward to their family gatherings and the reason is very understandable.
Let’s try to be in their shoes first to understand why they feel this way.
Imagine going home for the holidays. Everyone is excited to see family and eat good food. But not you. You are worried about communicating with everyone, or maybe even being left out of the conversations. At dinner, you can see everyone’s lips moving, can tell they are all laughing, and some may even look at you and give you a thumbs up. But you don’t know what is going on. You don’t know what was said. You just smile and reciprocate the thumbs up, and they seem satisfied, but you’re not. You feel left out. No one notices that you can’t keep up with the conversations going around the table. You feel like an outsider, in your own family.
Sounds awful, right? Well, this is the case for many Deaf people around the world. 90% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents, and their family is all hearing. Of that 90%, only 25% of those parents learn and become fluent in ASL to be able to communicate with their children. That means over half of the kids do not get the proper amount of communication that they need, and often get left out of many conversations.
So, what is the purpose of bringing these facts forward?
Well, I just wanted to bring awareness to people that may have a Deaf friend or family member. With the holidays coming up, this is something that should be kept in mind.
You should try communicating with them when they are around. Ask if they can read lips. If they do, when you talk to them, make sure they can see your lips. Maybe you could even learn a few signs. Picking up a new language isn’t easy, but it is very helpful in situations. Possibly have someone interpret for you. Sometimes, this may be difficult because not many family members may sign, but it doesn’t hurt to see if someone can! Just make sure your friend or family member does not feel left out, because if it were you, you would not want to be left out.
So, enjoy the holidays! But also, make sure that everyone is enjoying their holiday as well.
