The Difference-Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

At that moment, I realized I had a conscious decision to make. I could get defensive, cry, storm out and say they weren't legally allowed to ask me about my hearing loss (were they? I'm still not even sure?), or I could put my advocacy skills to good use and actually educate them. So I put on a composed front and reassured them that everything would be fine, carefully answering each of their questions. I should note that they were really friendly and seemed to actually care and were genuinely concerned, but it was still a little overwhelming.They barraged  me with questions that included (but were not limited to):

• How will you hear in (various listening situations described)? 
• There's 2 teachers... one microphone. How will that work?
• What if you and the other girl with the microphone are in the same class? Will it still work?
• Will you tell us if you can't hear?

Apparently they had a really bad experience the one time they had accepted a deaf/hard-of-hearing student. My understanding is that she was oral but relied on lip/speech-reading quite a bit to comprehend what was being said. All year, the girl would stand in the back whenever they were teaching how to do skills for the CNA exam taken during the year as part of the class. The girl was going through a bad time in her life or something and refused to look at the teachers to lipread them. And of course, all year the girl never came to the teachers to let them know she was struggling, so they never really had any inclination. Their main concern was that I might be struggling to hear, and they just wanted to be sure I would tell them if at any point there was an issue so they could help me.

I could see where they were coming from, and it's certainly easy to think one individual is representative of an entire group, especially since she's the only one in the group of students with deafness they had met! It's a shame that it was a bad experience, but they were open enough to see that I wouldn't be like that. Although I felt I had handled the situation well and responded confidently, I was still extremely worried that I wouldn't be accepted because they would view the FM and hearing loss as an extra burden. As I have posted previously, I was ultimately accepted. The other girl with cochlear implants was accepted as well. At an informational meeting with all of the students, the teachers came up to me to be sure I heard everything okay. They really seem comfortable with the whole idea and I can tell that they care and want me to succeed. I brought up the whole stethoscope issue and mentioned that it was not yet resolved, but we were working to find a solution. They assured me that even if I can't get it to work, they will figure something out and work around it if we have to. Of course I would like to ultimately be able to use the stethoscope, especially if I end up following my current dream of becoming a doctor, but I am really glad to hear they're willing to work with me if it's not possible.

I am really excited for the class. I really do think it will be a great experience. Anyway, the main reason I shared this was to demonstrate how positively they reacted. They openly voiced their concerns and listened when I gave my input, and I do feel that they will work with, rather than against me to solve any problems that might spark up along the way. In the next few posts I will share another experience, but it's not a positive one. Actually, I'm still kind of in the "what should I do?" state. I have received quite a bit of advice and I am trying to figure out my next step.

Anyway.. stay tuned for part 4!

The Difference- Part 2

This is part 2 in a series. If you haven't already done so, I recommend reading part 1before continuing.

I slowly got up and walked towards the interview room from my desk. An outspoken girl in my class shouted "good luck!" as I got up, but I assured her I had already interviewed and had no idea why I had to go back. I knew it wasn't to say I got in since they told us the list would not be posted for another month.

I hesitantly opened the door and peeked my head in the room. "Come in! Sit down!" they said. Well, they were being friendly... That seemed like a good sign...

Then, one of the teachers explained how during the course of the interviews that morning a girl in another class (who also has CI's) had brought in her FM and stated that the teachers needed to use it. This sparked the teacher's memory (who had visited our classroom before), and she made a comment along the lines of "Hey, last time I had to wear one of these things twice. I wonder if the other girl that used one also applied."

At this point, the girl being interviewed decided to be helpful, and said "Oh, yeah!" and then stated my full name.

This was one of those moments in which I mentally screamed "Really?! Was that really necessary?!"

I can't really blame anyone else, it really wasn't the girl's fault that she shared her knowledge... But I was still slightly annoyed. Anyway, there wasn't much time for me to get annoyed because one of the teachers continued.

"We were shocked... We had no idea, and you speak so well!"

Okay, this wasn't the first time I'd heard this...So far, so good...

"I can understand not wanting to be identified as the girl with hearing loss first," she continued, and told me about how she doesn't introduce her own daughter who has a chronic condition to people as "Jane, the girl with (disease)."

"But," she continued, "we have some concerns."

 "Here it comes," I thought to myself, and I took a deep breath.


Look for part 3 tomorrow!

Sophomore Year- Week 1

So far, everything has been pretty good and my teachers have been wonderful (knock on wood). We've watched a few movies, and every time they have either been captioned (knock on wood), or the teacher has told me in advance and worked out how I will get the information. My hearing has been great (knock on wood) and I actually went for a mapping before school started, but chose to stay on my old program. That's the first time I felt like I was hearing well enough that I didn't want to change to something new. The FM has also worked pretty well (knock on wood) and the teachers have been great about passing it around.

The workload hasn't been terrible (I'd say knock on wood, but your hand is probably getting tired), and I am so glad I chose the electives I did. While my friends are spending their time reading studying and reading for quiz after quiz for their AP elective class, I get to go around taking pictures for the yearbook! Obviously, once we have more pictures there will be more work in designing the pages, staying after school, going to outside events, etc. but I would much rather be doing this. I can't remember if I said this before (I probably did) but I am also taking a medical science class, which will hopefully lead to me securing a spot in a program next year where students get to observe doctors of all kinds as well as surgeries. We haven't started doing any in-depth learning yet, but I can tell it will be something that I will enjoy. We're also going to be learning how to use stethoscopes properly in the coming weeks, so if anyone has experience/ advice on using a specific brand stethoscope with a cochlear implant, please share! There is another person taking the class with CIs, so the school is looking into purchasing one. We'll see where that goes!

I turn 16 on Labor Day and will hopefully be getting my license soon after, as I have to take yet another test due to the crazy laws that Texas passed and put in effect starting with the teens getting their licenses literally a week before me. I would be grumbling about having such a borderline birthday, but if I had born a week earlier I would be a Junior, so I guess I can't complain! Here's to another good week!