Second year of university is just around the corner…… 2nd Year of counseling and level 2 BSL! Bring it on!
As much as I am excited there is a part of me is slightly nervous :/ I will be having new lecturers and my main concern is will I be able to understand them, are they willing to accommodate my deafness and strive to improve their teaching style in order to help me??
During my first year I had problems regarding videos in lectures without subtitles. I complained about this and they said they would notify me before lectures so I can get them transcribed by the Disability services. The downside to this is, they tell me at the beginning of the lecture therefore I have no time to get them transcribed! How helpful!!
Its the little things that irritate me – such as talking and writing on the board at the same time, even my hearing peers struggle with this. Or the walking around and talking at the same time, not so good when your view gets blocked.
Hopefully all this will improve with my “nagging.”
Also I have 3 presentations to give within the 1st semester…. Eeeeeek! I absolutely hate public speaking. I get so anxious and nervous. When it comes to public speaking I become aware of my voice and my short comings, my speech isn’t perfect and I make mistakes in pronunciation. When I’m nervous my speech becomes worst… Let’s face it! It is embarrassing when you make mistakes in front of a group of people listening to you. Yes, the people on my course group are aware of my deafness and are okay with it but I’m not okay with making mistakes with the simplest words. People argue that my speech is good for my severe hearing loss but I find it mentally exhausting, I go over what I want to say in head over and over again to ensure that I don’t make mistakes… No wonder I become so fond of signing 😀
But there are some things that will benefit me! Firstly I am on the welcome team at the university. I will be welcoming new student during fresher’s week, normally I would say NO to this as I dislike meeting people but this will help with my confidence and strengthen my deaf identity as I feel more comfortable in asking people to repeat and to explain I am deaf.
Secondly, I am vice chair of Sign Bar. This is society at university where hearing/deaf students, BSL learners can meet up and learn more BSL or more about deaf awareness thus helping to break down the barriers between deaf and hearing people. I also strive to educate the university more on deaf awareness as there improvements need to be made to benefit current and future students.
I shall be keeping you guys updated on my journey as Vice chair…. 😀
Sasha Thorpe is a deafie from a hearing family, discovering herself as deaf person. She is currently studying for qualifications in counselling studies and BSL. She wears hearing aids. You can find her blog at http://deaf-girl88.tumblr.com/ and follow her on Twitter as @queeniegalz
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Colleen Metcalfe
August 31, 2012
Good luck with year 2 – and do keep on at your lecturers/tutors. I completed my Cert Ed last year and although I had 2 BSL interpreters and a note-taker with me, I had to constantly remind my tutor not to talk at the same time as looking at the board; not to wander round the room; not to expect me to read handouts and his lips at the same time (or read handouts and watch my terps!)…. It is VERY wearing to keep reminding hearing people, but they seriously don’t understand. You can be very pro-active and constant with your requests, but I’ve found that by making it a bit “light hearted”, you won’t upset them too much (hopefully).
As “Bob” (not his real name) would go off on a wander round the room so that I couldn’t see him, or if he wandered in front of my interpreters so that I couldn’t see them, I would shoot my hand up in the air and say “…..erm …. Bob – you’re wandering again dude!” Eventually, but the last week of the year, he managed to keep his butt on the table (didn’t sit on a chair) and stopped his wandering.
You do need to keep on at them – ALL the time – about subtitling / transcribing videos for you. They could use dotsub.com (suggest it). It’s easy to use. But you must take the responsibility for your access; again I understand and it is frustratingly difficult to keep on at them.
You should use a note-taker if you can. Seriously, these people are worth their weight in GOLD. Look into it; student support services will help. If you’ve never used one before, google them. There are 2 ways they can support you – they can use pen & paper and give you the notes afterwards, or they can type on a laptop for you depending on your needs / preference.
Good luck and stick with the hassling. Don’t feel like you’re being a nuisance; you deserve the same access to your (probably very expensive) education the same as everybody else and if you miss even a smidgeon, you’ll fall behind and won’t know where you’ve fallen.
Good luck (again)!
Colleen