Attending AG Bell's conference was a first for me. There were many sessions I would have liked to attend but finances and time constraints limited those options. Two sessions I was particularly interested in but unable to attend were, "Honey, Read My Lips: Joys and Challenges in Romantic Relationships" and "Lessons from the Battlefield: Deaf Adults Share Their Tips to Success". As I listened to some of the speakers talk about their experiences, particularly in the session titled, "deaf with a Small "d": What Does it Mean?", I felt reenergized about my dissertation research on identity and hearing loss. Seeing others in my age bracket, also with hearing loss yet they grew up in the hearing community as I did, talk about their experiences hit home on so many levels. It sort of made me wish I had been coming to this conference all along, not just as a professional but as a child with my family and growing up, as some of the participants had done. It was awesome seeing so many children and teenagers reconnecting with one another and socializing. I overheard many side conversations in which parents were sharing their stories of diagnosis and gaining services for their children. I couldn't help but reflect on my own childhood and experiences (and those of my parents and siblings) and wonder what they may have been like had we been a part of this organization. When I talked to Adam about it that night he said that perhaps I would have taken a different path or be on a different "side" professionally had that happened. I guess one will never know.
It does warm my heart to think that the children who are able to take advantage of these opportunities to network and socialize with others "just like them" at events such as these. When I think back to the social isolation that I felt at times and know that my students experienced, it brings sadness. I mean we're all, regardless of hearing loss, are looking for that sense of community no matter where we are...whether it's bonding over a shared love of sports, or others who are going through the same things you are, or being interested in the same hobbies....everyone wants to feel a part of something. I've been saying that for years regarding the Young Adults and/or singles at church...there is a home for the children through youth ministry, for parents of babies going through Baptism, and for the older folks through various ministries and programs. The same can be said for those of us who dont' have enough hearing loss to be Deaf but don't have enough hearing to be "normal". Looking back, I can honestly say I got those feelings of belonging and fitting in, for the most part, from the neighborhood children, my siblings, and the classmates at school. However, I would be lying if I said that a small part of me always felt as if I were different (because I was) and no one could relate (except for the grandparents who wore hearing aids..haha). Then again, every teenager feels that sense of, "You just don't understand me" at some point in time. ;) I remember how awesome it felt when I went away to college and met a few other peers who were kind of "like me" and we could trade stories about batteries dying or the frustration of trying to read a certain professor's lips beneath his bushy beard. Then, as a teacher, my students and I bonded over tips of remembering to change your battery, the humor in pranking friends with our alarm clocks during sleepovers, and the ability to turn off our parents by switching the hearing aids to the off setting..ahem.
Now, I'm about to leave this field of education of persons with hearing loss (or deaf education as others call it) I've called home for the last sixteen years as I immerse myself in general education in my new role. However, I do hope to be able to continue my research, at least in some small way, in identity and hearing loss.
I saw this video that was published out of the John Tracy Clinic this morning. When I was little, my parents taught me to talk/listen using curriculum materials from this organization in California. How interesting it is that my first association with California was that I had "cool stuff" from there that helped me learn to talk thanks to the long hours of work my parents put in with me. We still have some of the 30 year old materials and I even used some of them with my students in the early 2000s. Now, when I think of California, I think of my future with Adam. <3 These are the things that float through my mind as I encounter references to California at least once a week and have been since mid October. I kid you not, at least once a week I see a tshirt or a bumper sticker referencing CA no matter where I am. This past weekend, it happened in the form of a little boy on Cocoa Beach, Florida wearing a California surfer swimsuit (the words were printed on his bathing suit) and the next day at the Orlando airport when I saw a girl wearing a California Republic shirt in the security line. I've quit trying to keep it all straight and simply smile and send up a quick prayer of thanksgiving for all that has been given to me through familial support/love and is coming my way in 2015 regarding my "California Boy". I digress...so back to the video. How sweet is the video below?! It's amazing what technology can do from providing access to sound and of course, connecting folks over the miles. I can relate to both sides of that technology coin..ha! The video is a bit long (11 minutes) but if you listen to nothing else, one of the parts that resonated with me was what the Mom said from 8 min. 15 seconds to 8 min. 50 secs.
So, in an effort to stick with my roots while also branching out by attending other conferences, I hope to be able to always attend the Association of College Educators - Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACE-DHH) conference even though I won't be working with future teachers of the deaf anymore (at least for now). After this positive experience and seeing the other side that shows there is a group for those of us who don't fall in the big "D" Deaf or American Sign Language (ASL) camps, I'm thinking I might want to start attending the AG Bell conference even if just for personal reasons rather than professional...it is only held every other year and in 2016, will be held in Denver...a city I have come to fall in love with for several reasons! ;)
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