This is SUCH an important discussion!! And now it's storytime, because there is another facet of this that I haven't seen mentioned.
If you grow old, your odds of becoming deaf are a literal coin toss. I need you to know that, and keep it in mind for the rest of this story.
I used to live in the southeastern US. It's a very Christian region, and while I was living there I had to go to church every week. The church I was attending at the time had (to me) one notable feature: there were a few regular members who were Deaf, so they had ASL translation at nearly every service.
There were a few of the other members who knew ASL, myself included. However, the vast majority of the congregation did not know ASL, and thus had a communication barrier with the Deaf members. The system as it had been operating was terribly inefficient and cut the Deaf members off from the rest of the congregation. So those of us who knew ASL decided to form a class on Sunday mornings for anyone who wanted to learn.
Cue Ben. (Not his real name, which I have forgotten.)
Ben was an older gentleman who attended church at every service. He was there 3 times a week, and did his best to follow along, but it was very clear that he had been losing his hearing for some time. I can remember him sitting in the pews after service had ended with a kind of vacant expression while his family socialized. My understanding is that he had previously been a very social person, but losing his hearing had made talking to anyone at all extremely difficult. So instead he usually just sat, blank and alone.
This man was easily 75 years old, nearly deaf, and did not know sign language. So we got him to join our small class, and we taught him ASL. And at 75+ years old, he LEARNED. And he got his life back.
The change in Ben's demeanor was beautiful and incredible, and it will haunt me until the day I die. He, along with everyone in his life, had just accepted that he would never be able to easily communicate again. He was sitting at church services that already had live ASL translation, and nobody even thought for a second that sign language was an available or feasible option for him until we came along! After he learned, I literally watched the light come back to his eyes. 😭
There is a whole world of amazing people out there who are deaf or hard of hearing. The ones in your region have a language that you could be learning right now! Eventually, you and/or someone you love will need it. And when that day comes, I truly hope people know to direct you to resources instead of thinking that you're too old to learn.
stormborns
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
areudirty
vaporwave
