Community deaf panel wraps up deaf awareness week
Community members gather to share their experiences and answer questions at the Community Deaf Panel during Deaf Awareness Week on Saturday, Sept. 29 in Anspach Hall.
Wrapping up deaf awareness week, Central Michigan University students, faculty and community members gathered to share their stories and experiences with the deaf community at the community panel on Sept. 29 in Anspach Hall.
The panel was interpreted by Lisa Sinko and Stacey Horman and sponsored by the division of American Sign Language in the communication science and disorders division and the Herbert H. and Grace A. Down College of Health Professions.
Panel members included:
- Kim Martinez – Carrie Knause Elementary School faculty member
- Martinez – Retired CMU police officer
- Karen Hogg – Carrie Knause Elementary School faculty member
- Kate Pifer – St. Louis High School deaf and hard of hearing teacher
- Jeff Main – community member
Some of the topics discussed include growing up deaf in the education system, ways to advance signing skills and what to do and not do when interacting with the deaf community.
When it comes to deafness in an education setting there are a lot of new advancements to help deaf students. However, there are still many challenges to be met, like the social aspect of school.
Changing the light atmosphere of the panel, Main shared that his middle school experience was no walk in the park.
“Because I am hard to understand, middle school was really horrible for me,” Main said with a thick voice. “Now I see people from my past and they say sorry, I forgive them.”
Branching off what Main said, Kim Martinez explains her daughter Elizabeth’s similar situation.
“It was good in the beginning and it was cool because she was deaf and could sign, well that got old,” Kim Martinez said. “At that point she struggled, she expressed that she wasn’t happy and didn’t want to live anymore.”
The conversation then transitioned from introductions and personal stories to questions from the audience.
A member from the audience asked what are some common myths about deaf culture. One of the myths spoken about was the assumption that non-deaf people need to over enunciate when speaking to a member from the deaf community.
“Don’t talk like that, it’s not natural,” Hogg said. “It makes it harder for deaf people to read your lips when you talk like this.” The last three words of her sentence were over enunciated.
Another myth that was mentioned was speaking to the interpreter rather than the deaf individual.
“When people know there will be an interpreter they’ll come up and say, ‘can you tell her..’ and it’s like just talk to the person directly because the interpreter will sign everything,” Bill Martinez said.
The last question that was asked was what is the most important thing to take away from this panel. The panel members collectively agreed that treating deaf or hard of hearing individuals like normal people is one of the most important parts of interacting with a member of the deaf community.
Mount Pleasant native and vice president of the American Sign Language Society, Gabbie Herren, said that this panel was one of the more interesting ASL panels she has attended.
“There was a lot more emotions this time,” Herren said. “After attending this, I want to keep in mind the experiences of deaf and hard of hearing individuals so that I can relay them to my organization and continue spreading awareness.”
