Brief posting today.

I’d like to discuss the word “audism”. It means the act or idea of people thinking that DHH people are less competent than regular people. There are even those who are DHH and oral, and think that those DHH who sign are less competent than those who lipread, and that is audism as well. All this is wrong.

I respect all DHH people across the spectrum. Each one of us has special qualities and intelligences, and just because we either choose to sign or lipread, does not make each one of us better or worse than another DHH, who will have different sets of skills and ideas. It also does not mean that each DHH person is lower in standing than any hearing person who’s present.

Audism is also evident in professionals who work with DHH, and who try to improve DHH lives, by insisting we try to hear better, or try to get us to act more like hearing people. This also includes hearies who judge our speech and compare us to hearing people’s speech. I really dislike it when a hearing person makes a comment about my speech. I know my speech isn’t perfect, but hearies have indicated they can understand me.

Professionals who work to help DHH people should either be educating us, or helping us to grow, and respect our choice of communication and hearing devices. They should never think they are superior to the DHH people they work with.

Really, I think it’s more important that a DHH person gets educated, regardless of what communication method is used.

If you would like to read the page on audism that’s put out by Gallaudet University, please click on this link: http://library.gallaudet.edu/deaf-faq-audism.shtml.

My daughter is graduating from UCLA next week, and so lots of things are happening around here.

So I won’t be posting as much until the end of this month.  But, I’ll be back.

Please visit my other blog at: www.ruthpealer.wordpress.com and www.ruthpealer.com for further info about me.

Have a Happy June.