I have been there. . .many times. I lipread well. I am profoundly Deaf and had speech class once a week at the residential school for the Deaf. I am often told I speak well. Occasionally my speech has been misunderstood. One of my most embarrassments was when I went to my doctor’s office for my appointment, the nurse was new. She asked me how old I was. I said 52. She stared at me hard. She stomped out. The doctor came in and looked stern. He asked me why I said F-you to the nurse. After that, I never speak again at the doctor’s office but write. To have an interpreter at my doctor’s office, it would be a miracle but I live in isolated town.

Thank you for sharing your speech experience. It’s nice to know I am not the only one.

It is very similar to what my Deaf mother has gone through. She was raised in an oral education until 15 years old, and then she went to the residential school. The teachers there didn’t understand her speeches at all. It humiliated her! Eventually she stopped using the speech.

Belated Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year to you, Ella, too.

Keith

You presented the excellent analogy of your experience with learning speech skills and your students’ experiences with learning ASL signs. It helps signers and non-signers better understand each other’s view. This is definitely the classic example of Deaf/hearing cross-culture.

Thanks for the invaluable sharing!

Happy New Year 2008,
Rick Garbacz (F.Y.I., I’m still living! LOL)

Finally got time to watch your video just now… A couple days I tried to watch, but video had to be buffered, and I got interrupted from that… Opps!

Yes, in my last year of speech training at age 15, I got irked with the same words I have spoken and seen over and over. I said same words? This therapist claimed that I did not perfect them yet… She was frank with me, but I would love to see different words same pronoun whatever. Gosh. I felt so retarded that moment, yeah. Mom had to let me go. I wish they had different approach than that.

Anyway, once I got confided in being who I was especially after signing ASL fluently, my loved ones made remark that I spoke better. I came to realize, that once I felt good about myself, and that once I felt confidence in myself, that I speak better. I remember that I spoke with tense prior signing fluently.

Oh, well, better stop rambling. Warmest Merrist Christmas and Happy New Year!

Kathleen

As we, educators often say that critical thinking is an important and vital topic in education. A profound and insightful piece of ‘Merry Christmas’ A Speech Lesson. It is hopeful that this critical thinking theme on reflective narrative; will be the catalyst to the community and to equip Deaf children with the tools that they need to understand what it means to be a Deaf person. Hope this will be an eye- opening theme for people to be a reflective, creative and responsible individual that makes a measurable impact to the world and our Deaf children.

You ROCK!

Happy Healthy New Year

L’Chaim, Shalom

Love, Janis

2008 belong to us. Feliz Navidad!
Joe

Excellent anaylsis! Regarding the 4 squares you were talking about, I think you meant the Johari Window? See definition below.

From Wikipedia: A Johari window is a psychological tool created by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955 in the United States, used to help people better understand their interpersonal communication and relationships. It is used primarily in self-help groups and corporate settings as a heuristic exercise.

4 areas are called Open, Blind, Hidden, and Unknown. If you google “Johari Window”, you will see some different words used for each area. We should look into that and start discussing more about this.

More information, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window

Happy Holidays!!

Though perhaps speech lessons benefited me growing up, I was still never comfortable giving oral presentations, because lets face it, we do not will not ever talk like a hearing person. First and only time I gave an oral presentation in a class where I was the only deaf person was in a Science class in 8th grade. Forgot what my project was, but had to do with origination of organisims. Kept repeating that word over and over in my presentation, only to see my classmates cracking up hard. Teacher kept trying not to smile or laugh herself but told the class to shut up til I was done.
Later after I sat down, a girl friend sitting next to me says, “Sheri, Sheri, its or-gan-is-im, not ORGASMS.

Ohmigosh! Totallyyyyy hillarious! Orgasms! Unbelievably embarassing!!! I don’t even think I knew what that word meant back then! Haha!
Still today, I can’t look at the word “organisims” without thinking “orgasms”! LOL!At least we can look back and laugh at some of these things!

And a Merry Christmas to YOU and all,
looking forward to a brand NEW 2008!
Take care!

Been there too .. As a former Deaf Oralist – During my junior high school year, my dad once mentioned to me if I practice my speech everyday — I will speak clearly like hearing people. One time during my senior year, I was doing some paintings with my first 5 years old nephew – Suddenly he told me I can’t talk. I was doomed and hurt. I immediately believed my nephew . My father was trying to make me happy but I rather him to be honest. Oh well — Happy Holidays, Diane

PS you don’t look in 50’s.

Your vlog inspired me to comment! I am hearing, and have many Deaf and hard of hearing friends. I prefer of course to communicate in ASL. Sometimes Deaf people try to use their voice with me, but usually I do not understand them. I am amazed though how some other hearing people can understand them. However, I remember a former Deaf roomie of mine. When I first met her, I couldn’t understand her voice at all, however once living with her for a few months, I found that I was able to understand some of the things she said. I guess I got used to her voice!

Now, with some hard of hearing friends, I consider their voices easy to understand. (Still have that “deaf accent”, but I can understand them). And once in a while, they’ll speak to me, and I’ll respond with ASL. Then I remember one these same hard of hearing friends met one of my hearing friends. My hearing friend could not understand my hoh friend’s voice at all! I was very surprised, because I considered this particular friend’s voice to be very clear.

My point is, is that some hearing people are very good at understanding a deaf accent, and some are not. I hear often how some think their speech therapist lied to them. Though sometimes this definitely may have been the case, I suspect that the speech therapist is so used to the deaf accent, that is sounds genuinely good to them!

Merry Christmas!