July is Disability Pride Month, which often brings up the question, “Do you have pride in being deaf?” This question can be uncomfortable for many people, whether they are disabled or not.
I’ve always been deaf, so I know nothing different. Navigating the hearing world has its challenges. Throughout my life, I’ve faced bullying in school, discrimination in employment, and being ignored by professionals despite my skills. I miss conversations at times which can be frustrating. These experiences are not so good especially the discrimination, which is so damaging and unnecessary with more awareness and understanding.
There are cultural things I miss, like music, especially since I come from a musical family. I can’t appreciate whether music is genuinely good or not. This was hard for my children to understand when they were younger. Music is important to them, which is good, but I experience it differently. For example, when my daughter plays jazz, I can follow the rhythm, but other music is harder for me. While my family and friends can comment on the musicality, I cannot.
I do appreciate many other things like art, architecture, nature, walking, cycling, and books. I have been lucky with friends and family. We all find joy in different ways, and this is no different for someone who is disabled or non-disabled.
We all have unique talents and skills that are important for society. These should be nurtured and valued like anyone else’s. Sometimes, disabled people get grouped together, which is misleading. However, we do share common experiences, like navigating barriers in society that others do not face. This means many disabled people develop resilience, problem-solving skills, creativity, and determination.
These skills are valuable for employers, yet many are biased against disabled applicants. The skills we bring are needed and can help businesses better understand and serve disabled customers. For instance, having deaf employees can teach businesses the importance of having multiple ways for customers to communicate, leading to better overall communication.
So, do I take pride in being deaf? Yes, I do. It has made me more understanding and patient. I have helped others become more inclusive and bring out the best in people. I don’t like seeing talents, skills and lives being wasted, which is what black on the banner represents.
For example, in care work, I quickly saw how residents were treated based on my experiences with incorrect assumptions about me. This helped me support staff to see the person behind the illness and frailty. Because of this, many residents were able to share their skills and interests.
We all need a sense of purpose and belonging. My experiences as a deaf person have enabled me to listen, observe, and support individuals to make choices that matter to them. I listened and explored with residents what was important to them. I’ll never forget the pleasure residents had participating in lectures I arranged. During the question and answer sessions, we learned as much from the residents as we did from the speaker.
In other settings like restaurants and hotels I am able to quickly point out small and large changes that will be inclusive of many people, not only for deaf and hard of hearing people. With ex-prisoners I saw the power of drama in helping them to express their emotions and trauma. I approach challenges in different ways which has opened up opportunities for many.
Overall, my experiences as a deaf person have helped create a better environment for others. Seeing people’s potential and their skills and talents has been very rewarding.
Email rachel.barber@living4moments.com to arrange how I can support you to become inclusive of your customers and employees.
Image description: Visual image black with colour stripes representing different disabilities.The Disability Pride Flag was created by Ann Magill in 2019 and was updated in 2021 to be more inclusive.
Each colour signifies a different group of disabilities:
Red – physical
Gold – neurodiversity
White/Pale Grey – invisible or undiagnosed
Blue – mental health
Green – sensory disabilities including blindness + deafness
Black- for disabled lives/opportunities lost through negligence, suicide and ableism.
#DisabilityPrideMonth #InclusionMatters #DisabilityRightsAreHumanRights #Living4Moments #DeafAwareness #Communication
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