I Have Ears But They're Broken

Hi all, I'm Austin and I'm a Senior here at BYU studying Animation. I've loved my time at BYU, and I will treasure what is left of my time here. I'm profoundly Deaf myself, and I use American Sign Language as my primary source of communication. Growing up, my family learned ASL and, most times, I've always had access to communication wherever I go. I went to a Deaf school, and I took some classes at a nearby public school with an ASL interpreter. It's safe to say that I've experienced both worlds before I came here to BYU as a freshman.  I knew that I would be entering a completely different world at a major private university with 30 thousand students. I had no idea if they were aware of Deaf people like me, and upon my arrival, there were only 6 other Deaf students. I was pretty sure there are some people here at BYU would not know what to do when they encounter a Deaf person like me. I learned that VERY quickly my freshmen year.  A lot of them didn't know how to react, and tried some things that didn't help. For instance, I told a person that I'm Deaf by signing "I'm Deaf."  Usually, they would get out a pen and find some kind of paper and hand it to me.  Several times here at BYU, they decided to speak louder hoping that I would hear it.  Um... you don't yell at a rock telling it to move.  Instead, you pick it up, and move it.  Some people here don't seem willing to meet halfway, or even try to accommodate my needs just because they're clueless or not even educated about this issue. I've encountered people who thought I couldn't drive, read, talk, or do simple everyday tasks. 

The truth is that I can drive, I can read, I can talk (not that great though, I prefer ASL) and I can take care of myself.  Thankyouverymuch.  

I know... Maybe you're a little confused about why I have ears if they're broken?  Well, I like my ears, and I use them to hold my glasses. I also enjoy the feeling when I put a q-tip into my ears, and I can wiggle them-- but not as great as President Monson does. Being Deaf has been normal for me my entire life.  I've never experienced the world you all hear everyday. Sometimes I meet people that know how to sign, and it makes things so much easier! Sometimes I don't, but if they act normally and accommodate me properly, it makes my day much easier.  Here are some of the steps you should take when you encounter a Deaf person here at BYU:

1.  Don't freak out.  

2.  If they ask for a pen and paper, and you speak back. I will do this. 

3.  Trying to speak louder or clearer makes you look like this.

4.  You don't have to sign back if you don't know ASL.

5.  Seriously, don't do this. This freaks us out.

6.  This is how I feel when you keep talking to me after telling you that I'm Deaf several times.

7.  If you feel like this, read #8-10.

8.  Kindly recognize that he/she is Deaf, get a paper and pen out so you two can write to each other.

9.  If you know some ASL, don't be afraid to use it. We don't bite!

10. Trying to use some gestures can actually work.  Don't be afraid.  It's like magic.

If you see a Deaf person with a face like this:

then you're probably doing something wrong.  Read steps #8-10 again. 

Now, is ASL hard to learn? No. It's pretty easy, and you can take a class here at BYU.  We have a pretty big program, and we also even have an ASL club too.  

I hope this helps and that it'll help spread the knowledge to everyone at BYU on how to deal with Deaf people.

Austin