[NFB-DB] Identifying as deafblind
David Andrews
dandrews920 at comcast.net
Sun Aug 15 20:57:58 UTC 2021
Whoever told you that is full of it! Not all
"blind" people are totally blind, not all deaf
people are "totally deaf" and not all deaf-blind
people are totally deaf and/or blind.
If you are using alternative tasks for sight, and
hearing, you are deaf-blind, it seems to me. I
don't know if there are medical thresholds, but I
don't think so. If it is some kind of rehab program, you should appeal.
Dave
At 03:37 PM 8/15/2021, heather Albright via NFB-DB wrote:
>Hi, I was told by other blind persons that I
>cant identify as deaf blind because, I can still
>here. But, I cant travel outside alone as I cant
>hear  the cars coming or hear  others when I
>go out to places. Â I do not always hear my
>screenreader when it reads to me and someone
>always says to turn it down, it is to loud. So I
>use my braille display that I received to read.
>I am always asking people what over and over,
>and they get real annoyed with me. But, the same
>person says I cant identify as deaf blind. So my
>question is at what point can someone identify
>as deaf blind. I wanted a guidedog but, they
>will not put me in the class for deaf-blind and
>I am afraid I will not get all the information
>during the training if I do not get one on one training? Any advice?
>
>
>
>Heather
>
>
>
>Sent from <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986>Mail for Windows
>
>
>
>From: <mailto:nfb-db at nfbnet.org>Ineko Gary via NFB-DB
>Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2021 3:26 PM
>To: <mailto:nfb-db at nfbnet.org>NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
>Cc: <mailto:rubiigary at gmail.com>Ineko Gary
>Subject: Re: [NFB-DB] Identifying as deafblind
>
>
>
>Hi Rod
>
>
>
>I want to say thank you so very much for sharing
>your story. It touches a lot of people when I
>hear how some one pic came to identify himself
>or herself as a deaf blind person.
>
>
>
>I am both deaf blind. I went blind at six months
>old. And as I was growing up a lot of people
>would ask my stepmom is she legally blind or
>totally blind. My mom would just say sheâs
>blind. But I did not start to lose my hearing
>until I was the age 11 years old to the age of
>14 years old. And I guess learn American Sign
>Language first. And tactile sign language that
>handover hand. Then later I learned braille. I
>only know a tiny bit of contracted braille.
>But I know way more of un contracted braille.
>And I read braille with my left hand. And I do
>sign language with my left hand. So yes I am a
>left-handed person. And Iâve been a guide dog
>users for 25 years and Iâve been a long white cane user for 30 years.
>
>
>
>Lots of love always
>
>INEKO
>
>
>
>Sent from my iPhone
>
>
>
> > On Aug 15, 2021, at 4:14 PM, Rod and Ele
> Macdonald via NFB-DB <nfb-db at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> >
>
> > Tony,
>
> >
>
> > I have been "legally blind" since I was
> three, but did not really identify as a "blind"
> person until much later. I went through that
> tinnitus phase and know exactly how you feel.
>
> >
>
> > After spending 12 years at Perkins I sort of
> knew I was "blind" but more often said I "don't
> see very well". I changed to "legally blind"
> about the time I joined NFB in 1973, when I was 31.
>
> >
>
> > Similarly, I referred to my hearing situation
> as "I don't hear very well." Since no physical
> defect could be found to explain my hearing
> issue, I was sent to a psychiatrist for six
> years to find out why I couldn't or wouldn't hear.
>
> >
>
> > In 1975 an audiologist told me for the first
> time that I was "deaf". I found that to be a
> big RELIEF - to know that there was a valid
> reason for my inability to hear - I hadn't been able to hear speech for years.
>
> >
>
> > And that was when I found my identity as both
> a blind person and a deaf person - now a
> Deaf-Blind person. The emphasis became on the
> word PERSON. No matter if I Â am blind, or
> bald, or deaf, or have a broken finger - yes,
> have had or do have all these things, but I am
> still a 100% human being, and no one can ever take that away from me.
>
> >
>
> > I also self-identify as "Deaf-Blind" because
> I self-identify as being from the Blind
> community AND a part of the Deaf community (but
> not the Deaf culture - I do not use American
> Sign Language). I hyphenate the two words
> because my two very-dissimilar disabilities are
> combined, not merged. I might use the analogy
> that I have a right hand and a left hand, but
> that does not mean I am ambidextrous - I am
> right-handed, but I read braille with my left
> hand. Both hands are equally important to me, but I do have two separate hands.
>
> >
>
> > So to answer your question: For me, the point
> at which I self-identified as a Deaf-Blind
> person came when I accepted myself, and
> presented myself to others, as a Deaf-Blind
> person, without denial, arrogance or pretense.
> For me that came in 1979, when I joined the AADB.
>
> >
>
> > Rod
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
>
> > From: kg 6sxy \(kg6sxy\) via NFB-DBÂ <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
>
> > To:Â nfb-db at nfbnet.org
>
> > CC: kg6sxy at gmail.com
>
> > Date: Sunday, August 15, 2021 11:55 am
>
> > Subject: [NFB-DB] Identifying as deafblind
>
> >
>
> >>
>
> >>
>
> >> For those of you that were not born
> deafblind, how long did it take you to self
> identify as deafblind? My tinnitus has been
> really driving me around the bend lately where
> I'm completely deaf more often than not but it
> still feels like I shouldn't be self
> identifying as deafblind because I still have
> functional hearing from time to time. It's
> probably not important either way, just a
> matter of not feeling like an imposter, I
> guess. Just having a bad week all around. I appreciate your feedback.
>
> >>
>
> >> Take care,Â
>
> >> Tony
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