Image via Wikipedia I thought I had blogged this story, but only found bits pieces. So here’s the whole story as my daughter remembers it. I’d like to think that I was a unique individual from birth. I learned, at a very young age, that my family was different, but my parents instilled a sense …
Category Archive: The D Life
17 Misconceptions about People with Hearing Loss
17 Misconceptions about People with Hearing Loss shares great information answering many common questions I get from people. Some are afraid to ask the questions in fear of insulting someone. But I welcome them. Here I share my responses to the 17 misconceptions from my experience… Everyone with hearing losses uses sign language and reads …
Netflix and Captions
I heard the news on Twitter from an unexpected source: [@marleematlin](http://twitter.com/MarleeMatlin). I happened to browse Twitter and caught her tweet. It’s great to have someone with her name speaking out about Netflix’s lack of captions on streamed movies. Like it or not, celebrities can make things happen a little faster than as ornery folk. [Netflix …
Defensive Situations
*Amazing Race*’s Luke responded to a question that confirmed that some deaf people (me included) tend to be more defensive than the average person. Here’s the [interview](http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/406146_tvgif12.html) response I’m talking about: The deaf community has responded very positively. They were very happy with how I played the game and that I made the final three. …
Minsinterpreting: Is It Just Me?
OK, sometimes I feel like I should learn how to create a neutral look on my face and talk as little as possible. Or else someone misinterprets a perfectly friendly or innocent comment or look for something negative. My famous look: Quiet. We all have quiet days. When I am quiet, I just don’t feel …
I'm Deaf, I'm Not Ignoring You
I remember in the ’80s when pins were popular and full of Valley Girl talk. One popular pin was “I’m not deaf, I’m ignoring you.” I had one as it made for a good laugh. Paul (hubby) was talking to another parent at yesterday’s T-ball practice. She told him about her husband attending our kids’ …
Jonah Syndrome
[Jamie Berke](http://deafness.about.com/cs/archivedarticles/a/jonahsyndrome.htm) has an excellent article introducing Jonah Syndrome. I remember the movie, *And your name is Jonah*. It was broadcast in 1979 — still a few years before captions hit. Berke explains that the people behind the movie promoted it heavily in deaf communities yet the movie contained no captions. Like I said, it …
Fire Alarm Safety
[Recent research](http://www.lifetonesafety.com/pages/professional_center/5.php) by Dorothy Bruck and Ian Thomas on behalf of the Fire Protection Research Foundation shows that almost 44 percent of many people — including people with hearing loss, seniors, children, and heavy sleepers do not wake to the sound of standard fire alarms. With roughly half of all home fire deaths resulting from …
Coffee with neighborsgo
Angela Chambers, editor of the Plano edition of neighborsgo, asked if I could attend the coffee to talk to people about my neighborsgo experiences. Background: neighborsgo is the Dallas Morning News’ citizen journalism site where some lucky stories make it into the print edition of neighborsgo, which comes out on Fridays. There are 18 different …
A Purim Miracle
I’ve always hated services. I sat there bored out of my mind. Once in a blue moon, I made an effort to sit and follow. But it was too much work for little meaning. For a few years, I’d take a religious book and read it on my own. At least, I was with my …