DeafLoudAndProud

DeafLoudAndProud is three Deaf wattpad users collaborating to show readers what the Deaf community is like and what D/deaf people go through on a daily basis. We will also ask D/deaf and HOH Wattpadders to share their experiences and advice, as well as contribute to a list of what to and what not to say to D/deaf and HOH. If you have any questions, please let us know, we would like to help!

TheAmericanWhovian:
I am profoundly deaf in my right ear and use a cochlear implant. I am severely HOH in my leaf ear and use a hearing aid. I have been raised orally and is not fluent in ASL, however I know a few people who are.

Chaos_Orca_9:
Hi! So, I'm severely deaf in my right ear, so I wear a blue hearing aid in that ear. I'm profoundly deaf in my left, so I also wear a white CI (cochlear implant). On January 21st, I had an emergency surgery on my left ear to replace the broken inner (implanted) part. But don't worry; my case was very rare and CIs are meant to last a lifetime! I know a few words of ASL, and my deaf brother and I have our own signing code. I speak several oral languages. 

Texanatheart: 
I am hard of hearing, and have a processing disorder. I've known a few D/deaf in my life and am fluent in ASL. The struggles of the Deaf community  are very close to my heart, and my purpose is to teach the world what the culture is really like. I have been accepted to a university in Chicago and plan to major in American Sign Language to English interpretation.

~
To those who speak with their hands,
Listen with their eyes,
And know with their hearts.
 
Their language and customs so foreign in our society,
Yet in passing,
They can blend in with the ordinary,
"the normal."
 
They welcomed me into their world
Though I was not sure I belonged.
Now I stand with one foot in each door
Extremely grateful for the chance.
 
Therefore I lend my voice,
To speak and interpret
For those who can say more in silence
Than I could ever say with words.