Marlee Matlin is probably the most visible deaf person in America today. In 1998, Marlee spoke to an audience about what she has learned from being deaf, saying “The real handicap of deafness is not in the ear, but in the mind. We all have challenges in life of one kind or another. We can achieve much more if we focus on our abilities rather than our perceived disabilities.”

K, I admit it.  I fingerspell when driving.  Sometimes I’m so involved in fingerspelling that I don’t realize that my car is no longer driving completely straight in my lane.  I always correct myself quickly, and no harm has ever come from this silly habit except for some mild embarrassment on my part.  I used […]

 bit the bullet, and I went to Deaf Night at Starbucks at the local mall.  Ironically, I didn’t meet any deaf people.  I did meet plenty of ASL speakers though, and there were so many people there that I’m sure I just didn’t get around to meeting them as I chatted with others.  I had an […]

After this wonderful experience, I have decided that Pippin is my new favorite musical. It spoke both cross-culturally and poignantly, using a blend of American Sign Language and English to effortlessly depict its relevant story line. It’s no wonder Deaf Theater West has won so many awards. I can’t wait to see what they come out with next.

I have chosen to refer to William Hoy as “Dummy” in this essay.  In his lifetime, he repeatedly asked people to call him “Dummy”, and prefered this name to the name William.  Though the name has negative connotations today, I felt that it was important, and ultimately respectful to his memory, to call the man what […]

“The role of the interpreter is to facilitate the communication between those who do not share the same form of language.  It is to help those who are participating in an exchange of communication, but not to become a participant in that process.  Because communication is facilitated, the service is hightly valued.  But because a […]

 
 he flier said “First Come First Served”, so I assumed that meant there wouldn’t be presale tickets.  It turned out I was wrong, and they were completely sold out when we got there.  It was at the college my mother works at, a magic show by professional magicians (Deafinitely Magic), followed by some fun skits […]

 
ohn Brewster was a famous deaf American.  I’m going to be putting several of these little bios up because I think it’s just so interesting how people lived and made a name for themselves, hearing and deaf alike.  As this is an American Sign Language blog, these people will all be somehow connected with ASL […]

   
s part of an assignment for school, I watched 3 regular TV shows in Closed Captioning with the sound turned off completely.  It was a really interesting experience, and less disruptive to my regular TV watching habits than I would have thought.  I watched The Bonnie Hunt Show on NBC 4, Divine Design on […]

 tell people that I’m shy all the time, but they usually just scoff at me.  I’m incredibly friendly if someone wants to chat with me first, and I have no problem at all getting up in front of an audience, but put me in a situation where I have to make the first move and […]