My Journey Into Deafhood: Embracing My Deaf Self ~
Posted by LaRonda on August 7th, 2007(Ch. 62 of my storyblog of my journey into Deafhood…)
Not all Late-Deafened adults embrace their deafness by making it their career, but I did. All of my life experiences after losing my hearing led me to establish a career working with Deaf people, and I know it was meant to be. Yet coming to this realization has not been an easy process.
Late-Deafened people sometimes have to deal with strong, cultural and political opinions from certain members of the Deaf community about whether or not they are “Deaf enough” to be leading or working with culturally and linguistically Deaf people. This is not a new concept. People who are bi-racial or are of mixed decent have also dealt with similar issues throughout time. I understand what this is about and I am supportive of their primary need for appropriate leadership and social justice.
Yet, these judgments are sometimes passed before people even meet each other. Late-Deafened individuals are sometimes automatically judged as “not Deaf enough” simply because they could once hear.
