International Women's Day
Posted by jennifer gibson on Monday, March 10, 2014
I was recently invited to do a presentation about my life and my books as part of the Women's Day Celebrations in Belleville. It was a delightful crowd featuring people of all ages including Deaf and Hard of Hearing students from Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf. They were an eager group who were keen on learning more about what it was like to grow up with a severe hearing loss in the 70's and 80's.
I spoke about what it's like to have people approach me about my hearing aids and dealing with a severe hearing loss. Even though I was a shy kid and didn't like having strangers stare at me, today it's very much a different story. I've learned that I've had to be honest about myself and my hearing impairment. I've discovered that I need to let others see that I wear hearing aids so that they would know I'm not deliberately ignoring them. By embracing it, it has literally opened doors for others to ask questions about hearing aids and hearing loss in general. As a result, this has turned into a more positive learning experience for them.
Here's the article:
http://www.communitypress.ca/2014/03/05/author-recalls-challenges-stigmas (By the way, there is an error in the article - I tried out for Women's Team Canada in Grappling and Jiu Jitsu, not wrestling.)