Anyway, on to the life.
Childhood
I grew up in a Deaf family. I was the only hearing person in my immediate family. We are also Black. Growing up Black and Deaf in Arizona was hard. I have two Deaf brothers (although one of my brothers prefers to identify as hard-of-hearing). American Sign Language is our native language.
When I was seven years old my brothers and I were placed into foster care. When I was nine years old I was separated from my brothers and sent off to live with hearing relatives. I started to lose my language. I knew I was losing my language so I read a book called The Joy of Signing. I did not know enough about my culture to know that the book actually damaged my language retention. I was not reunited with my family until I was almost an adult. I still struggle to relearn my language.
Family
I have a variety of people in my family. My grandmother was oral-deaf. She never learned sign, except for a few home signs. Her three children were all Deaf. Her youngest daughter (my aunt) was able to live between both worlds. My mother and uncle, however, were not. My mother deals primarily with the Deaf community. My mother had three children. I am the only girl. My brothers are Deaf. My aunt has two children. The oldest son is Deaf. Everyone except my grandmother uses American Sign Language (although my mom code-switches for me... unfortunately).
Life Now
I am now an adult. These are my primary groups:
- Female
- Black Culture (hearing)
- Deaf Culture
- CODA (child of Deaf adult)
- American War Veteran
- Adult
I have a hearing father. I keep in touch with him from time to time.
That's all for now. If you would like to know more or if you need to contact me, please use the guestbook in the right-hand column.
