Introduction - Who am I and what is the purpose of this

Host Crystal Hand talks about who she is, why she cares so much about the deaf community and what she hopes you get out of this podcast.  

Transcript

Crystal Hand:  00:00

Welcome to “The Other side of Deaf”    I am Crystal Hand, your host and before you listen to the first few episodes of this podcast, I thought I should give a brief introduction to what this podcast aims to do, and why I have decided to start it.   

If you have decided to listen to this, you most likely are someone who either knows someone who is deaf, you are deaf/hard of hearing  or work in a field related to hearing loss.  I am not deaf, however, I belong to two categories.  I am the family member of two deaf individuals and I work in this field.    For years I have been orbited the deaf community in many capacities.  Now,  before the Deaf community gets upset and comes riot at my house, let me assure you, that I am in no way going to be speaking for the deaf community. I understand that since I am not deaf, I have no right to speak for you.  However, after many years of witnessing life with deaf/hard of hearing people, there are some things I have noticed and I hope to shed some light to some topics for others to learn from and build some bridges amongst people that constantly bickering.    So who am I and why do I care so much.   

Well, I am a hearing mom or two deaf children.  One is almost an adult and one is a teenager.  15 years ago, when my son was identified as hard of hearing I was thrust into this world.  I didn’t know it then, but learning  about and advocating for deaf and hard of hearing individuals is my calling.  I have spent the last 7 years working with hundreds of families from all different back grounds navigate their way through raising deaf children.  I have gone to countless seminars and conferences on hearing loss and the deaf community.  I have worked with and become friends with deaf people and through it all I am raising deaf children.  I have learned a lot over the years, I also still have a lot of questions.  But the biggest thing I have learned is that the deaf community has all these people that orbit around them.  Hearing family members, therapists, doctors, and other specialists.   There are entire professions dedicated to hearing loss, and yet very few get out of their comfort zone and start exploring outside of what they know.  We stay in our camps of what we believe is right and we frown upon the people that might have a different view.  We fight about who is right and frankly we stamp all over each other. Even the Deaf community does this amongst themselves.  We are all standing around fighting about what it means to be deaf, if it needs “fixed”, hearing technology, education, modes of communication.  The truth is though,  We are all missing the mark.  If our goal is the enrich and make the lives better for Deaf and hard of hearing people, then we should be working together.  Listening to each other and making it our mission to make this world more deaf friendly.   

So with this podcast, I am going to attempt to build  bridges by talking about every side of this topic.  Some episodes you may love, others you might hate.  My hope is to bring people together and not offend, but regardless of how you feel, we are going to talk about all the things others don’t want to talk about.  Ask the questions now one else is asking.  We are going to lift up the rug and look at all the stuff everyone else has swept under it.   Hopefully we are going to have a lot of fun, but most importantly, we are going to break down barriers, learn from each other  and come closer together.   So if you are up for it, I encourage you to stick around.  Subscribe to my channel and get ready to learn.