When I began this project, the only thing I was certain of was that I wanted it to be on either special

education or deaf education. After beginning my search for sources, I came to the conclusion that my
own group, that of the hard of hearing (HH) was virtually non-existent in every source I found. The HH
were either mentioned in a couple sentences or not mentioned at all. A whole section devoted to the
HH was rare, and only one source provided that (Many Ways to be Deaf). The decision to make this
project about my hearing loss worked until I remembered that I was not just hard of hearing, but had
a cognitive disorder as well. This changed my focus from specific to broad; from hard of hearing to
disabled. When I thought about what I most wanted to share through this project, the answer was my
personal experiences in being a person with multiple disabilities. However, I did not want it to be just
my life story. I already had plenty of research and experience with having a disability and how that
worked (or did not work) in the education system, and I had been researching young adult books with
deaf/HH characters, but I was not sure how to put it all together. During one class, Dr. Land suggested
that I look into the scholarly field of Disability Studies. I was surprised at first, to learn that such a field
of study existed; it ended up being the exact platform I needed to present my findings. Through
Disability Studies-- a field of study that focuses on how disability is defined in a society as well as
represented--I added the strands of Society and Identity because they also affected disability, along
with education and literature. One of the first things I figured out was that the identity section
provided the framework for the rest of the sections; more importantly that all of my strands were
interrelated. Once I realized that identity was the framework, I began to define it in my own terms.
To me, Identity consists of four factors; they are a persons spirit, their personality, family, and
environment/influences. The first being spirit, and the second being personality, which pertain to
a persons relationship with God. As a Christian, I believe that God endows us with a spirit that
connects us to Him, and that there are specific gifts granted to us to that we may serve Him. One
of mine, which I learned through the book Networking, is Creative communications, which focuses

on the use of ones hands in some artistic fashion as a form of service. For example, I love to sign
during worship, because I find it to be a special form of communication between God and I. I also
believe that God gives us specific personalities to make us unique. According to the Myers-Briggs
Personality test, I am an INFP, which means I am introverted (I get my energy from having time to
myself), intuitive (knowing information through instinct rather than sense), feeling (I make my
decisions based on how I feel rather than logic), and perceiving (I have keen insight into things). The
third factor is family, which helps shape who a person is in relation to others, and the fourth is
environment/influences. For me, my family is also my environment as well as an influence, so
they encompass a large part of who I am as a person and how I see the world. However, there is
one part of me that until this year, I had not thought an important part of who I ammy
identitythat is my disability.
Where does disability fall within these components of identity? Since I will be discussing a lot
of personal experiences, I am placing disability under environment/influences because it has
impacted every aspect of my life, as well as the world around me. I have always viewed the world,
or society through the eyes of someone with a disability, I was just not always aware of it. I became
aware as I did the research for this project, learning more in depth of how I view society, but also
how society views meor in this case, persons with disabilities.
In her book A Disability History of the United States, author Kim E. Nielsen takes an in-depth
look at how people with disabilities have been treated over the decades. Sadly, the majority of
treatment of disabled persons took an out of sight out of mind attitude, which resulted in seeing
these people as burdens on society. This attitude lasted into the 1980s when during that time, a
series of movements on rights for persons with disabilities resulted in the passing of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Unfortunately, this
attitude still exists today, largely through the influences of Medicine, Psychology, and Science, which

still view disability as something to be fixed.(terminology problem; use of repetitive phrases

because different terminology doesnt exist yet or is in the process of being created) Today,
society is in a sort of transition mode as they look at the terminology currently in use, what the acts
really state in terms of granting accessibility, and dealing with court cases on an individual basis
because each disability is different. Another aspect that is being discussed among Disability Studies
scholars is what it means to be successful in society with a disability(define this; depends on the
person and the disability and severity of that disability; properly accommodated-define what that
might entail based on specific disability); moving away from negative definitions to positive ones.
Social success, to me, is defined as being able to express oneself and communicate, make and
maintain relationships, set boundaries within those relationships, be sensitive to the needs of others, be
able to respectfully disagree with others, and also to handle stressful situations. As for the world itself,
some people would say that social success is being abled, this obviously does not fit with persons who
have disabilities, and yet everyone deserves to have a place within society regardless of their ability.
First of all, what does it mean to be abled? This definition stems from history as someone who is
normal. In this case an abled person has full command of their five senses (sight, hearing, smell,
taste, touch), as well as bodily functions and develops both mentally and physically at the same rate
as his or her peers. Abled children hit the developmental milestones when they are supposed to and
go through the phases of life as theyre supposed to. However, this definition does not describe me,
nor does it describe many others. What, then, qualifies a person with disabilities as successful?
The Deaf Community is full of people who all know sign language in one form or another and
who all to some extent grew up with or around Deafness. The community is close, many of its
members having attended schools for the Deaf as children. Social success to the Deaf, then, is having a
sense of community. Likewise, hearing people share a sense of community through music, radio, film,
and social media. But what if you are hard of hearing? You are not completely d/Deaf, nor are you

completely hearing. In which group would you fit? The answer in neither, at least, not completely;
having a hearing loss makes you invisible (flesh this out with an example--poem). You do not use sign
language, but you do not catch all of the conversation either. (poem goes here)
I have stated before that I am hard of hearing. Some of the things I share with the hearing
world are listening to music and the radio, and things I share with the Deaf world are ASL and closed
captioning on films and television. People are often surprised to learn that I have a hearing loss,
largely because I dont sound like a Deaf person when I speak. This is because I started losing my
hearing around the age of four, after I had acquired language. (hearing chart here) I did not get my
first pair of hearing aids until first grade. There will always be situations where I cannot hear best; they
are usually situations and events that attract a lot of people, like music concerts, restaurants, sporting
events, and amusement parks.
While hearing aids do amplify sounds, they do not make specific sounds clearer. It is harder
for me as a person with a hearing loss to tune out background noise, like chatter from a food court or
cafeteria. How does someone with a hearing loss get by in a crowded, loud, keep-up-with-the-pace
world? It is in no way easy. There are a number of ways that I will need to advocate for myself in
order to be successful as a person with a hearing loss. The first is no bluffing; bluffing means acting
like I understand what someone has said when I really did not, this often happens with jokes by not
hearing the punch line correctly. Marcia B. Dugan lists in her book Living with Hearing Loss a number
of tips for improving communication. Some of these are asking people to get my attention before
speaking to me, facing me when they speak, not covering their mouth, and speaking slowly and
clearly.
Not only is this poem an example what it is like to have a hearing loss, it is also an example of a
person with a disability naming and claiming an experience. In a way, I am writing my story, which
brings me to my next point on Literature.

Disability Studies scholars are pushing for people with disabilities to write their own
stories and experiencesthey must name and claim (flesh this outunderstanding your
individual experiences as a part of what makes you unique/who you are; this is especially
important in literature because if you do this, it gives authenticity to the writing) so that
character portrayal of people with disabilities can be accurate and positive. The reasons for
changing character portrayal in literature are many, but the most common one is to break the
current stereotypes. Another is to point out that the way a character is represented, disabled or
not, has an impact on how real people, with or without disabling conditions, are viewed by
society. If character representation is important in literature, especially concerning characters
with disabilities, how would one tell which books portray disability in a positive light? What
standards would there be and how would they be met?
In her article Childrens Literature That Includes Characters with Disabilities or Illness,
Joan Blaska states that Perhaps no group has been as overlooked and inaccurately presented
in children's books as individuals with disabilities. Most often they were not included in stories
and when they were, many negative stereotypes prevailed such as characters who were pitiful
or pathetic, evil or superheroes, or a burden and incapable of fully participating in the events of
everyday life (Biklen and Bogdan, 1977). Often the difference or disability was the main
personality trait emphasized to the reader, not a balance of strengths and weaknesses (Blaska
& Lynch, 1994). (put this on a slide) The goal of her article is to inform her readers that how a
person with disabilities is portrayed in literature has an impact on how they are viewed in
reality. Blaska suggests that the criterion for characters with disabilities needs to change in

order to make literature more inclusive and informative. Blaska gives 10 points for gauging
what a text involving a character should include. They are books that:
Promotes empathy not pity.
Depicts acceptance not ridicule.
Emphasizes success rather than, or in addition, to failure.
Promotes positive images of persons with disabilities or illness.
Assists children in gaining accurate understanding of the disability or illness.
Demonstrates respect for persons with disabilities or illness.
Promotes attitude of "one of us" not "one of them."
Uses language which stresses person first, disability second philosophy, i.e. Jody who is blind.
Describes the disability or person with disabilities or illness as realistic (i.e., not subhuman or
superhuman.)
Illustrates characters in a realistic manner (put this on a slide)
Since I have read multiple texts involving characters with disabilities, I can say that the
portrayal of the main characters in all of the texts except for one, meets most of these
requirements. The one that does not, is Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games. When I read The
Hunger Games for the first time, I was surprised to read that Katniss lost her hearing. I was not
expecting that, and reading about a character whose ears were ringing and who could not hear out of
her left ear was instantly relatable to me. The one fact about Katnisss hearing loss verses all of the other
characters I read about, is that in her case the hearing loss is portrayed as a tragic thing, following
stereotypes of deaf and hard of hearing people. However, given the situation that Katniss was in, it
definitely was a hardship for her, having always had perfect hearing and needing it because of her
hunting skills. What caught my attention the most when I read that chapter was the descriptions Collins
used to describe how the sudden hearing loss made Katniss feel. I cant adjust to deafness in the ear. It
makes me feel off-balanced and defenseless to my left. Blind even. (228) Welcome to my world. Collins
portrayal of Katniss sudden hearing loss continues the stereotype that characters with disabilities

were either something to be feared, pitied, or learned from, sometimes all at once. There is
also another interesting aspect to note: Collins is hearing; yet she writes about a hearing loss. If

a character is deaf or hard of hearing, then shouldnt the author have the same experiences? Questions
like this are part of what Disability Studies is trying to address in literature today. On a positive note,

character portrayal of persons with disabilities is moving away from fearful, pitiable, and
learned from cases to characters that are whole. By whole I mean the character is first and
foremost a person, the disability plays a secondary role as part of what makes that character
unique. Characters with disabilities are also striving to move towards acceptance in some form,
of their disability. (finding a model of ourselves in literature when we read is important
because it is someone/thing to relate to; this is even more important for students with
disabilities. Have you ever read a text in school where the main character has a disability?
Neither have I. What does that say about the students with disabilities in our classrooms? Its
saying they are not important.)
Likewise, the education system strives to be accepting and accommodating of it disabled
students needs, but this is not always the case. The current debate that DS (Disability Studies)
holds with education partially revolves around the inclusion process, which is currently implemented
in American public schools. (DSE conference article reference/quote here) Inclusion states that all
students, including those with disabilities, should be included with their able bodied peers in the same
classes. This choice is based on fostering community between students, as well as tolerance of
differences. In the case of disability, the goal of inclusion is to make disability less frightening and
unknown. In short, if people interact with others who have disabilities on a daily basis, then people
with disabilities are less scary to be around. This is a lofty goal and a very idealistic one. . However, as
I thought about my own experiences, I realized that inclusion does not work; at least not in all cases.
In the book Creating Inclusive Classrooms by J.D. Salend, the book stated a statistic that inclusion
involving students with disabilities more successful in the Primary grades than in the Secondary

grades as students in elementary school were generally more accepting of students with disabilities.
This wasnt the case in high school as students tended to migrate towards the various social groups
that are most like themreadeveryone wants a place to belong.
One of the problems with the way that special education is set up in the schools, is that they
are physically isolated from the rest of the school, which inhibits inclusion and leads back to
institutionalized thinking, which, according to DS scholars is part of the ableist attitude towards
people with disabilities. The other problem I have with the inclusion process is that, while it works in an
ideal world where peoples differences are accepted, and differing educational needs are met, if the
teacher has to teach students of all kinds with different learning styles and different paces, then
inclusion makes this a nightmare. It would end up in the horrific area of teaching to the middle,
where to save time the teacher teaches to those who are average paced, but those who learn slower
are left behind, and those who learn faster are left bored with nothing to do.
When I was in elementary school, I was in what the school called self-contained classes with
other students who were deaf and hard of hearing. In middle school and high school I was
mainstreamed into the regular classes with my hearing peers. The self-contained classes of elementary
school were isolating for me because I spoke like a hearing person versus my more deaf speaking
classmates. From middle school onward I was the only HH person in the school; at least I thought that
until my senior year of high school when I learned there was another HH girl who was taking the same
ASL class as me. Knowing that I had not been the only one frustrated me because I had missed out on a
potential relationship.
In my ideal case, I think I would have had the best education where the pace was slow and oneon-one with mathematics, high functioning and fast with English, and regular paced with all the other
subjects. I also think that had my parents been informed about all of the educational options for me and
how my hearing loss impacts spoken communication, I would have gone to a school for the Deaf and

become fluent in ASL, and had I been tested as a child and known about my cognitive disability, I would
have had an easier time with school in general. A question that has arisen as I approach my time of
Student teaching is how am I going to accommodate myself as a teacher with a hearing loss and a
cognitive disability? In my classroom, I intend to set up the desks in either a circle or a horse shoe so
everyone can see one another, and so I can read their lips. If I am at the board and a student has a
question, I will not understand them from behind, so they will have to wait until I am facing them to ask
a question. For staff meetings, I will require a captionist, so I can follow along and not get lost. Being a
teacher will give me many new experiences, but so will being a teacher with a hearing loss.