A Deaf Adult Speaks Out

Appendixes

ISeven Other Faces of Deafness* Nowhere before has there been published the views of a rank and file group of deaf panelists expressing themselves openly and freely in sign language. Therefore, I was determined to organize such a panel discussion. In order to cope with this problem, I undertook the following procedure: 1. I selected the participants by using the following criteria: (a) they were products of schools or programs for the deaf who did not go on to college, with one exception who attended for only one year; (b) they represented divergent educational backgrounds. 2. I decided to solve the problem of recording the discussion by asking a deaf individual to record the statements of each panelist by writing thenl in freely translated English which should, however, show the same intent as the ASL used by the panelist. Therefore, I had seven recorders sitting across the table from the seven panelists. Each recorder thus had the time to give his/her full attention to his/her designated participant, and to translate quickly enough to keep up with the free exchange of ideas. In order to make the transcript as accurate as possible, I had the panelists check with their recorders after the discussion to see if their intent was shown intact in the written record. ::-The genesis of the idea for this panel discussion, and also the title, was a seminar with deaf professionals which was held in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1972. 136 Seven Other Faces of Deafness 1137 An interesting development occurred after I had chosen my recorders. I had based my selection on two criteria: (a) they should be able to read ASL well enough to get the intent easily, and (b) they should be able to write English well. It was not until the night of the meeting that we realized that six of the eight recorders had deaf parents. 3. The meeting was set for Friday evening, April 10, 1973, and it was held in the Eagle's Nest conference room at the California School for the Deaf at Berkeley through the kind permission of the school authorities. I asked Mr. Jacob Arcanin, the Assistant Superintendent of the Berkeley school, to serve as an observer. 4. The names of the participants in the panel discussion follow, with their backgrounds given. The identity of each panelist's recorder is given at the end of each paragraph. Mrs. Margaret Burroughs-Age 44. Born deaf. Attended Hawthorne and Hamilton oral schools in Oakland, California, leaving after ninth grade. Now working as a procurement clerk at the Presidio Army Base, San Francisco. Recorder: Mrs. Helen Barber. Mrs. Jo Jacobs-Age 48. Lost hearing from whooping cough and measles at ten months of age. Hard of hearing. Graduated after ninth grade from the Alexander Graham Bell oral school in Cleveland, Ohio. Now working as a key punch operator at the Oakland Tribune. Recorder: Mrs. Lois Bullock. Alfred Lowe-Age 67. Lost hea;ing at age five from measles. Hard of hearing. Attended an oral school at Aberdeen, Scotland, until graduation at age 14. A retiree now, his last job was as a stock clerk at the Rhodes department store in Oakland for 23 years. Recorder: Mrs. Judith Bloomquist. Stephen McCullough-Age 27. Cause and age of deafness unknown . Attended oral schools, then the Kendall School in Washington , D.C., before coming to the Berkeley school where he was in the tenth grade. Presently a printer at the Sorg Company in San Francisco. Recorder: Harry M.Jacobs. Enrique Marquez-Age 30. Began to lose his hearing after he fell from a horse at age eight. Became totally deaf at age 15. He was born in Mexico, and attended a missionary school for a short time. He could speak Spanish, but he could not write in either Spanish or 138 IA DEAF ADULT SPEAKS OUT English until he went to the Berkeley school at age 16. He graduated from the school at age 21, and is still the only literate member of his family. Recorder: Mrs. Patricia Zinkovich. Lonnie May-Age 25. Cause and age of deafness unknown. Being a son of an Army man, he attended the Arkansas School for the Deaf first, then schools in Frankfurt, Germany, and Brighton, Sussex, England. He returned to the Arkansas School for a year, then attended the Berkeley school until his graduation. Dropped out of Gallaudet College after his preparatory year, and...