| Have you ever had the experience of communicating | | | | When I found myself alone with my father in law, I |
| with people with hearing and speaking disabilities? More | | | | would always try to sign by spelling out words and |
| commonly known as deaf & mute people. I would | | | | hoping he could interpret. Amazingly, he could sense |
| like to tell a little story about listening and | | | | what I was trying to communicate to him. I usually |
| communicating using the deaf community as a model. | | | | capped off the conversation by writing on a tablet the |
| It just happened that both of my wife's parents were | | | | message I wanted to convey. |
| deaf/mute. They met at the Nebraska School for the | | | | A little known aspect of the deaf community is they |
| Deaf and later married and had six children all of which | | | | love to group sing. This is usually accomplished by one |
| can hear. My mother in law passed away before my | | | | or two people leading the group in "signing" the lyrics. |
| marriage to her daughter but my father in law lived | | | | They also maintain a tempo so that everybody stays |
| near us until his death in a car accident. | | | | together. The deaf community loves group singing at |
| Listening for a deaf mute begins by paying close | | | | all sorts of celebrations including funerals. After each |
| attention to what is being signed. No ten second sound | | | | song, they wave their hands to indicate their pleasure |
| bites for him. Paying close attention to what is being | | | | in singing. |
| communicated was essential for him to know what | | | | What we encounter in today's "hearing" world is just |
| was going on around him. Going to a basketball game | | | | the opposite of "listening" and "communicating" |
| at NSD would result in standing inside the gym for a | | | | effectively. We often let our minds wander beginning |
| time while he scanned the crowd until he found | | | | 10 seconds after someone begins talking to us. What |
| someone he recognized and then began "talking" to | | | | about the rapid fire "talking" that is taking place these |
| him in sign language. Imagine, anybody that cared to | | | | days. Is this a result of the "multi-tasking" that seems to |
| listen in could do so if they could read "sign". | | | | be popular? |