“Did you know that Helen Keller created her own form of sign language to communicate with her family? (Page 32)” DisabilityBlindnessDeafnessAbleismSign LanguageAsl Book:Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism Source: Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism
“Most Deaf kids have home signs; they develop their own ways to get what they need. I have my own, too. My colleagues in the science fiction world who sign can get my attention, can communicate with me if they really need to. A lot of the signs we use aren't "real," but they're the ones I use, and that's why we use them together. (Page 33)” BlindnessDeafnessAbleismSign LanguageAsl Book:Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism Source: Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism
“The English language is perniciously ableist. We speak in metaphor that constantly puts down disabled bodies, with phrases like "turning a blind eye" and "it fell on deaf ears" falling from our lips so easily. People often tell me it's not that big of a deal. But, of course, if you've been listening to your language make you sound stupid, ignorant, and useless for your entire life, when you've made a profession out of the craft of language, you cannot help but find pain in the ways that language cuts you to the quick. ASL has its own barbs. All languages do. But English is troublingly ableist. (Page 42)” LanguageMediaDisabilityBlindnessDeafnessSign LanguageAsl Book:Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism Source: Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism