Ok so today's post isn't really at all related to deafness (multifaceted remember :).
I'm at a point in my weight-loss journey that I'm noticing the scale not moving. It's actually been stuck for a month and half. I'm ready to tear out my hair and chunk it to the wind but instead I did some research and found out something quite accidentally.
Hypothyroidism.
Sure I've heard of it before but really didn't know what it was. Poking around and found a list of symptoms and was shocked that I have almost all of them! In fact- all the naggy things that have been tormenting me physically for the last say 5 or so YEARS are from that list! And all this time I thought it was a brain tumor or some wacky parasite caught from hanging out with little children or something :)
Since we're insurance-less and will most likely remain so (no thanks to Obama-don't-care), I've taken it into my own hands to try to come up with a homeopathic treatment. Now these steps aren't the true answer (only meds will really clear up hypothyroid symptoms) however I think I can at least give it a run for my money and a little bit of time and effort to TEMPT to feel better.
So today I'm starting my gluten-free and soy-free life. Wish me luck cause I'm going to need all of it. :)
Monday, October 28, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Deaf funnies
My son is almost 10 and always coming up with funny Deaf/hearing culture jokes. Thought I'd share them as they come to us.
Friday, October 25, 2013
ASL game ideas for teaching hearing students
For ASL class we got to do a review and game day. It was a LOT of fun :)
So today I want to share the awesome games we did. Some I took from various internet sites, some were favorites from back in the day of deaf college ministry, and some were totally made up by me.
Since we have 3 age levels I did 3 games per class. We used the vocabulary we had been learning however each of these games can be adapted to use whatever signs you are teaching or learning.
Enjoy!
Little kids class:
Colorful Balloons- This game is similar to "Four Corners" but with colors. Tape 1 balloon of each color in different areas (on the walls) of the room. Everyone except the caller- person who is blindfolded and standing in the middle of the room- runs to a balloon (hopefully not everyone goes to the same balloon but spreads out). The caller- - signs a color. Everyone who is standing under that color balloon is out. And so and so forth till there is only 1-2 left in the game.
ASL Charades- This game is just like it sounds. Because we were working with very young kids (some were not old enough to read) I went online and printed pictures of animals we had learned in ASL (if they are older kids you can print just the words). Then put all the pictures in a bag. Each child had to draw a card and act out the animal shown but without signing the name. Then all the other kids have to SIGN the name of the animal back (no voices!).
Grab Bag- This game focused on the Lesson about Foods but it can be adapted to just about any lesson. I printed off the internet pictures of foods we had learned (2 copies of each picture). Then put 1 copy of each picture into a bag. Then split the class into 2 teams and lined them up. On the opposite side of the room we had 2 chairs- each with a grab bag. When it was time to Go! 1 student would run up to the grab bag- reach in and grab 1 card- sign the picture as fast as they could- then throw the card off to the side and race back- tagging the next in line. Racing is the funniest part and you do need referees watching to see if they are signing correctly but it's neat seeing them try to remember the signs when under a time-rush.
For elementary age kids:
Who Am I?- Probably my favorite game and loved by all who play it- Who Am I? is so versatile that even Deaf people play a version of it. For ASL class we chose animal signs but you can adapt it for foods, or rooms, or family or whatever. First everyone sits in a circle (preferably on chairs) except 1 person (stands in the middle). Everyone (including the person in the middle) gets a sign- I let them pick their favorite animal but make sure everyone is DIFFERENT. Help them remember what animal each person in the circle is (no voice- only signs). Then after a lot of practicing and everyone feels familiar with who each person is- start the game. The middle person has a rolled up newspaper or magazine. Someone in the circle signs an animal name (not their own). The people in the circle as well as the middle person try to figure out who is that sign (like I say "alligator" and everyone looks for "alligator"). IF alligator realizes they have been called, they try to sign another person's animal name- i.e. "squirrel". BUT they have to call another's animal name BEFORE the middle person whacks them with the newspaper (leg not face). IF they call another's animal name before getting swatted then the middle person tries to find the second person "squirrel" before "squirrel" calls someone else's animal name. And so on and so forth until the middle person whacks someone before they can call a new name out. ONCE the middle person swats someone before they can sign a name, that person they whacked gets to become the middle person. This game is all about speed and memory.
Videophone: You all remember playing "Telephone" as kids right? Well Deaf can't use the regular telephone so we played "Videophone" instead. The basics is the same- everyone lines up facing away from the teacher (i.e all facing right). The first person (the teacher) taps the 1 student on the shoulder and signs a 2-3 sentence story. Then the student turns and taps the next student on the shoulder and repeats the story to the best of their ability. And so-on down the videophone line. The story always ends up much shorter and very interesting!
ASL Scavenger Hunt: I will include the clues I used but feel free to make up your own! Just like a regular Scavenger Hunt except substitute words in English for signed pictures of words you have taught. We did this after learning family signs and room signs. And of course- you MUST have a prize at the end of the hunt!
High School Class:
ASL Mad Libs: I printed off words we had been learning and put them in a bag. Then each student had to take 3-4 words and hold onto them without showing them to their neighbors. Then one student began a story. For example: "Sally went on a vacation." Then the student had to use their 3-4 words in the story (could voice the words they had not learned but had to sign the words that had been taught). Then the next student continues the same story but adds on using the words they pulled from the bag- again signing the words they knew instead of voicing them. In the end- everyone gets practice both signing words and reading the signs to keep the story going.
Finger Bridge: One of the first classes was fingerspelling ABCs. Students are encouraged to practice ABCs as often as they can to build fluency and speed. Since our high school class was pretty small this game was easy to do. Think like egg toss games- pair up partners and have them facing each other on opposites sides of the room. Make sure they are standing close enough to still see each other's hands :) One side fingerspells a word who's sign has also been taught in class, then the other side has to Sign the word back (i.e we learned family signs so one side fingerspelled "M-O-M" and the other side signed "Mom"). IF the person signing back gets the word correct they get to take one small step forward. IF after several attempts they can not figure out the word, they get a new word but the goal is whoever gets to their partner first- wins.
I hope each of my descriptions were clear. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions! Oh and each game could always use improvement- so feel free to make them your own :)
So today I want to share the awesome games we did. Some I took from various internet sites, some were favorites from back in the day of deaf college ministry, and some were totally made up by me.
Since we have 3 age levels I did 3 games per class. We used the vocabulary we had been learning however each of these games can be adapted to use whatever signs you are teaching or learning.
Enjoy!
Little kids class:
Colorful Balloons- This game is similar to "Four Corners" but with colors. Tape 1 balloon of each color in different areas (on the walls) of the room. Everyone except the caller- person who is blindfolded and standing in the middle of the room- runs to a balloon (hopefully not everyone goes to the same balloon but spreads out). The caller- - signs a color. Everyone who is standing under that color balloon is out. And so and so forth till there is only 1-2 left in the game.
ASL Charades- This game is just like it sounds. Because we were working with very young kids (some were not old enough to read) I went online and printed pictures of animals we had learned in ASL (if they are older kids you can print just the words). Then put all the pictures in a bag. Each child had to draw a card and act out the animal shown but without signing the name. Then all the other kids have to SIGN the name of the animal back (no voices!).
Grab Bag- This game focused on the Lesson about Foods but it can be adapted to just about any lesson. I printed off the internet pictures of foods we had learned (2 copies of each picture). Then put 1 copy of each picture into a bag. Then split the class into 2 teams and lined them up. On the opposite side of the room we had 2 chairs- each with a grab bag. When it was time to Go! 1 student would run up to the grab bag- reach in and grab 1 card- sign the picture as fast as they could- then throw the card off to the side and race back- tagging the next in line. Racing is the funniest part and you do need referees watching to see if they are signing correctly but it's neat seeing them try to remember the signs when under a time-rush.
For elementary age kids:
Who Am I?- Probably my favorite game and loved by all who play it- Who Am I? is so versatile that even Deaf people play a version of it. For ASL class we chose animal signs but you can adapt it for foods, or rooms, or family or whatever. First everyone sits in a circle (preferably on chairs) except 1 person (stands in the middle). Everyone (including the person in the middle) gets a sign- I let them pick their favorite animal but make sure everyone is DIFFERENT. Help them remember what animal each person in the circle is (no voice- only signs). Then after a lot of practicing and everyone feels familiar with who each person is- start the game. The middle person has a rolled up newspaper or magazine. Someone in the circle signs an animal name (not their own). The people in the circle as well as the middle person try to figure out who is that sign (like I say "alligator" and everyone looks for "alligator"). IF alligator realizes they have been called, they try to sign another person's animal name- i.e. "squirrel". BUT they have to call another's animal name BEFORE the middle person whacks them with the newspaper (leg not face). IF they call another's animal name before getting swatted then the middle person tries to find the second person "squirrel" before "squirrel" calls someone else's animal name. And so on and so forth until the middle person whacks someone before they can call a new name out. ONCE the middle person swats someone before they can sign a name, that person they whacked gets to become the middle person. This game is all about speed and memory.
Videophone: You all remember playing "Telephone" as kids right? Well Deaf can't use the regular telephone so we played "Videophone" instead. The basics is the same- everyone lines up facing away from the teacher (i.e all facing right). The first person (the teacher) taps the 1 student on the shoulder and signs a 2-3 sentence story. Then the student turns and taps the next student on the shoulder and repeats the story to the best of their ability. And so-on down the videophone line. The story always ends up much shorter and very interesting!
ASL Scavenger Hunt: I will include the clues I used but feel free to make up your own! Just like a regular Scavenger Hunt except substitute words in English for signed pictures of words you have taught. We did this after learning family signs and room signs. And of course- you MUST have a prize at the end of the hunt!
High School Class:
ASL Mad Libs: I printed off words we had been learning and put them in a bag. Then each student had to take 3-4 words and hold onto them without showing them to their neighbors. Then one student began a story. For example: "Sally went on a vacation." Then the student had to use their 3-4 words in the story (could voice the words they had not learned but had to sign the words that had been taught). Then the next student continues the same story but adds on using the words they pulled from the bag- again signing the words they knew instead of voicing them. In the end- everyone gets practice both signing words and reading the signs to keep the story going.
Finger Bridge: One of the first classes was fingerspelling ABCs. Students are encouraged to practice ABCs as often as they can to build fluency and speed. Since our high school class was pretty small this game was easy to do. Think like egg toss games- pair up partners and have them facing each other on opposites sides of the room. Make sure they are standing close enough to still see each other's hands :) One side fingerspells a word who's sign has also been taught in class, then the other side has to Sign the word back (i.e we learned family signs so one side fingerspelled "M-O-M" and the other side signed "Mom"). IF the person signing back gets the word correct they get to take one small step forward. IF after several attempts they can not figure out the word, they get a new word but the goal is whoever gets to their partner first- wins.
I hope each of my descriptions were clear. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions! Oh and each game could always use improvement- so feel free to make them your own :)
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Cochlear Implants and Deaf Identity
For as long as there has been cochlear implants (CIs) there has been the debate on whether CIs are wonderful or evil. Are CIs the beginning of something terrific or the end of Deaf Culture as we know it.
Recently I got to sit with a high school student and talk about cochlear implants and Deafness.
Recently I got to sit with a high school student and talk about cochlear implants and Deafness.
Here are some ponderings.
1. Are you opposed to cochlear implants?
Answer: No. I'm opposed to many things- Abortion, lying, cheating, stealing, etc., but an innate object is not one of them.
2. Do Deaf cultured people outcast those with cochlear implants?
Answer: For as many Deaf culture people that I know who loudly proclaim cochlears are evil, never have I actually met a Deaf person who literally refused to talk to someone with a cochlear. And yes I know MANY deaf with cochlears and yes most of them are my friends. Now I'm sure there is someone somewhere out there who has shunned a cochlear implant recipient but its not the norm.
3. So do YOU want a cochlear or would you get them for your children?
Answer: NO... and that's a loud NO.
4. But you just said you weren't opposed to Cochlears?
Answer: I'm not opposed to a cochlear implant HOWEVER I am opposed to something much deeper. It's the mentality that CIs make a deaf child hearing. I despise this idea. Words can not convey how much I hate this idea.
5. But what about hearing aids? You allow those right?
Answer: A. Hearing aids are not major surgery on your child's head. Which is not, for the most part, removeable, replaceable, and carries enormous health risks that are rarely disclosed but are much more common that many believe.
B. We treat hearing aids as tools but we do not elevate them- I hate the idea that hearing aids can make you hearing with the same blinding passion as with CIs.
C. I've never forced our kids to wear their aids. One child loves them and the others hate them. 90% of the time they sit in a drawer. I let me kids lead because they are not vital to our lives nor do they dictate our ability to communicate with each other.
6. So what about adults getting CIs?
Answer: I view born deaf and late-deafened as two separate beasts. I think for someone who was born hearing, they have the capability to use CI very successfully. They were once hearing- they aren't being "changed" into something they never were before. I think if the person is old enough to make the decision for themselves and they fully understand the risks, then CI is a valid option.
Now that being said- this is MY opinion and MY conviction. But I know many parents around me who give their babies CIs. Does this mean I hate them and never want anything to do with them and I'm secretly judging them in my head? Judge judge judge!! Bad bad bad!!! Hmmm no.
Yes I might be sad but I still want to be your friend and I hope you'd want to be mine even if we chose not to get CIs.
In the end its never been about the cochlear implant. It's about how parents or individuals approach Deafness. If you feel like deafness is inferior and a problem to be fixed; something less than normal- then we're going to have issues. But if you are a loving accepting parent that most parents tend to be- you just might be A-okay in my book.
10 annoying habits of hearing people
This is an article posted by a UK Deaf writer. Funny and accurate stuff :)
http://limpingchicken.com/2013/05/20/charlie-swinbourne-the-10-incredibly-annoying-habits-of-hearing-people/
To be fair he does a "10 annoying habits of Deaf people" which is equally funny and true.
http://limpingchicken.com/2013/07/10/annoying-habits-of-deaf-people/
http://limpingchicken.com/2013/05/20/charlie-swinbourne-the-10-incredibly-annoying-habits-of-hearing-people/
To be fair he does a "10 annoying habits of Deaf people" which is equally funny and true.
http://limpingchicken.com/2013/07/10/annoying-habits-of-deaf-people/
Saturday, October 19, 2013
My 1st 5K- The Color Run!
I am BEYOND EXCITED!
Today (yep- at the crack of dawn) I get to pick up my teammates and head to my very first ever 5K- The Color Run!
Sure I know it's not about running a real race (they don't time and there's too many people to ever consider running :) BUT that is not what this race is about.
It's a REAL goal accomplished.
It's tangible. It's visual. It's something I can taste and smell and physically be immersed in. I MADE this goal!
It makes the last 4 months of despair and worry just melt away and know I AM doing this. I AM making good decisions with my health even if the scale never moves.
I seriously can hardly wait!
Be back later with the after pictures :)
Today (yep- at the crack of dawn) I get to pick up my teammates and head to my very first ever 5K- The Color Run!
Sure I know it's not about running a real race (they don't time and there's too many people to ever consider running :) BUT that is not what this race is about.
It's a REAL goal accomplished.
It's tangible. It's visual. It's something I can taste and smell and physically be immersed in. I MADE this goal!
It makes the last 4 months of despair and worry just melt away and know I AM doing this. I AM making good decisions with my health even if the scale never moves.
I seriously can hardly wait!
Be back later with the after pictures :)
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Weightloss Wednesday: Mountain top reflections
I've found in this journey there are several key moments or Ahha! times were the thickness of the clouds and despair I feel clears away and leaves me standing there realizing I'm on the mountain.
Yesterday I had one of those moments.
It was all so sudden. Driving to the gym and realizing this is dedication. When you get up and go to the gym and ride a bike for 6 miles but never leave the room... even when every muscle in your body is screaming NO!!!!!.... yep- dedication. It's like fire in the bones.
Then it hit me. All those despairing moments, all the frustrations, really are just a cover for the true state of it all. I'm climbing the mountain.
Sometimes it's painfully slow. Sometimes I'm stumbling over rocks and crawling with skinned up knees but I AM climbing that mountain.
Sometimes things look great and sometimes the sun is covered in clouds. But it's ok. Cause I'm climbing on.
The point of weight loss isn't about great leaps and bounds. It's about small and steady change. If I keep up eating the right things, if I keep up exercising even if it's not officially a day in the gym (just a walk around the backyard with the kids works), if I keep tracking calories/carbs/etc, if I keep getting and giving support... then I AM climbing!
This month's weight loss motto for me is from Abraham Lincoln. He once said, "I walk slowly but I never walk backwards." Amen and Amen.
So I just wanted to say- keep climbing ya'll. It sounds cliche and maybe I'm a little mountain happy from the altitude but for now I'm just enjoying the moment.
Yesterday I had one of those moments.
It was all so sudden. Driving to the gym and realizing this is dedication. When you get up and go to the gym and ride a bike for 6 miles but never leave the room... even when every muscle in your body is screaming NO!!!!!.... yep- dedication. It's like fire in the bones.
Then it hit me. All those despairing moments, all the frustrations, really are just a cover for the true state of it all. I'm climbing the mountain.
Sometimes it's painfully slow. Sometimes I'm stumbling over rocks and crawling with skinned up knees but I AM climbing that mountain.
Sometimes things look great and sometimes the sun is covered in clouds. But it's ok. Cause I'm climbing on.
The point of weight loss isn't about great leaps and bounds. It's about small and steady change. If I keep up eating the right things, if I keep up exercising even if it's not officially a day in the gym (just a walk around the backyard with the kids works), if I keep tracking calories/carbs/etc, if I keep getting and giving support... then I AM climbing!
This month's weight loss motto for me is from Abraham Lincoln. He once said, "I walk slowly but I never walk backwards." Amen and Amen.
So I just wanted to say- keep climbing ya'll. It sounds cliche and maybe I'm a little mountain happy from the altitude but for now I'm just enjoying the moment.
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