My Life Without Hearing Blog 3 - My Teenage Years

My teenage years 

I left school in July 1983 and enjoyed having a relaxing time at home over the summer. However, I started to get upset again at the thought of going to a new college in September that year. There were limited opportunities to get a good education as a Deaf person, so after a visit to Doncaster College where we met the lovely headmistress there, my mum decided that would be the best place for me. At first I was upset, because I had never had to stay at a residential school before, and it meant being a long way away from my mum. In the first year my meals were all provided; I remember it being like school dinners, having to queue up. Luckily, from the second year when we were expected to cook for ourselves I was able to get home regularly to visit my mum at the weekends and get some of her lovely home cooked food. She would even send me back to Doncaster with some meat for my meals throughout the week. Thursday was takeaway night, when we would go to Wimpy for a burger, fries and a banana milkshake. 

Meeting the other students

When I got to Doncaster College I soon settled in, as most of the other students could use British Sign Language too, so it was easy for me to communicate. There was a real mix of students there; some were hard of hearing and weren’t able to sign when they arrived, but they soon learned by mixing with the other deaf students. They were a lovely group of people, and it was very different from the bullying I had experienced before. 

Subjects 

The first year we studied pre vocational skills; which included Maths, English, Computer Studies, Office Skills, Floristry and Cookery. We were given chef whites to wear for cookery, which we were expected to clean and iron ourselves, but I would take them home at the weekend for my mum to do. I did work experience with a florist, but all I actually did was sit in the van while she made the deliveries.  I remember her making deliveries for different events, such as funerals. I was at Doncaster College for 3 years altogether. In the second and third years we picked the area that we wanted to specialise in, and I chose to study office skills, which I enjoyed. I studied the different levels of typewriting; the old RSA certificates, on old fashioned typewriters. It was very hard when I got to level 3, but I managed to pass, despite my nerves. 

American Exchange

While I was at Doncaster College, aged 19, I was given a fantastic opportunity to go to America for three weeks on a student exchange and visit Gallaudet College, which is now Gallaudet University. This was a very different experience from anything I had seen before. We learned so much about their culture, as well as seeing American Sign Language and how different it is from British Sign Language.  The college was huge, with many Deaf students and teachers, and had its own museum which showed artefacts from when it opened in 1824. 

Sightseeing 

As well as the college, we visited many of the buildings in Washington, including the White House. We didn’t get to see President Reagan though. We had to wait in a very long queue to see it, and we were not allowed to take photos inside. We went to an amusement park named Six Flags, where there were people dressed as Disney characters. I really enjoyed it there, especially the aquarium and seeing the seals and the fish. I bought myself a cuddly toy seal to bring home, which I still have. 

Amish community 

Something that was very different was visiting an Amish community and seeing how they lived on the farm. They don’t use any modern technology like electricity, phones or cars, and everything on the farm is done by hand. The family we visited had a Deaf father and hearing mother, and the man used American Sign Language to communicate. We weren’t allowed to take photos, but one Amish boy allowed me to take one of him. 

When I returned home I was sad because I had enjoyed the trip so much. We swapped details with the American exchange students, but only kept in touch for a short time, which was sad. 

Join me next time to hear about leaving college and moving onto work and the challenged I faced as a Deaf person in the workplace.