so i've heard

Growing up as the only hearing child in my family, the oldest daughter with two profoundly deaf sisters has, I know, given me some unique communication and perceptual abilities -- verbal, visual, spatial, kinesthetic and some synthesis of modalities which I appreciate more each day. I have always been the person who can understand the incomprehensible accents and "hear between the lines" of less eloquent speakers. Of course I am ever more curious to discover how this may manifest in my relationship with horses.

I began playing the oboe at age ten when Carolyn was eight and a half and Barbara was just four, possibly around the time when the above photo was taken, and I continued on to earn my degree and play professionally. My sisters always struggled to understand what in the world I was doing...but they used to find it very, very funny as well and would do hilarious imitations of me. This poem attempts to assume their point of view.

A wonderful book by Oliver Sachs called Seeing Voices beautifully describes American Sign Language (ASL) as a complete spatial language and also documents deaf culture and history. My sisters were raised at a time when deaf children were either taught sign language, or they were schooled in the "aural/oral method of communication" (speech and lip reading). My parents chose the latter method. Two deaf children learning to speak and read lips -- they might possibly read my lips, but you can imagine the difficulties reading each others lips. Not only were they not being taught ASL, sign language was not allowed in our house. Needless to say, we developed our own!

Today most deaf children are taught through "total communication," a combination of methods. My sisters grew up to learn ASL, to marry deaf men and bear children with perfect hearing (two each) -- all gifted communicators, who can speak and sign simultaneously. My sisters also developed excellent speech and lip reading skills -- however, despite their fluency in ASL, they are recognized by the deaf community as "non-native" signers.
I continue to try to understand the complexity of my relationship to my sisters, to expression and communication, my place within the family and how it all has influenced my place in the world. An interesting article here, contains an extensive resource list at the end.