Passion of Mental Health

I cannot remember not being deaf. I attended mainstreamed programs as I could remember. I did not know that a "deaf world" existed. Upon entering Gallaudet University in Washington DC in 1989, my eyes were opened to possibilities of which I have never dreamed. Exposed to so much potential at Gallaudet, I realized there are deaf football players, doctors, lawyers, and even architects. I discovered pride in being deaf. Realizing that I could do everything empowered me. Being deaf does not prevent me from reaching goals. It actually gives me specialized tools that increase my potential.
Never had I thought that I could help other people. I did not imagine that I could positively impact other people's lives with my life and 'disability' experiences. In Baltimore, Maryland, I worked both with deaf clients with mental retardation at a DDA organization, and with deaf clients with mental illnesses at an agency for MHA clients. I learned that I could make a difference.
I realized that because I am deaf, I empathize better with clients. That deeper empathy and understanding of deaf culture has enabled me to train the hearing staff to better understand and work with the deaf clients.
Being deaf has forced me to become extremely observant. I am more alert to any chance in the clients' behaviors. I notice changes that others often do not. This talent helped me to save several clients' lives (finding a client in a building on fire, detecting episodes of diabetic shock, and anticipating seizures are examples.)
Due to my deafness, I have to work hard on ensure that my communications are clear and concise with both the clients and the other staff. Copying my efforts, the clients and staff also began to work harder to communicate more effectively. Learning about newer technologies that have major impacts on the deaf world, with encouragement, the others learned how to use computers and such devices thereby enlarging their world.
Because I have the same 'disability' they do, I demonstrate to my clients a positive deaf role model, a first for many of them. I have seen my positive behaviors and steadying influences increase my clients' motiviation to improve themselves. My clients succeeded in their new jobs and strive toward the goals of developing independence or staying off drugs because of my encouragement and staff support. Many clients have told me that because of my sense of humor and willing to treat them as adult equals, not as children, they developed confidence in themselves and in other people.
With these experiences behind me, it is now my goal to become a mental health counselor. I want to use my education and knowledge to assist my clients and to protect their dignity and independence. The deaf often feel that the world is against them. I believe that they can learn from me how to work with the hearing world to become a team, instead of "me vs. you." I have the positive confidence that the deaf world and the hearing world will bulid a bridge.