VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 4
communicated with the cashier and used my own money to buy them. I
interviewed MaryJo for this story, and she told me one scary but a little funny
story. One day we went on a field trip to a playground near a marsh. I was very
curious and wandered off, and she thought she had lost me. That caused MaryJo to
panic, but I ended up fine. (Smile.)
A couple years later, I met Kevin, who is deaf like me. He taught me
independent living skills, such as shopping and showed me the best ways to
communicate with hearing people in a variety of situations like stores, restaurants,
museums, and outdoor events. My family became good friends with Kevin and
much later after he moved to New York, I visited him. While seeing the sights in
New York City, we met two deaf Japanese men at the Statue of Liberty, and we
learned a bit of Japanese sign language. It was a fun experience! (Too bad Spider-
man wasn't there, smile.)
My third and final community intervener was Anna, who is also deaf. She
was my intervener when I joined the "DeafBlind Teen Group" where we met and
planned our activities during my high school years. Organized by the Minnesota
DeafBlind Project, we had guest speakers and fun educational outings. Anna was
somewhat similar to Kevin, and I learned much about being deaf and I could
identify with them.
