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Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016
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Mussie
I was born in Eritrea, northern Africa. For my education, I came to California,
where my parents and sister were. I have been deaf-blind throughout my life, with
optic atrophy being my diagnosis.
When I immigrated to the United States with almost zero knowledge of
English, I attended school in Oakland for the first time in my life at the age of 12.
Communicating with teachers and getting along with peers was an enormous
challenge, and learning English was difficult at Glenview Elementary School. I
knew no sign language, nor could I fingerspell. Teachers had to rely on Tadoma and
hearing aids, under the mistaken assumption that I would understand speech with
some augmentation. But perceiving body language, aided by the use of objects for
context, was my primary means of understanding teachers. Communication very
rarely occurred between peers and me – and when it did, it was almost entirely
gestural and basic in nature. Occasionally, teachers had to try to communicate by
talking very loudly or in my ear, but it was almost completely futile, often leading to
frustration. On rare occasions, I would perceive spoken words, especially when they
are repeated multiple times and in a quiet setting.
When I began to learn the English alphabet depicted in rows of plastic letters
laid out on a table, my teachers saw an opportunity using such letters. They would
give me an embossed copy of the braille alphabet. To master the alphabet, I would
touch a single plastic letter of the print alphabet, and then touch the corresponding
braille letter. Once I learned uncontracted braille, my ability to communicate
improved significantly, as teachers used a brailler. But I had to first learn basic
English, like the meaning of "boy" and "girl". For instance, the teacher would type
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