assistance dogs – Page 8

Acceptance is…

Published on May 20, 2008May 28, 2008 by hearingelmo2 Comments

Have you ever had a time in your life where you realized that accepting the way things are is all you can do right now?

The advocate in me chafes at what acceptance means. There is a part of me that yearns to be instrumental in change; that other late-deafened adults will be encouraged and helped by the things I do. In the public arena I try to be a good example, a positive influence that stimulates change in access, communication strategies, and coping mechanisms.

As a person with a working dog and one who has carefully counted the cost of what that means, I want to be a good role model. I hope to help create an awareness that there are other types of working dogs that are not guide dogs for the blind. I want to be instrumental in other’s acceptance of other types of working dogs.

It is much easier for me to “go to bat” for others. If it means a sacrifice will help someone else, I do so with little thought about whether or not I should. However, exerting emotional, mental and physical efforts in which the end result helps only me? Well… that is much harder!

When I first began losing my hearing, I lived in North Carolina. I had a friend who had a great deal of experience in working with people with hearing loss. Thoroughly exasperated one day, she put her hands on her hips and exclaimed, “Denise! You are the most difficult person to HELP! If and when we can, would you just sit down and LET US?” To this day, it is still something I struggle with each and every day. I want to “help”, but don’t help me!

I hope that I’ve mellowed with age, for in truth it is pride that keeps me from humbly accepting assistance from others. I’ve actually learned to ask for help! That’s GROWTH in my opinion! (grin)

Acceptance can be difficult to embrace. I accept that I have a hearing loss. I have a disability that at times makes communication difficult. I accept that I will need to ask for help at times in order to clarify, and that I will need to clearly communicate my needs.

Sometimes, acceptance means that right now… nothing can be done to improve your situation. My family and I are members of a really wonderful church here in Frederick. Our church is “big” on “small groups”. It is a way for the members to really get to know one another and to become involved in each other’s lives on a more personal level. Without going into a lot of unnecessary detail, there is no place for me in any of the current small groups. I’m encouraged that there are “plans in the works” to create a small group this fall that will be in a quieter setting with no children, etc. For now, however, I accept that there is not a place for me. Acceptance can mean to be brave and smile right through the feelings of loneliness. Acceptance does not mean that you “give up” emotionally and wrongly convince yourself that “this is the way it will always be”.

I am in a tough situation with my assistance dog, Chloe right now. A new person in my life has a very severe allergy to animals with fur. It is actually a life-threatening asthmatic reaction to pet dander, and she is unable to be near me if Chloe is with me.

Chloe isn’t a pet. As an assistance dog, her job is to be with me even if I do not immediately need her ears to hear or her “steady stance” to balance. To leave her at home in her kennel on occasion is not a problem. But to do so regularly, affects our bond in a negative way. It’s tough when a “new person” enters your life that you want to get to know better, but you must limit getting together with them because you cannot leave your assistance dog at home a great deal. I must accept that sometimes I can’t get to know someone like I would hope, as I cannot undo all the work and training I have gone through in order to live a more independent life.

Acceptance isn’t always an easy, “feel good” choice. At times, one must courageously determine that you can “accept” the way things are for the present. Right now, “acceptance” has actually caused a lot of heart break in my life… it has caused many a heated argument, frustration and sleepless nights. I can, umm… (BIG SMILE) accept that!

Denise Portis
©2008 Hearing Loss Diary

True Belongings

Published on April 28, 2008April 28, 2008 by hearingelmo1 Comment

There is very little in our lives that we can control. We can make plans and be incredibly organized. In the end, however, this only guarantees the likelihood that we will be prepared for things we’ve predetermined may or may not happen. Planning does not illuminate nor prepare us for things that are impossible to imagine. Robert Burns wrote “To a Mouse”, from which we know the familiar line, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry“.

We do not plan nor prepare for accidents, illnesses, or disabilities. We don’t plan for things to go “awry”. Even when trying to prepare for confrontation with an individual, we cannot fully prepare for every scenario as we cannot accurately anticipate how someone may respond. We do not plan to “get fired from a job we love”, and we do not plan to lose a parent in death, or a child to poor decisions and sin. (I do not plan in advance for Chloe to drop a wet, slobbery duck in the middle of my keyboard attempting to get me to play with her on this wet, rainy day! Play breaks are important to my intelligent assistance dog! If I’m at home working all day, she needs some form of stimulation. I embrace play breaks with wet, slobbery ducks with… umm… enthusiasm?)

I’m a “planner” and someone who happens to be “big on details”. It means that I have developed great organizational skills, having honed some God-given talents to the point that I basically drive my entire family crazy. Someone who has great organizational skills often struggles with control issues as well. I can openly admit that I have “control issues”. I don’t like surprises. Heaven help the person that ever throws a “surprise party” for me. I don’t like them. I’m a planner, and one can’t plan for surprises. Planning for things, and preparing for activities are important to me. The one thing that can suck the air out of my lungs and leave me struggling for breath is a surprise. Have I mentioned yet that I hate surprises?

I never planned to have a hearing loss. I didn’t sit down at the age of twenty-five with a babe on each knee and daydream about being deaf. “I think… in ten years I’ll lose all of my hearing and rely solely on advanced technologies in order to hear and communicate!” We don’t ever plan for loss of any kind. Sure! We all know we WILL experience loss. It’s not a question of “if” we will, rather “when” we will. All types of losses, although expected, cannot be fully anticipated. At some point in time we are going to be sitting in the dirt on our caboose wondering… “What just hit me?”

I am in the process of reading for the third time the book entitled: When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg. God has used this author in my life a great number of times, and I highly recommend his books. He quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh,’s “I am of the nature” in chapter six.

I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.

I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

The only thing we will ever really own are our actions triggered by personal choices. I have to smile when I hear someone say, “I made an intelligent, informed choice!” We cannot ever truly be completely informed of all of the facts. Life is unkind in that regard. We can make decisions based on things we know, but what we do not know is far more likely to affect us. What we fail to anticipate tends to be the driving force behind change. Who I am today was shaped by what I was not prepared for; I am the result of a Master’s plan and not my own. I am the consequence of my actions, which are my only true belongings.

I try to begin each day by waving a white flag of surrender. I do not have access to the Master Plan. I am not able to even peek over His shoulder to see what my day holds. But I do, however, have access to the “Master”. My daily surrender is to self… I do not have control over my life. But I can actively choose to trust the “Master” and His plan for me. (One of my earliest posts was about having a blueprint for my life).

It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to know I have true belongings. I own my choices and am responsible for my actions. To find true peace, we must trust the Master to the “plan”.

At the request of my husband, I watched the movie “Master and Commander”, starring Russel Crowe. He had to twist my arm to see it as “war films” are not what I normally choose to watch in order to unwind! I actually learned a lot from the movie, but likely not the historical war highlights my husband had hoped. One particularly “educating” moment was when Captain Jack Aubrey, said, “England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship *is* England.“

I had one of those incredible moments in time where everything about my life sort of “snapped” into focus. My testimony is a reflection of my Savior… my Master. It gives me great comfort to know that Heaven – “on the far side of the world” – is my Home. But for now, this life… this “ship” is my home. I live each day faced with decisions about how I will live with my disability. Reacting” is subconscious, but it births the conscious decision to “act”. Those actions are my true belongings.

We all have true belongings. Those of us who have “control issues”, need to learn to relinquish our “plan” and focus on our actions TODAY.

Denise Portis
©2008 Hearing Loss Diary

Kiki’s friend… Denise’s assistance dog

Published on April 18, 2008 by hearingelmo1 Comment

We are blessed with 3 cats. I say “blessed”, because if you’ve ever had a cat… one that was a real pet and not the “mouse police” for the barn, you know that cats have their own endearing ways and are a blessing.

I don’t know that families ever own indoor cats, as really indoor cats own families. All 3 of our cats have completely different personalities. Kiki, (shown above with Chloe), is rather fond of my assistance dog. You’ll note that Kiki gets the comfy chair and Chloe? Well Chloe knows her place. Kiki and Chloe have a unique relationship. Kiki is a very smart cat. She knows that Chloe is mine, and that I’m her “pack leader”. I know this because Kiki will come and “tell on” Chloe, and also let’s Chloe know that although she may be a working dog… Kiki will never, EVER… be caught working.

Wednesday I went out back to mow the lawn. I walked out the back door, across my deck, commanded Chloe to stay in a “down”, walked down the steps and over to the shed, drug the lawn mower out… started it and mowed the backyard. These details are important. It took me 30 minutes to mow the backyard, and Chloe watched from the top of the steps the entire time. She’s not crazy about the noise of the lawnmower, but she trusts me and she obeys. She was very glad to have me come back up the steps to her. She seemed a little extra excited to see me, and it didn’t take me long to discover why. It seems Kiki darted out the door with Chloe and I. She couldn’t get down the steps because Chloe was in the way, and the lawnmower is very noisy. So she lay down right next to Chloe in the morning sun and “made biscuits”. She purred and slept, and kneaded that 30 minutes away. Chloe obediently stayed in a down. The hair on her back was sticking up ever which way, but she obeyed ME… and tolerated her friend’s massage.

It struck me that the two have actually become friends. Chloe is my alarm clock and wakes me up when she hears my alarm. First thing we do is run Chloe outside to “hurry up”. The cats have their own room. (Don’t think very hard why the cats think they own the family and not the other way around!). I’ve been noticing that when the cats are let out of their room in the morning, Kiki comes over to actually greet Chloe. Chloe has learned not to sniff Kiki’s umm… Kiki’s… Chloe has learned not to sniff Kiki. However, Chloe has also learned that Kiki will tolerate nose sniffing and some playful face licks. Kiki will curl around Chloe’s legs and rub up against her purring all the while. They are buddies. “Who’d have thunk?”

One of the reason’s I love Fidos For Freedom, is that the puppy raisers are encouraged to have all kinds of pets. The assistance dogs have really “seen it all”, by the time they get to their partner’s home. However… I don’t think Chloe’s puppy raiser had rabbits.

Denise Portis
©2008 Hearing Loss Diary

Why I Don’t Use Sign to Communicate

Published on April 15, 2008 by hearingelmo4 Comments

A hearing loss is often referred to as an invisible disability. Even though I wear “bling” on my cochlear implant, and have a bright red/orange ear mold on the hearing aid in my other ear, one can’t look at me and tell I have a hearing loss.

The reality is, I’m deaf. But… I’m not culturally Deaf. (The culturally Deaf usually identify themselves with a capital “D” for Deaf). Without my cochlear implant, I can hear less than 5% of consonants from only certain individuals. I could go into the nitty gritty details of what my audiogram shows without my implant, but as it’s almost “Greek” to me, I’m sure it would be “Greek” to you.

I needed an assistance dog for a variety of reasons. Although I was warned by my trainers at Fidos For Freedom, I was unprepared for how visible Chloe made my hearing loss. It’s not every day you see someone come into a store, post office, or restaurant with an assistance animal that is very obviously not blind. Chloe makes my implant bling virtually non-existent in the way she so quickly brings to attention the fact that I have a hearing loss!

It’s funny to see people creep closer to read her vest, and then look at me quizzically until they spot the cochlear implant and/or hearing aid.

At Costco this past weekend, I had several strange encounters. Not “strange” like the “X-Files”, but strange in that it was really weird how different people responded to my hearing loss.

The folks at Costco know me well… they should as I spend a small fortune there each month! They know Chloe even better, and sit on their hands so they don’t reach out to pet her wiggly hello. But the customers are all usually “new” to seeing this bright red hound come into the store with her “deaf” partner.

I had a man/wife couple tip-toe up to me and enunciated very clearly (and with extra exaggeration to the point I almost laughed),

“Doooezzzzzz yourrrr dooooog….. hearrrrr…. fooor…. youuuuu?”

I smiled and said, “She does indeed do that! She has the best ears! She helps me with my balance on rainy days too!”

After they picked their lower jaw up off the floor, they talked to me at length about what Chloe does for me and how I came to be matched with such a wonderful companion. I noticed after about 7 or 8 minutes, that the husband was bi-laterally fitted with hearing aids! No wonder they were so curious… and he talked as clearly as I do with no hint of sign language, etc. (I say that carefully, as I do not mean to infer that those culturally Deaf cannot speak clearly… some do so amazingly well… and it’s not a language that is their own! Many Deaf are able to speak well! But those who do… often have a “Deaf accent” for lack of a better way to explain it. Hey! If I spoke a 2nd language, I’d have an “English” accent for sure!) We parted ways after I deposited pamphlets and brochures about Fidos into their eager hands.

I also ran into a fellow Fidos For Freedom volunteer! Small world!

I rounded the corner of the dairy section… and wouldn’t ya know? I ran into a group of teenage girls. They squealed and came rushing over to Chloe. (I wasn’t about to think they were rushing ME!)

One of the girls… likely around 16-years-old or so, began to painstakingly introduce herself to me in sign. “Hi. My name C-r-y-s-t-a-l”. (This took her about 5 minutes to complete). I patiently waited, and then dropped Chloe’s leash, stepped on it, and used both my hands to sign, “Nice meet (you!) Name-mine, D-e-n-i-s-e, This (pointing to Chloe) ” ” hearing-dog, mine. Name C-h-l-o-e”

They squealed and excitedly tried to figure out what I said for about 30 seconds. Then they got nervous. So I put them out of their misery, and voiced in English:

“Actually, I don’t use sign language to communicate. I am “oral” and use English just like you! My name is Denise and this is my hearing dog, Chloe.”

The sweet young lady who had been brave enough to sign blurted out, “Oh! Well WHY? If you can sign, why would you speak English?”

$Chloe alerting to the timer in the classroom so I know class is \$ As a teacher of ASL (American Sign Language) I had one of those moments… the kind where you hear yourself speaking in a lecture that you did and it echoes in your mind during the moment it actually hits you! Of the 34 million Americans with hearing loss, less than 2% sign. Yet, hearing loss is almost always equated with sign language.

I took a few minutes to explain that everyone in my life has normal hearing, and everyone uses oral English. My daughter’s boyfriend, Mark, has normal hearing. (How can I get to know HIM if I can’t speak English and and use my bionics to hear his responses?) I am the only person with hearing loss in my family, the only one in my church, and the only one at work. I know and teach sign language, because I made a very dear friend in college who was Deaf. The college just happened to have a “College of Deaf studies” as well. I learned sign language to talk to her, I later used it in my church to serve in a Deaf ministry… and then I lost my hearing. If I only signed and didn’t choose a cochlear implant, hearing aids, and reading lips to communicate… I would not have very many people to talk too. Sure… they can learn sign language, but I’ve never been convinced that my world would do anything other than become a lot smaller. (Besides… my husband is truly manually dyslexic! He’s tried to learn for years!)

I teach sign language because I do love the Deaf. I have numerous Deaf friends still! I hope to instill a passion for the language in young people who will go out and make a difference to someone who is Deaf. They may be interpreters or teachers of the Deaf, or… they may only have a one-time opportunity to be a blessing to a Deaf person. I love sign language! It’s beautiful, and many times “says” what spoken word cannot. I “sing” in sign… (I am after all – deaf! Truly, and fully “tone deaf”!)

I realized I had begun to ramble as I saw the girls’ eyes glaze over. TMI!

I know sign language, and can teach it as well. I don’t use sign language to communicate 98% of the time. (Likely, one of the reasons my receptive skills are so poor).

Having Chloe with me 24/7 is like putting a spot light on my disability. And… I’m OK with that! I love to talk about hearing loss. I love to talk about assistance dogs! Heck! I love to talk!

Denise Portis
©2008 Hearing Loss Diary

Facing Our Fears

Published on March 30, 2008March 30, 2008 by hearingelmo1 Comment

I wrote about a “red horse” that Chloe took a dis-liking too. The post can be accessed if you click here. As time has passed over the last couple of months, her discontent at seeing the red horse has become WORSE — not better! With a new driver in the van in the form of my 17-year-old son, Chris, I decided that perhaps a trip to the restaurant was in order so that she could see the horses up close – and personal. I wanted her to face her fears not only for her own good, but also so that my inexperienced new driver could continue to learn to drive safely!

There are three horses actually. One horse is in a tiny street level “corral”, the second one is on top of the restaurant sign, and a third is on top of the motel associated with the restaurant.

I was actually a “wee bit” nervous as I wasn’t sure how she would respond. Chloe understands commands and the tone of a voice. But I couldn’t exactly “reason” with her as we exited the van to face her fears. I was surprised that she practically drug me to the first red horse. I didn’t want her to “freak out” as I was in my Fidos For Freedom gear, having just returned from a DEMO to a brownie troupe. I certainly didn’t want Chloe and I to be poor representatives of my favorite organization!

I was a little bewildered that she didn’t even growl at the horse! She has such a fit in the van, I just knew the hair on her back would stand straight up as she barked her head off! As she doesn’t look nearly as cute without a head, I was glad to see her under such control.

Towards the end, she actually started wagging her tail. I was very glad to see her so calmly approach, study, and relax around something that has been upsetting her for months.

What made Chloe so calm around something she’s been so disturbed about for so long?

Perhaps facing her fears along side of someone she trusts helped.

I thought about how true this is of my own life as well.

Facing my fears, is much easier to do and much more successful when I have someone I trust beside me. Obviously, my biggest fear is that of my deafness. I am blessed to have a wonderful cochlear implant that maximizes my hearing, various technologies that improve how well I hear in different environments… yet I will always be a “deaf person”. I don’t hear “normally”, but I do hear. Having Chloe gives me confidence… but her partnership doesn’t give me my hearing back. I trust Chloe’s ears, and she is always beside me. So she helps me face my fears, just by her presence… which in my case is being able to hear the world around me in such a way that I stay “safe” and “aware”.

It’s also important to find people who can come along side you when you are fearful. I think that is why many people search out support when they acquire a disability. The internet is a GREAT thing. One can research, search, and FIND people who are facing the same thing they find themselves now living. There are numerous support groups, organizations, clubs and message boards for those with hearing loss.

Sharing your fears, worries and challenges with like-minded people, allow most individuals to face their fears with a little more determination, a little more courage, a little more optimism, and a little more success.

Spring Break with an Assistance Dog

Published on March 28, 2008March 29, 2008 by hearingelmo1 Comment

This Spring Break was much different than last year’s. For one thing Terry was off the whole week too, as he is now in “education”. It was great having him off at the same time we were! This year, I had Chloe with me too. It’s hard to believe that we will be together for a year April the 11th!

Walking around Gettysburg, felt great as I was so independent from the help (and worry) of my family! You’ll note that I am walking ALONE, and my husband was able to just enjoy himself. It’s Chloe’s job to “hear” for me now, and to assist me up and down “curbs”, etc. Even my daughter, Kyersten, (who would have probably NEVER have left home one day had I not proved I can be independent with Chloe…) was able to run ahead and check out dark allies. (That’s a different story that I’ll save for another time. Pics are on my facebook though!)

Chloe is a “smart dog” and takes naps when she is able too. She rests so quietly under tables, she often scare waiters and other guests when we get up to leave. She really needed a nap, as she was certainly into our walks. I think she likes Civil War history…

Towards the end of the day we ended up at Gettysburg outlet shops. She was practically asleep on her feet, but it’s difficult to get her to lay down when I’m sitting and she knows I’m having a wobbly day. It’s hard to convince her that I didn’t need her to lean on me! I hated having to put her in a firm “down/stay” just so she’d rest. (But I succeeded as she is a very obedient dog!)

She and I both went to sleep pretty quickly after our trip!

Back to Work

Published on March 18, 2008March 19, 2008 by hearingelmo2 Comments

Chloe was sick with a “tummy thing” Saturday through Sunday. Many people do not realize that a working dog is susceptible to occasional “tummy rumblings” and other “doggie colds” as they are exposed to so much more than a pet. At Fidos For Freedom, we are encouraged to take our working partners to the vet every 6 months for a “well check”. Chloe receives many vaccinations that are not even required by law, just to insure that her immune system has the very best defense against sickness. She gets sick about 3 times a year, and they are usually tummy things.

Early Saturday morning she woke me up with the same alert she uses to let me know my alarm was going off. At first I mumbled “good girl”, and reached for the alarm to turn it off. I think the fact that I was SO TIRED, I thought to look at the clock. 1:42 AM. Hmmm…

Chloe proceeded to show me why she got me up… poor sick girl! I put her on a hamburger/rice mixture for 48 hours. I fry and then strain (+ rinse with water) the very leanest hamburger, and boiled some white rice. Mixed together it seems to be the very best thing for an upset stomach. I keep these things on hand all the time.

The picture above is Chloe right when I told her Monday morning that we were going to “go to work”! She was so excited! She ran to the window, and then stayed literally under my feet until I dressed her in her vest to go. One of the hardest things for she and I is for me to have to put her in her kennel. Sunday morning church, and a few errands had her resting and me? Well I felt practically naked without her. I kept looking around for my backpack (Chloe’s stuff) everywhere I went.

Many adjustments are made and even necessary when you have a working dog. You have to prepare in advance before going anywhere. Do I have water for Chloe and her collapsible bowl? Do I have her mat? Do I have treats, extra leash, ADA law book and “rights of access” brochures? It’s almost like carrying a diaper bag with me wherever I go. I remember those days when my kids were little and I had to “cart” their stuff around. Now I am doing it again. But Chloe does so much for me… the least I can do is carry some of her things!

The nice thing about saying, “Let’s go to work”? Chloe enjoys working so much! She practically jumps into her vest, and prances right out to the van! She loves being by my side and “showing” me sounds all day long. If Chloe had her way? She’d not ever take sick leave.

What You Can’t See Can be Scary!

Published on March 3, 2008March 9, 2008 by hearingelmo6 Comments

I have had “my ears out” for the majority of the day so far, as I’ve been grading sign language presentations for two of my classes. (It drives my kids nuts sometimes, when they know I need only to clip my CI on, and stick my hearing aid in to hear “semi-normally”). I tape my student’s presentations, thanks to the help of my daughter and “teacher’s aide”.
I have no idea what I will do without her next year! (sniff!)

I watch the videos of my student’s presentations “deaf”. It gives me a better picture of how a culturally Deaf person might see and understand the presentation given. It takes me about 30 minutes to grade a SL1 presentation, about a hour to grade a SL2 presentation, and about 2 hours to grade a SL3 presentation. I watch them over and over again… looking for different things. It’s amazing what I pick up not being able to “hear”. At the very end, I put my “ears on” (cochlear implant on the left, and hearing aid on the right) and watch the presentation one last time. My students would be a little disgruntled to learn that sometimes this is where points come off! “Hearing” their presentation while “watching” as well, allows certain mistakes or “wobbles” to be discovered. I’m sure they’d appreciate it if I only graded “deaf”!

Today in the backyard I was giving Chloe, my hearing assistance dog, some “down time”. I had my “ears in”, and so I do hear some of what she hears with those wonderful ears. However, I’m amazed at what I still miss. For one thing, she hears with BOTH ears. I have difficulty discerning “where” a sound is coming from as I really only hear through my implant on the left side. Imagine my surprise, when Chloe stopped dead in her tracks and started circling a spot on the ground and barking! I came closer and said, “What is it, Chloe… show me!” This is Chloe’s clue to point, or take me to a sound I can’t identify. She didn’t move! She kept growling, barking and circling a spot on the ground. I got down on my knees in order to get a closer look and really used my eyes to check out what she’d found. Chloe came over and sat right next to me, and I was astonished to feel her shaking. She was very upset! As something very obviously had her rattled, and bolted back into the house as Chloe stood “guard” over the spot.

A quick shriek, “Come quick!” had both my teens at my side almost instantly. I asked Chloe to “show me again”, and she again circled the same spot, growled and barked. The kids told me that it was a bark that definitely said, “I’m afraid”. Her trembling clued me in to that, so I certainly didn’t doubt their word.

We never did discover what it was! What you can’t see can be scary! Perhaps it was a vole? We just don’t know! It was obviously something Chloe could hear, as those wonderful ears would suddenly perk up and she’d growl and stare. (The thought that I may have a vole in my yard just makes me incredibly happy! NOT!)

Kyersten must not have been as rattled as I as she put her “naked dog” (Chinese crested), Pegasus, in his exercise pen for a suntan this afternoon. Who knows what voles eat?

Apparently not “Peg”, as he is still sunning himself outside.

You know? Many things that we cannot see can be scary! Deafness isn’t something you can see. One of my kiddos works in a small retail store and have noted more than once, the look of apprehension on co-workers or other customer’s faces when it is discovered a customer is Deaf. The person “looks” normal, and it isn’t until communication takes place that differences are readily apparent. I’m very glad my kids know some sign so that they can make the Deaf feel comfortable! What people with normal hearing do not realize, is that Deaf people can do everything except… hear!

SIDE NOTE: For those of you who may be new to my blog, Deaf with a capital “D” denotes those who are culturally Deaf and use ASL to communicate. Deaf with a small “d” (deaf) are those who are oral and use their voices to communicate, but they cannot hear.

There are many disabilities that are invisible; deafness is only one. I got a little “grief” from some of my extended family for choosing to get a working dog to help me. My acquired disability was invisible to others! Why on earth would I want to make something “invisible”, visible? (I’ll save that for another post!)

What we don’t understand… things that may unnerve us? Things that scare us, may be nothing more than a cute little vole! (Actually I hope my daughter doesn’t read this as she may go out… unearth the vole and adopt it!) It would be great if all of us would learn to pay attention to things using all of our senses. God has given us intuitions and gifts that are not necessarily included in what our 5 senses pick up either! Take the time to “pay attention”. What you cannot see may be scary, but what you can hear, feel, taste, empathize with, discover and enjoy may be a … well? A vole!