I do not have this condition but I have suffered from mental health issues so know how unsypathetic some people can be.

As to my Deafness, as I told Aleser, I was very glad to lose the rest of my hearing. Now people have no choice but communicate with me the way I want them to. Via none verbal methods.

I feel Signing should be used with all Deaf and nobody should be made to struggle with the oral only approach. The Deaf have their communication rights violated but I noticed it too, when I attended Doncaster Deaf college and became Blind for psycosomatic reasons, that they don’t really treat those with other disabilities too well. In fact a Social worker for the Deaf went so far as to say she wouldn’t help because I was also blind. I’m all for Deaf Pride and signing etc.. but only wish they would show others more tolerance too.

And I fully understand your desire to lose your residual sight. Better to be done and over with so you can move on than remain in limbo. By the way, do you find this site easy to navigate and use?

At the very same time, we fight against other’s rights. We consider psychological illness not “the same” and not worthy of the same rights and the same respect. For the life of me, I cannot understand it. Who am I to arbitrarily point at some transgendered person and say that they shouldn’t be allowed to live life as they please? In that same thought, who am I to tell someone they shouldn’t be allowed to even -consider- alligning their image as a disabled person with their physical body, if they do not want to face the wrath of me, a geniunely disabled person who came by it the honest way?

Needless to say, we don’t all think that way- I sure don’t. This brings to mind my experience with another member there, a lovely woman who is one of the few others on the forum who I can share my experiences as a DeafBlind person with and be understood. One day, I expressed my desires to lose the rest of my vision sooner than later, so that I could live the life I wanted now without fear of what the next day might bring. She said she felt the same way about wanting to lose her hearing. Neither of us found the other one disturbing or different in any way- I still respect her, and I hope she still respects me. I wish I had spoken up- or that people like her had spoken up, because nobody should ever be told they are inferior on the basis of disability- even psychological disability.

For the time being, it may be that we are only able to get support from each other, this should be no shock to us. But, do not let the exclusive club mentality of a few form our opinion of an entire group.

Frustrating to see the people who had zero desire to consider any arguments.

I don’t really have anything else to say on the topic, just sad to see the hate.

@kyla, indeed, it’s amazing that there are such people in the medical field, it’s an uphill battle :(

@claire, I have a suspicion that you are encountering more accepting wheelers because you are meeting more wheelers than anything else. Threads VERY similar to that one on AllDeaf happened on Paradevo, and other community forums for/by wheelchair users.

I have found a lot more understanding in the wheeling community than I did in that one. Yes, there are wheelers who don’t get it, but I have met MANY wheelers who are in fact able to *get* the fact that a mental illness can be painful and that we are human beings like everyone else. And that we deserve some kind of respect and respite from our pain however we can find it.

Interesting, isn’t it?

Fuck ‘em.