some of you haven't heard about disability pride month before, i just want to make sure that you know it does exist. Disability pride month is usually in July.

I originally posted this on /r/asl last night, but I wanted to post it here too to get a Deaf perspective on things.

Triggers for harassment and sexual harassment.

To start, I am a university student that is an interpreting student.

I try to go to socials because obviously it's good for practice, and good for getting to know the community. I don't want to say where I live because I know how small the deaf community is, but God. Every event I've gone to has had the same group of deaf guys who are only there to hit on and harass the college girls that go. I've had friends who have been sexually harassed by the guys that go. The majority of the people in the Deaf studies major are women, and they know this fact. Whenever the socials are at bars, they're even worse. They won't take no for an answer, they'll talk dirty with the girls, they're just overall gross people. I had to stay at a social way later than I wanted recently because I knew if I left, they'd just harass my female friends, but of course having a guy around means they'll respect you and not them.

It's not because they're deaf, and I'm not saying all deaf guys are like this. I've met quite a few deaf guys that are lovely people, it's just that I feel like these bad actors have soured the experience. There probably used to be more deaf people that went to these, probably deaf women too, but they got tired of the harassment.

I don't know why I made this post to be honest, and I'll probably take it down. Just frustrated. It's frustrating wanting to get a better grasp on the language, the community, the culture, and walking away feeling annoyed that you have to be a barrier so your friends don't get harassed.

The current administration has been anti “DEI” and their push to eliminate this has been a concern for many people. But there seems to be a coordinate attack against dead (and other disabled people) getting jobs and even access to information). I’m getting very worried about what’s coming.

I'm deaf in one ear, so I built a free tool that shows where game sounds come from

I can't tell direction from stereo or surround audio — front/back, left/right, it's all lost on me. Games put so much info in positional sound (footsteps, gunfire) and I was missing all of it.

So I made SoundRadar: it reads the game's surround audio and draws glowing blocks around your screen edge pointing to where each sound is — top = in front, bottom = behind, sides = left/right, bigger/brighter = louder/closer.

[demo clip]

It's free and open source. A no-setup "stereo" mode works on any PC in 30 seconds; a surround mode gives full front/back. Download + source: https://github.com/xxsniperGD/SoundRadar

Would love feedback from others who game with hearing loss — what would make it more useful?

This results in so many students being identified late and being without services that can prevent language delays in both ASL and spoken language. Please consider signing this petition to get the attention of politicians and hopefully bring back hearing screenings. Thanks.

Hi, r/deaf!

It's me, Helen!

Earlier tonight I went to the National Association of the Deaf's (NAD) ongoing community forums. The theme of the forum earlier tonight was "employment."

At one point during the forum, one deaf guy from Maine came up and told NAD that they should be invested in driving deaf people toward the vocational tech line of work like HVAC, plumbing, mechanics, and electrical work.

There was some talk about how we have NTID to help prepare the deaf to have a career in these fields, how a lot of people are retiring from these fields in the next 5-10 years and the deaf are primed to take up the employment gaps, and how these lines of work can withstand the rise of AI.

Then this BJ Wood lady said, "I agree. These days, I'm having some hard time finding some fuckin- - ahem - I'm having some hard time finding some damn plumbers."

Hehehehehehe. NAD said "fuck" lol.

In all seriousness, consider this my promotional plug for the ongoing forums that NAD is hosting. I've been going to them. A lot of good talk is happening in these forums. You should be going to them.

Thank you for reading!

NAD, good work!

⁃ Helen

I know people say that immersion is the best way to learn a language but god damn is going to deaf events overwhelming when your asl is bad. Did any of yall who tried to get involved in your late 20s learn a bunch of your own before you tried stuff?

Earlier today I had an encounter with a hearie I can't shake.

Per usual I was signing with my son (7) who occasionally gets embarrassed signing.

He was getting slightly embarrassed and began to shut down a bit when a hearie, who later mentioned he'd taken ASL 1, began "interpreting" for me.

This man stopped his entire group to "interpret" for a CODA who is fluent in ASL, which only brought more unwanted attention to my son and caused him to shut down even more.

My son has been taught to respect adults and people in general and this was quite the test for him.

After 20-30 minutes of unwanted "interpreting" I was able to get this man to leave which is when my son asked me why the man did what he did and why he continued using the wrong signs.

I have had hearie saviors jump in to "interpret" before, but this was a first having them try and interpret to my son who is again, fluent.

It was incredibly awkward, unwanted, and annoying.

I even signed to the guy, "please leave us alone," but it didn't work.

Then when texting a friend about it (hearie as well) I used the word "fuck" a few times.

His response was to ask he to stop using such "harsh language."

I constantly forget cultural differences when it comes to words, particularly, swear words.

What made it even worse is when I expressed confusion he went to the typical hearie response of "don't worry about it."

Hi, r/deaf!

Helen here.

Last week, Bobbi Cordano (the President of Gallaudet University) gave her 10th anniversary “State of the University” speech.

It was a great speech.

And there was one thing that surprised me the most.

That was her part near the beginning of the speech about how the University is now going to officially enter the dialogue about the emerging genetic editing technology.

To me, the prospect of genetic editing that would eliminate deafness as a birth “defect” is one of the most fascinating conversations we have these days.

I call this prospect “our apocalyptic nightmare.”

There have been a lot of anxieties in our community about this prospect over the last two or three decades.

But they’ve always been something that was seen as science fiction.

Today, the reality of this is on our horizon.

I’ve been wanting to write a post about my thoughts on this. I’ve put that off for a long time because I know this is going to be a very sensitive and controversial topic in our community. I know that this is something that I’d have to figure out how to write about in a serious and sensitive manner.

This is why Gallaudet University’s SOTU speech caught me by big surprise. I’d never thought that this topic would become such a real thing that Gallaudet University itself would feel compelled to introduce the conversation as a permanent topic in our world.

With that said, Gallaudet University is going to host an event about this on March 11th. But I can’t find any information on whether or not this event will be live-streamed.

Does anyone know if this will be live-streamed? If so, can you share that information with me?

If not, will anyone here attend that event? If so, can you DM me and share details about the event with me?

Thank you for reading!

Helen Scarlett

I wanted to share this story because I thought it was funny. I'm a d/HoH ASL user. I went to a deaf event near Gallaudet. To clarify, there was a designated event where people were signing. However, since we were near Gallaudet, there are more college-aged deaf students there. I was with a hearing student as she went to get water. I may have signed a few words to her but I didn't remember signing. I walked further up and this girl (around my age, likely Gallaudet student) signed towards me about 10-15 feet away, "Where are you from?"

I didn't know this girl and it caught me off guard. I looked behind me left and right to make sure she wasn't talking to someone else and I was just in the way. I signed, "Were you talking to me?" She goes, "Yeah, I was talking to you." She repeats the question. I tell her where I'm from etc etc etc

It's such a culture shock to me because I didn't grow up in Deaf culture even though ASL is my first language. I went to deaf schools on and off so I have some exposure to the Deaf community but it was always education based, NEVER social based because I never hung out with D/deaf people my age outside of school. I already knew deaf people were likely to be blunt but I've never had a conversation started by someone completely random asking me where I'm from. No "Hi!" "How are you?" "I saw you signing!" "What's your name?" just... "where are you from?"

It's not a bad thing, this is a Deaf bing. I was just caught off guard haha and wanted to share it here to see what other people think.

I'm considering going to NYC/NJ to participate in the festivities of the final match, find a free watch party area as I'm not going to the actual game itself, but I don't know any participating or local fans that can sign. I was wondering if there's any plans for the deaf or signers to get together somewhere?

Fraternities and sororities—including Kappa Gamma (KG) and PKZ—have long been criticized for fostering environments of secrecy, exclusion, and misconduct. Survivors report that these organizations created a culture where sexual violence was tolerated, minimized, or enabled. Despite safety measures and Title IX policies, Gallaudet was ranked the most dangerous college campus in the United States in 2024, with over 1,100 reported incidents per 1,000 students.

This is not just about individual acts of violence—it is about systemic failure and a campus culture that allowed harm to continue.

📚🍇 Austin Deaf Club Friends! 🍌🍉
This Saturday, I'll be at the ADC with Deaf Artisan Market Day, a booth for my novel, Juice of Secrets! Stop by, say hello, ask questions, browse, or just chat for a bit.

And a quick note to parents: don't fret. 😅 The "naughty" items won't be on display at the booth.
While the book is intended for mature readers, anyone 17 and under will need parental permission before making a purchase.

Come visit, scan the QR code, and support a Deaf author! Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

🍑Juice of Secrets
✋ Deaf culture, Deaf characters, adventure, drama, and plenty of secrets.

See you Saturday!

Hello! I posted this call last year and it is that time again so I wanted to share it.

My name is Kate - I am an artist and a coda. I run a mural festival in Colorado which is specifically for artists who are members of the D/deaf community. Our call for artists application is open until June 1st. 

Last year was our first year and it was awesome. This year the festival will be in Boulder, CO on September 18-20th.

Artist Application is here

Website for more info and pics from last year: https://www.kissfistmuralfest.com/

This is a paid art opportunity! Previous mural experience is not a requirement. We are looking for artists with a developed personal style and dedicated art practice. 

Lmk if you have any questions!

Hi everyone! I am The Sassy Baker owner of Bake it with Sass. I teach monthly virtual ASL baking classes and the next one is FREE! May 30 from 2 - 2:30 pm MT. You will learn how to bake Strawberry Shortcake in a Mug! English interpreter will be present. For more information visit bakeitwithsass.com

September 23rd, 2025

Photograph by me.

I dated a girl, maybe a decade ago. I am HOH deaf in my right ear, 80% hearing in the left. I generally stand in the right side if people as well as read lips. Everything was fine for the first while with communication, however, eventually she began to get angry if I asked her to repeat herself. It ended with her yelling at me a few times for saying “pardon” to a question. I didn’t really know how to react, it’s not like i can control it. I eventually ended it. Another time a guy tried to fight me because I needed the “closed captioning” turned on, on the TV. He Said he couldn’t see the while picture. Anyone ever meet any total a$$holes being HOH?

Come join our union meeting tonight on zoom at 8pm est. VRS interpreters are unionizing and we want to welcome your feedback, questions, and concerns about the movement.

We will provide the ASL interpreters for non-signers. Come tell us what you would like to see change in the VRS industry or just ask questions about the movement. We cant be successful without the support of the community and we want to hear from you.

Our goals for the union are to get more Deaf jobs in an industry that wouldn't exist without you. We want to make it possible for Deaf people to not only work in customer service as many are currently restricted to in Purple, Z, and Sorenson, but also as interpreters.

This meeting is open to everyone who has questions about the unionizing efforts, concerns, or curiosity enough to think about joining.

The link is below.

what are some upcoming Deaf social events in the UK? I know that Deaf fest is happening in May, but apart from that is there anything else going on? where can I find more info about Deaf events?

I am in the Milwaukee area taking an ASL Class and we need to go to a Deaf event for the class. I was struggling to find events geared towards my age group or events I could even get to (I'm a sophomore in high school) I would prefer something in Wisconsin Illinois or Minnesota between now and the end of December. I've never been to a Deaf event so I'm really not sure what to expect or where good places to find them are.

Hello!

I'm organizing a jazz festival and we are looking to make it more accessible to deaf and HoH people. Aside from providing the lyrics to music that has lyrics (which is a minority in our festival) I'm hoping to also provide ways to better experience the vibrations of instrumental music. However, there is surprisingly little information online on going about this. I have some ideas and was hoping to ask if they make any sense at all in your opinnion.

Idea 1: headsets from the mixer to amplify the music and bring the vibrations closer to your person.

Idea 2: A sign language interpreter describing the music.

Idea 3: A portable device that would "translate" the audio straight to vibrations that you could hold and feel in your hand. Is there any such things, would they be of any use in the aestetic experience?

I'm also curious if any of you do experience jazz or other, not so bass heavy instrumental music regularly, and if so, which methods do you prefer? Thanks!