Karen Meyer at ABC News Chicago did a segment this morning on deaf swimmer, Will Landgren: Deaf Swimmer's Teammates Learn Sign Language.
When Will first began swimming, his teammates wore sweatshirts to welcome him to the team. When Will's cochlear implant comes off and he slips into the water, his teammates communicate with him by signing or through an interpreter. To me, that's what inclusion is truly about-- recognizing the barriers to communication and using a two-way street to get around them.
When I was on the swim team in high school, I always had a teammate or two who would relay what the coach was saying because without my glasses, I couldn't see well at all, much less hear. At swim meets, the coach always lined me up near the starting gun so I could see the flash of the gun. A strobe light would have truly been appreciated back then!
More on Will:
Deaf Swimmer Makes a Splash
A Time for the Signs
Will is aiming to qualify for the Deaf Olympics and I'm betting he'll swim his way to a medal there.
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3 comments:
Wow.. you were a swimmer too. Back then, I didn't know sign language so I wore hearing-aids between swim practice and swim meets.
If I knew there was a deaf olympic back in the 70's, I would have tried out.
Thank you for sharing this and I will check this out.
Jim
Hi..
Just popped in to say that you commented after I did over at Darren's Problogger so you were delivered into my inbox just now.. Interesting blog so will be adding you to my site's revolving disability advocacy blogroll..
Peace and best wishes.. :)
Good luck.
When and where is the next Deaf Olympics?
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