Our Journey Unites Us - Leah

We cultivate cross-cultural understanding by enriching Deaf communities across Ontario: For Deaf Awareness month and the International Week of Deaf People in September, OCSD wishes to share each of our personal Deaf and signing journey that unites us. Every one of our experience in life is different. No right or wrong, our experience helps bring us together.

We hope you will share your journey with our community to spread awareness. A short video to be featured here on Tuesdays after September. If you wish to participate, send an email to socialmedia@ocsdeaf.org to get the questions to help guide you.

Enjoy all the Tuesday features of “Our Journey Unites Us”.

Transcript: Hi I'm Leah, I was diagnosed deaf at age 2.5 fitted with hearing aids to a hearing family. They then discovered my baby sister is deaf too. Upon discovering my deafness, my parents had a home visiting teacher from SJW. They taught us sign language and taught my parents how to raise Deaf children. They gave me a label Hard of hearing. I was solo enrolled at public school in Kindergarten lip reading teachers. I had hearing aids that a mold was wired from my ears to transmitter on my chest, I dislike them. I would often leave them at home intentionally, my dad would have to return home to get them for me to wear at school often. Then in Grade one I attended a "special education" for Deaf students classroom with a Teacher of the Deaf from SJW at another public school with 3 Deaf peers, a couple years later 2 more joined. I attended two public schools with them, well 3 in total. Often I attended hearing classrooms for specific subjects alone then with another peer 2 years later. I was trained to lipread, speak and sign in English order. My parents decided since I was falling behind, I transferred and attended in Grade 7 at SJW until I graduated high school learning more signs from my peers. ASL was not recognized in education until 1990 & it was not provided to me when I was in high school. I did not learn ASL instructions or about Deaf culture, it was provided to elementary students while I was in high school. I got my Bachelors at RIT with interpreters. It wasn't until 2016, at 40 yrs old I took training to become an ASL instructor that I finally understood ASL, grammar and rules. I immersed in Deaf culture, Deafhood, learning to be a better advocate and bridging the gap. I am CEO of my own business SignAble Vi5ion Inc. I identify as Deaf, I'm proud of it.