Mad Hatter Page 2

 

Program Covers a Whole Gamut of Areas

The program involves a complete relearning
of the ways to find employment. The course
is divided between eight weeks in the
classroom learning the theories, and four
weeks of on-site work experience putting
the theory to use.

"We covered a whole gamut of areas,"
Dottie says. "The students put together
a proper resume, learned how to handle an
interview, and we talked about payrol|
deductions, unemployment insurance cover-
age, and unions."

"Even technological change was discussed
and the way this was going to affect the
types of jobs people, not just the deaf,
will have in the future."

But the program was not an easy one.

Deaf people have their own views of them-
selves which will often stand in the way
of finding a job, says Dottie.

"For instance, in one of the earlier
classes, | asked the students if a deaf
person could ever become an astronaut."

"Most of them either shook their heads or
shrugged their shoulders," she says.
"That's probably because there has never
been a deaf astronaut before."

Communication Problems

Another problem is in communicating with
people who can hear, and the fault for
this probably is the responsibility of the
deaf person, Dottie says.

One explanation is that the sign language
most commonly used, ASL, does not follow
the same grammatical structure as English.
Deaf people almost have to think in another
language before they can communicate with
a hearing person, Dottie says.

"We came up with a sign that helped get
rid of that self-derogatory image deaf

 

ee

people have."

Dottie fans her fingers with her thumbs in
her ears and then runs her thumbs toward
her mouth.

"That means 'deaf, why not?!'," says Dottie.

DOUGLAS COLLEGE NEWS SERVICES

 

 

PHOTO
OF THE WEEK

EUGENE HRUSHOWY

Acting Director of Social Services
& Allied Health

 

“Caught in the Act” —