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Deaf Culture 101

In this wonderful Aussie Deaf Kids webinar, Fiona Graney explores what it means to be Deaf with Alex Jones. There is much that parents of children with hearing loss can learn from these leading advocates for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

This video is broken into chapters or sections so that you can skip to sections you are interested in and easily rewatch different parts of the video.

00:00 Introduction – Fiona Graney
01:10 Introduction – Alex Jones
03:00 What is a sign name?
05:13 On personal access
07:35 On education
11:21 On family communication
13:23 Deaf terminology
17:36 On ableism and audism
21:49 On newborn hearing screening experience
23:00 Deaf Culture in the US versus Australia
25:59 On Deaf Gain and Deaf Pride
32:06 On coming to Australia
35:02 On favourite signs
38:32 On future changes
41:09 On Deaf books, movies and TV series
44:01 On advice for parents
49:21 Q&A

Alex Jones needs little introduction. He is a third-generation Deaf man. He is a proud father of two children: one is also Deaf, and one is a CODA. Alex is an innovator, a communicator, and community leader. He is a co-founder of Ai-Media and has been on numerous boards and working groups. Many families would know him as the face in the NextSense Auslan tutor.

Fiona Graney was a Director on the Aussie Deaf Kids board. She is a lawyer and mother and has had a severe sensorineural hearing loss since contracting meningitis as a toddler. Fiona has learnt so much from Alex during their time working at the Disability Royal Commission and wanted to share some of his thoughts and wisdom with our Aussie Deaf Kids community.

Movies

  • CODA
  • The Silent Child

Books

  • Deaf Utopia,
    A Memoir – and a Love Letter to a Way of Life
  • Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks
  • Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon

TV Shows

  • Switched at Birth
  • Deaf U

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