Thursday, March 11, 2010
Communication
I've realized that sometimes I have a gift regarding communications. Sometimes I have been able to communicate with people with disabilities whom many people feel they cannot communicate with. I remember when I was in a TASH session in which Sharisa Joy Koch and her father were giving a presentation. Sharisa has autism. People were asking her father questions about Sharisa and even asking him about her opinions. I raised my hand and asked, "Why don't you ask her?" After the presentation, Sharisa walked up to be and we walked around the room. I spoke a little; Sharisa didn't say anything, but I did "get" the communication.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Correction:
ReplyDeleteSharisa last name is Kochmeister
And, another silent communication...
ReplyDeleteOne day on the bus recently an elderly Asian-American woman with a shopping cart got on the bus. There were no seats available, so she clung to the verticle post near me. I tried to make eye contact with the young people who were sitting near the front of the bus. One woman by the door motioned to me that she would get up and give her seat to the elderly woman. I tapped on the shoulder of the woman and motioned to her that she could sit over by the door. She moved over by the door and sat down. All this was done with no one speaking.
Regarding the communication on the bus...
ReplyDeleteProbably the 3 of us spoke 3 different languages. :)
And, another communication on the bus...
ReplyDeleteWhen Jim and I got on the bus, I noticed a young man holding a small model of a ship (I could tell it was not a toy). I said something like "Oh, what a neat ship!" And he and his dad came over and sat near us. It turns out that he has a serious interest in the Titanic and knows all sorts of things about that ship. And, yes, he is a client of the Regional Center (provides services for people with developmental disabiities) where Jim is also a client. :)
And, a long time ago, when my daughter, Lambda, her dad and I were living in the temporary faculty housing at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, a neighbor (Jane) and I visited a woman from Pakistan. Her husband was a new faculty member. She knew almost no English and Jane and knew no Urdu or other languages spoken in Pakistan. We did manage some communication. Something we all like to talk about is food. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd another communication on the bus...
I was sitting near a woman who had 2 assist dogs. I noticed that she was using American Sign Language with a man who left the bus soon. It turns out that she is blind and deaf. Somehow I was able to ask her "why 2 dogs?" And, one is for hearing and one is for seeing. ...You learn something every day.