Download Discussion Points: Brianna

Discussion Points: Brianna
Brianna struggled with hearing loss for 5 years because of one student who made fun of her.
Have you been bullied about your hearing loss? How did it make you feel? What did you do?
When she was in older she wouldn’t wear her hearing aids. It was really hurting her and missing
a lot in school. She said she was working much harder than she needed to. Have you tried to
‘pass’ without hearing aids? How did it work? Do you feel that it (or it would) hurt how well you
were able to do and make you work harder?
Brianna said, “I'm making all this harder for myself, when I don't need to. Like, it's a part of who
I am, like why can't I embrace it?” Do you feel that having a hearing loss is ‘okay”? That it is just
a part of who you are?
Brianna said, "It's weird, like I'm who I am, and I can't hide it, and it's just, I just hope other
people don't do that to themselves too, because who you are, is who you are. If people don't
like it, there's always going to be someone who's going to say something, but it's up to you if
you want to be tough, and just deal with it.” What do you think? Can you choose to be ‘tough
and just deal with it’? How could this attitude change things for you?
Brianna said, “Having a hearing loss gave me a different perspective in life. It made me a
stronger person. I've become more aware of others, because I'm depending on others to be
around me.” Has your hearing loss given you a different perspective in life? What do you think
about her comment that it made her a stronger person? Do you think that you are depending
on others more than kids without hearing loss? How?
Brianna lets her teachers know that she has a hearing loss by giving them a note at the
beginning of the year. How do your teachers learn about your hearing loss? What could you do
to help your teachers understand what is most challenging about your hearing loss in the
classroom? Why could this be important?
Sport situations are often loud or coaches are far away, making it very difficult to hear well. Do
you play any sports? If not, do you think your hearing loss is holding you back from trying team
sports? If you do play sports, what do you do to let your coach and others know that you have a
hearing loss and what you need them to do? What could you ask them to do so that you could
hear/perform better?
Brianna said, “I hope this video makes you feel like you're not alone, and that there's a million
other people with hearing losses. And, I hope it makes you know more about yourself, and that
you can be strong, and like learn more about hearing loss, and also understand it, because you
can enjoy. It's a part of who you are.” How does this make you feel? Did you realize that there
are really many, many kids with hearing loss, just like you? How can you be strong?
2016 © Kool Kidz Vidz, Teacher Tools e-magazine: Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss
Discussion Transcript: Brianna
The following is a captioning transcript of the Kool Kidz Vid for this student.
Hi, my name is Brianna, I am 15 years old, and I'm going to be a junior in high school. I
intend on going to a four year college, in the future. I play sports. I play volleyball, and softball.
I was the captain for the JV volleyball team, and I just got called up to varsity in softball.
I have a hearing loss in both my ears, in my inner ear, and I wear two hearing aids. I
have struggled with wearing my hearing aids for the past five years. I used to get bullied when I
was in, like first grade, there was this specific guy who would always pick on me, and make me
feel bad, I would like cry home, and tell my mom, "I don't want to wear my hearing aids
anymore." Mom would say, "Oh no, you need them, blah blah." Stuff like that, and as I got
older, in middle school, I was like "I don't need hearing the hearing aids, like why do I wear
them? I can hear without them." And, so I wouldn't wear my hearing aids, and it was really
hurting me, I was missing a lot in school. My grades were up, my mom didn't notice at first,
because I worked even harder than I needed to.
And, so that went on until Freshman year. And, at the beginning of this year, the guy
that picked on me told me like, we became like best friends, and I told him, "You know, I still
wear my hearing aids, why don't you pick on me now about them?" He said, "It doesn't change
who you are. When I was little, I was immature, I didn't know what I was saying." And, so I
realized, I'm making all this harder for myself, when I don't need to. Like, it's a part of who I am,
like why can't I embrace it? It makes no sense not to. It's like saying that, "Oh, I have brown
hair, I can't dye it, I can't wear brown hair, I can't do this anymore. "It's weird, like I'm who I am,
and I can't hide it, and it's just, I just hope other people don't do that to themselves too,
because who you are, is who you are. If people don't like it, there's always going to be someone
who's going to say something, but it's up to you if you want to be tough, and just deal with it.
Having a hearing loss gave me a different perspective in life. It made me a stronger
person. I've become more aware of others, because I'm depending on others to be around me.
For example, every year I write my teachers a letter, note, to let them know that I have a
hearing loss, because if people don't know you have a hearing loss, they say, "Why can't you
hear me, why are you not focusing on me?" And, then it's just, it can go that way, or they could
be good, but most of the time they'll just be like, "Why are you not focusing in class?" And,
that's the first thing you should do when you have hearing loss - let people know. Even on the
field, I let my coaches know, because softball, it's a big baseball field, and I play outfield, and my
coach is usually in the infield by home plate, talking about, like the situation, what we're doing
there. No outs, place at first, what do we do next, and the ball gets hit to me, and I'm like "Oh
shoot, I didn't hear that." But, now I use my glove, my glove, and I just say, I put it to my ear,
2016 © Kool Kidz Vidz, Teacher Tools e-magazine: Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss
and then I look like an elephant, or whatever, but I need to do it, it's just what I have to do, so I
can hear better then, you know, it helps me out.
Some of my teammates would like laugh and stuff, but like it's not a bad, like "Oh my
God, like what is she doing?" It's like a little playful laugh. Even, like when I play volleyball, I
can't hear very well. Like, if I'm on the other side of the gym, doing something else, I always tell
my coach, I say "You have to speak louder for me specifically" because maybe other people
can't hear, too, but like honestly - I have trouble. It can be really loud, because everyone is, like
bouncing balls, and bumping, and like talking, and like screaming, so that's just how it is. And,
most coaches are loud anyways, but some are really quiet, like I've had like a bunch of coaches,
like during the past years, and some of them are really quiet, I really couldn't hear what they
were saying. It's just, you have to let them know, or you know, things could go the wrong way.
I hope this video makes you feel like you're not alone, and that there's a million other
people with hearing losses. And, I hope it makes you know more about yourself, and that you
can be strong, and like learn more about hearing loss, and also understand it, because you can
enjoy. It's a part of who you are. So.
2016 © Kool Kidz Vidz, Teacher Tools e-magazine: Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss