You Are Deaf, Congratulations!: My Deafhood Journey and Understanding Audism

by David Jonsson and David Jonsson

Forgetting he was deaf, there was no way David Jonsson could be Deaf. So, not fitting in, he quits wearing hearing aids for 10 years after college. But the problems with society continued until he identified with being Deaf. In "You Are Deaf, Congratulations", he reveals his anger and his humor, with stories and feelings of his experience discovering his Deafhood and unveiling Audism.Being mainstreamed with hearing classmates, David was taught to act hearing. Armed with a hearing aid and instructed to sit up front and lipread, he was told he was fixed. But knowing that life was going to be a struggle, he would just have to work harder. Identified as Hard-of-Hearing, and trying to be a hearing person, but failing, David finally explores the dark side... identifying as Deaf! But not without controversy in the hearing community and the Deaf community.How to BE Deaf is what nobody taught him, so he had to learn about Deaf Culture on his own. This book will help you make sense of society so you can be happier. It helps to know who you are, so you can navigate in this world more independently, and understand why some interactions are so frustrating. The oppression of Audism is "the notion that one is superior based on one's ability to hear or to behave in the manner of one who hears, or that life without hearing is futile and miserable, or an attitude based on pathological thinking which results in a negative stigma toward anyone who does not hear."Those who see deaf as a disability, such as audiologists, want to fix you with hearing aids and cochlear implants to force you into listening and speaking, while discouraging sign language.Using harsh language like cultural genocide and epistemic violence, David's no-holds-barred approach is invigoratingly refreshing. Linguistic minorities, who regularly experience discrimination, will feel relief after reading this book about someone else who has been through the same. It will validate and legitimize your emotions.David shares his story so you can be free from dysconscious audism and have Deaf Pride.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1505828287
• ISBN13: 9781505828283
• Release Date: April 2015
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"