My friend, @theboymoana is an awesome person, who I've had the privilege of talking to for quite some time through the disability support thread.
Through this interview, @theboymoana blesses us with his positive and bubbly burst of energy while reminding us to be respectful and kind to everyone. Happy reading!
Note: While some responses may be slightly edited for an easy flow and to make it easier to understand, none of the answers are altered to ensure authenticity.
Question: How does being deaf affect your learning disability?
Answer: It makes it a lot harder because it’s hard to learn things when I can’t hear but also hard to learn because have intellectual disability and learning disabilities. Lot of people do not know how to help when you have both so take me a long time to learn how to communicate and learn school things. Teachers just ignore me all day and tell my parents I can’t learn anything!
Question: How do you prefer to communicate and access information?
Answer: I communicate with sign language I learn it and my family learn it but I still have a lot to learn and have a sign language teacher come here to teach me and my family sometimes to. I can’t speak and doctors used to say is because of deaf and learning disability, but now new doctor say is because of autism.
Question : Have you had communication barriers when speaking to people who are hearing?
Answer: I can’t talk to anyone that doesn’t know sign language because I can’t speak words. I am starting to learn some sounds now in speech therapy and been learning to use AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) for past 2 years but I am not good at that. I forget where the right words are and get really anxious trying use it places. I think people get mad because I take to long so I don’t like use that and always have someone with me that can talk for me.
Question: What accommodations do you use that work for you?
Answer: I use things like that flashing lights for doorbell, smoke alarm and house alarm and communication device that I don’t like and my insurance pay for person to do sign with me places if I can’t find therapists that know sign and that is all I can think of. I don’t have hearing aids or anything because have profound deafness can’t hear anything even with stuff that suppose to help and I get a lot help from my family to do things that I can’t do my own because of intellectual disability and learning disabilities
Oh and I always make sure phone vibrate for things and have flash on so know someone call or text me if is not beside me to feel it vibrate.
Question: What kind of school environment do you have?
Answer: I am homeschooled because I used to go public school and the teachers were mean to me and not teach me or anything! They say I can’t learn because could not read or write or anything when I am 9 so my mom started homeschooling me and teach me reading and writing and stuff.
School stuff still really hard for me, I do 2nd 3rd grade stuff even though I am 13 and supposed to be 7th grade but my mom and daddy say not matter because they just want me like learning and work lot on life skills instead lot of school stuff and now I like reading two favorite books right now Zoey and sassafras books.
Question: What kind of learning disability do you have, and how did you get diagnosed with it?
Answer: For learning disability I am diagnosed intellectual disability and written language disorder and dyscalculia. I got diagnosed with intellectual disabilities when I was little because delays in everything and they do IQ test and other tests and diagnose me with it. Other things happen when I am 11, my parents have more testing done since they saw me not understanding lots of things, so they diagnosed me with learning disability that is why life things and school things and everything is hard to me.
Question: Do people treat you differently because of your disability?
Answer: Yes lot of people are mean to me and look at me mean. I have ADHD and have really hard time sitting and be calm and I want to always do things so places I am supposed to be calm and quiet people always look at me. It's extra hard to stay quiet because I don’t know how loud I am. But kids say mean things to me and I am not good to stand up for myself so people do bad things sometimes and I don’t know how make them stop. Some people really nice to me though and give extra help because disabled.
My favorite library person she knows sign and always help me find books and is really nice to me even she is busy help me every time I go there. Also I get to join SURF TEAM. And they all help me a lot make sure am ok and my coach say one of my brothers or parents always have to stay with me at practice and stuff but he do a lot to help me and I am happy let me join because surfing favorite and not lot people let disable people join normal teams and that is mean because nice include people like me.
Question: What do you want people to understand about you?
Answer: I just want people to understand people with disabilities are just people! I have disabilities and I need help with a lot of things other kids my age already do for long long time but that is not just all about me. I still am just a kid just Nahoa and I have things I like that is have nothing to do with disabilities. I am really good surfing and skating and my favorite thing is to play soccer with my brothers. I love to be outside and wish more people will be friends with people like me instead of thinking we are just disabilities and not want to have friends.
Question: Tell us any challenges you’ve had in the past because of being deaf, having learning disabilities or both.
Answer: I have lot of challenges. School really hard before homeschool because can’t understand anything supposed to do and people were mean but I didn’t know how to tell any one and learning sign language really hard for me and some signs really hard for me because I mix them up or hands don’t move right because hand things very hard for me. Because hand things is really hard I need a lot of help still with things like getting dressed and brushing teeth and stuff can’t do buttons or tie shoes yet.
I get hurt sometimes because I can’t hear people say there is danger or anything and just get distracted a lot so walk in front of cars before and not allowed go places alone because I get lost and can’t remember how to ask for help.
I don’t remember days and stuff very good so I don’t remember things I’m supposed do and sometimes get very frustrated because I want to play something but then my mom say I have appointment. And new thing I learn is hard is be on internet in chatroom because I don’t understand lot about people talk about I get confused all time but there is lot people here explain to me and that help a lot!
Question: What hobbies/activities do you enjoy?
Answer: Hobby and activities I enjoy are surfing, skating and playing soccer. Like just go to beach too and go on hikes. My family we go on hikes together is lot of fun and I like to swing. Have swing in my backyard and my room. I like to help my family with things. I am learning to help put away dishes and water flowers and feed our cats. And I like watch movies with my brothers sometimes I don’t do good reading subtitles so movies is hard to me. And I think this is not a hobby or anything but I really like soft blankets and squishmallow stuff animals. I like to make nests all over my house to lay in as well.
Question: Would you like to share anything with us?
Answer: Want I want to share is be nice to people and even if do not know they have disability don’t be mean if someone is annoying to you because maybe they do have disability.
And want to share is I have a deaf cat he is really sweet and always follow me around. We use to have 3 cats but one get lost am very sad I wish he come back home because other kitties miss him to. But I like people to be nice to me and asking questions is ok because it is how people learn is to ask questions. It is better ask things then just stare at people that are different and I don’t mind people ask my parents things instead of me because I don’t like people talk to me in real life I get really anxious overwhelmed try to understand they are saying but some disabled people only want people ask them things so that is important ask before start talk to person that is helping disabled person first.
Once again, I would like to say a big thank you to @theboymoana for taking the time to answer the questions, and teach us a few things about him and how wonderful of a person he is.
I would also like to use this medium to say thank you to my friend @WarmLightXO and my purple buddy @audienta for helping me out when I needed assistance regarding this interview.
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