On February 19th, Mike Helms from Bridges gave a lecture at Middle Tennessee State University on Deaf education and communication. Mike is Deaf and relied on an interpreter to facilitate his lecture. I found this aspect interesting as the interpreters were sitting in the front row of lecture hall and were not facing the audience. Moreover, one of the interpreters was in training and had to consult with the primary interpreter several times during the beginning of the talk. At one point, the interpreter in training was not properly translating Mike’s signs into spoken English and Mike stopped the lecture to switch interpreters. I found it interesting that Mike Helms knew his message was not getting across the way he intended despite him not being able to hear what his interpreter.…show more content… To explain, Mr. Helms’ parents were both Deaf, but his brother was typically hearing. He went on to explain that when he was young, he didn’t realize that everyone could hear. He assumed the majority of the population were Deaf and relied on sign. It wasn’t until he tried to get his mother’s attention through vibration and his brother responded to the sound that he realized that his brother could hear. I found this story fascinating because it showed me how Deaf culture can be completely separate for some people before it gets intertwined with the hearing world. Moreover, during a question and answer portion, a student asked Mr. Helms if he used hearing aids or any form of amplification and what his thoughts were about these devices. I really enjoyed getting to hear his take on using hearing aids and the struggles of having to wear them. I believe having this perspective will be beneficial if I ever encounter an individual that is Deaf or hard of
