There is another world. It is around us, but we do not see it and... we do not hear it.
I drive to work every day. The distance is very short - only 3 km in one direction. This distance is easily covered on foot, but since the entire road is outside the city, there are no convenient or any sidewalks, and walking on the side is not very pleasant.
On the way home, I meet my neighbor almost every day. I stop, he gets into the car and we drive... and we are silent the whole way. This is so unusual. I still can't get used to it.
The reason for this is very simple - my neighbor is deaf and dumb. He is no longer a young man of 55. His whole life has passed in a world that you and I cannot see. He didn't have heart-to-heart conversations, he didn't gossip, he didn't listen to the radio or television.
We go by car for just a few minutes. We are silent. Does he want to ask me how I'm doing? Does he want to tell something? Does he want to know the latest news in the village?
Despite everything, my neighbor lived a normal life. He had a wife, a daughter and a grandson. He takes care of a small farm. He is a skilled metal craftsman and people from all corners of the village come to him to arrange the manufacture or repair of a tool. He works at work, uses a metalworking machine.
And here I have a question about inclusion. What have we as a society done to make my neighbor feel like everyone else? How much do we think about people with special needs? What do we do for them?
My neighbor has a brother who is his bridge between the wordless world and the human world. He hears and speaks, and also knows sign language. I once tried to communicate with my neighbor, but unfortunately I do not understand him. This is frustrating.
A world without words. It is nearby, like many other worlds, the existence of which we do not notice.
I'm speechless!
And at the same time ever so grateful to the Almighty that he gave me all the five senses...
Unfortunately, we live in a world which operates on certain set standards. We, as a society, have failed human kind on so many levels.
These special people are indeed a gift to us not-so-special people. Their purity has protected us from the wrath of Almighty. Else He would be so furious with us right now that he would just finish us with one gesture of His hand.
We as humans have stooped so low, and yet a few people like you have the compassion in their hearts to make the lives of these people a little bit easier or make us, all the ignorant lot, to give it a thought at least.
Makes my heart heavy 💔
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But there are also positive developments. When I was a teenager, in our country it was not customary to take into account the interests of people with special needs. All sidewalks in the city had high curbs, no stairs were equipped with ramps, traffic lights did not have sound signals, etc. Since then, I believe, we have taken a giant step forward. So I think we can be better.
Wondering how your country is doing with inclusion?
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Didn't you get an idea with my very frustrating comment 😕
Unfortunately, not so well.
Here, normal people are struggling on daily basis, let alone these special ones...
Sad sad situation.
Only a handful of organisations, maybe, working independently for their welfare...
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The European Union has done a lot in this regard. Our country dreamed of joining the EU for three decades, so we had a breakthrough and somehow it happened that all new projects provide facilities for people with special needs. But of course we still have a long way to go in this direction.
To be honest, reading posts from Pakistanis, I thought the situation was much better in your country. Everything looks very cool in the photos.
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Oops, I am much familiar with this world.., I mean, I have experience it some months back and sometimes now..."silence"
and "wordless".
Back to your neighbor...
I think it's much better you don't stress yourself much in trying to communicate with him by speaking. The reason is because, most times it irritates them.
I have a certificate in American sign language.
I can communicate with deaf and dumb person through this language.
Over the years, I have used it to assist medical practitioners most especially during medical outreach.
I also have good knowledge on braille.
If you want to brighten his day..., just learn a comon greetings in sign language, try that when next you see him and watch the smile.
By the way, I learned this language because of one of my childhood friend, presently, he is a lawyer and have been practicing his profession for 7 years now!
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I guess your very special job here on the Steem is to amaze me again and again... ;-)))
Certified in sign language... - I tried it once, many years ago, long story. Didn't go well at all, somehow didn't suit my concentration span. One has to stay focussed on the other person all the time.
Respect, my dear! By the way, there is also a monetary need for this... Online. Signing podcasts. You may have already seen this on YouTube...
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😀 amaze is my middle name.
Learning sign language takes time and it work best with keen interest. Once you have develop a strong interest on it, you can achieve it.
I can even use it to sing song..., but would only be understood by deaf and dump or someone who also understands the language.
There are also other sign language based on the main language of the environment, but what I learn was mainly American sign language which is understood by almost all the English speaking regions in the world.
I have never thought of creating podcast with it, but I think it would be a good stuff to give a try.
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How many talents you have! Perhaps we will never know them all.
That's good advice, I hadn't thought of that for some reason. After all, we have the Internet and, if you wish, you can learn anything.
I am impressed by how socially active you are. It is even more impressive that such a person was forced to be in the position in which you are now. Sometimes it seems to me that this world is not created for good, although in reality it is not.
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In general, there are very few people I could sit next to for hours and be silent with. And I think that's so important! Being able to endure and respect silence...
What it looks like inside someone who can't make themselves understood at all is one of the most exciting questions of all. Science is working on brain scans to get a little closer to this. Will it be effectively possible at some point...?
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In general, I am satisfied that we are silent. But I am very curious if he would like to talk to me about something. Somehow I'm sure he is.
I think science will definitely find some way to help deaf and dumb people. But it still needs time. It could be faster, but we need resources to kill each other.
By the way, this post should have been much more detailed, but suddenly my daughter had a high temperature and everything I wanted to write flew out of my head :)
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Oh, I'm sorry about that. I hope it's nothing serious. I'm sure she'll get over a little cold at the turn of the year ;-))
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Looks like some kind of virus. She had a high fever for two and a half days. Tonight it's all gone. It's even a little strange🤔.
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I have a friend with special needs. The best you can do for them is treating them like you would any other person. Of course, depending on the condition this might or might not be advisable, but he really appreciates when people treat him this way.
Kind regards,
Anton.
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I agree with you. No one wants to constantly feel different from others. And no one wants to be constantly told that something is wrong with him.
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If you're using speech-to-text features, you can easily communicate with your neighbor. For example, leave a note expressing appreciation for the enjoyable ride or any other sentiments you wish to convey. It's all about finding ways to make communication more effortless)))
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This is another great idea that somehow didn't occur to me 😃. Thank you.
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)))
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