Deaf Counseling Part 2

Continuing...

In a nutshell, we still have a loooonnggg way to go in terms of accommodating the Deaf.

Sign Language

Now, advancing in sign language as an 'outsider' is difficult. Intermediate and Advance Class is not readily available in Kota Kinabalu. The Association or the Organisation need to engage a suitable person to teach ( and that person's timing is another matter).

They won't go on with class if the class does not meet the minimum required participants.

Unless you take a full course to be a special education teacher in specific University or Teacher's Colleges across the country, one will not have full access to sign language programs.

No, we don't have programs like they have in Gallaudet University, the Mecca for the Deaf. 

So, what does a person like me, can do to advance in sign language? Where can I obtain the knowledge of its usage and ethics based on the diversity of  different settings? 

The experience of using sign language varies based on what field / industry you are in for example sign language in court setting, sign language in education setting, sign language in technical setting, sign language in medical setting and most importantly my aim is to use sign language in counseling setting.

Why is advancing in sign language important for me? ( specifically)?

In my opinion, because Deaf persons are everywhere, some of them were born deaf, some lost their hearing later in life and they need to be accommodated so that they can fully utilise their potential in a growing society with their own roles and also take part as a contributing human resource to the country. Their 'voices' need to be heard. They need to be mattered. They have all the rights to access whatever everyone else is enjoying, they have the rights to attain the highest education, they have the rights to be someone successful in their own field, they have the rights to enjoy this life as much as we get to enjoy it.

But because they are the minority in certain places, therefore, they are ignored.

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Enough for tonight. Let me have my beauty sleep first :)

Deaf Counseling

Deaf Counseling?

Attending counseling sessions (in a country like mine), is not really common. 

Counseling comes with a stigma that your are 'problematic'

However, the counseling profession is slowly becoming important at this century, and people are slowly turning to professional and certified counselors to talk about issues that need to be addressed.

It is common for people to mistake counselors and psychiatrist. There are those who meet up counselors with the notion that they are able to get prescriptions.

I always educate my clients, friends and family or whoever ask me, that counselors are the first line of professionals you can reach if you need to talk about current issues. To deal with their current emotions and feelings rather than pent it up for years until it becomes a disorder.

The issues with our Counselors in Malaysia, is that few are certified with the Malaysian Board of Counselors. And this is true for most of the School Counselors. When you are certified, it means you are doing your work professionally, and you are bound to all the ethics in providing the service. Your education attainment should be in line with the service you are rendering, of course the higher the education is, the more knowledgeable one becomes. Without a certification, the service we are rendering is questionable. No one would care the mumbo jumbos of service you are giving to the clients.

Ethics is very important because Counselors are dealing with private personal issues of their clients, and this is always the line of whether people look up to you or look down on you based on your professionalism in keeping with counseling ethics.

Deaf Counseling???

What about it? I know attending counseling sessions is sometimes difficult. You will be talking about your most inner issues with a third party. Have anyone ever thought how it feels for a deaf person to attend counseling? With a counselor that does not know how to sign? And they need to hire a translator?

Isn't it frustrating to convey a message and the delay to get a reply? Even frustrating if the message relayed is not personal, no juice no emotion. Well what i mean is, it must feel different to get a direct reply from your competently certified counselor compare to an interpreter with no counseling background.

And the intrepreter is a 3rd party! 

It will be nice for the deaf to hire an interpreter because they want to,  not because they are forced to.

OK. STOP for a while! Time to hit the Gym!!