Author: Ryann Olivia

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Draft 1- BLOCK

Ryann Block

Professor Kitana Ananda

ENG 103.0905

                               Mental Health Concerns Within The Deaf Community.

        A person who is deaf is at a higher risk of developing emotional and psychological problems than an individual who is not deaf. Most of the time the problems start in the individual’s home. These problems may affect their everyday life activities and may even cause communication delays and or barriers. This paper will examine mental health diagnoses as they correlate to adults and children who are deaf.

       Mental health diagnoses for the deaf has been associated with bipolar disorder, depression, and ADHD.  An individual with a mental health disability often needs specialized treatment and or therapy. Society thinks special treatment is not needed and expresses persons who are deaf are capable of just “dealing” with their disability. People who are Deaf are unsure of treatment services available and or feel isolated or embarrassed in seeking services.

       This paper will discuss mental health issues in the deaf community and the importance of community awareness for this group.  While both papers examined issues between mental health in deaf individuals’, they differ in their research which includes different treatment methods and procedures. The first paper concentrates on children who are deaf and their families as well as the key factors behind the supports they receive.

          The second paper focused on comparing adults who are deaf and hearing individuals. It to determine their difference between their mental status for each group. Peter A. Hindley’s paper Mental Health Problems in Deaf Children examined how “deafness comes in many forms”. (Hindley p.114) He also examined how clinicians whom work with children who are deaf need to be understanding to make sure they provide the appropriate services.

                Peter A. Hindley, discussed the benefits of using British Sign Language as a technique (BSL) for children who are deaf. BSL is a “language distinct from English, with its own syntax and lexicon are different from English” (Hindley p.115). BSL is also different from American Sign Language (ASL) because it is its own language. BSL provides children who are deaf with a better way to communicate. Part of the study had shown techniques to be effective by practicing points such as gathering a group of children using BSL and informing and teaching their parents.

             Peter A. Hindley felt like the parents would be able to communicate and try to understand “why” and “how” (For instance: “Why do you feel this way? How can I help?). Hindley stresses that parents play a major role in their children’s life meaning everything that the parents do can negatively affect the child. It was advised that parents should have open communication so their child doesn’t grow up to be disoriented. Hindley wanted to prove early deafness as well as pointing out the issues which cause the social, cultural, psychological and medical aspects.

          On a social, cultural and psychological perspective, it was stated that “parents respond in many different ways to the knowledge that their child is deaf. Their response is shaped by their previous experience of deafness” (Hindley p.115).  The majority of these parents didn’t know how to accept their child’s deafness. Many had different views on it and didn’t know how to go about it although they knew that there would’ve been a possibility that the child will grow up to be deaf.

        Marit H. Kvam, Mitchell Loeb paper Mental Health in Deaf Adults: Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Among Hearing and Deaf Individuals paper reveals mental health issues among deaf adults compared to adults who can hear. There were studies conducted based on the Norwegian postal survey and one among the general population (Kvam p.1-2)(1995-1997), as well as the deaf generation. In addition, analysis discovered that the deaf showed more symptoms of mental health problems than the hearing.

             Norwegian study examined the “interrelation between psychological problems, social activity and social network” (2007 Kvam p. 1). The results displayed that the deaf were two-four times higher in distress than hearing people.  Many deaf people were gathered in this study and they noticed once they lost their hearing it affected their everyday life activities, such as not being able to socialize with others, and by having suicidal moments because there was a communication barrier.

           It was also discovered that hard of hearing, deaf adults and children were either a victim of physical, sexual or emotional abuse than hearing people because they do not have the mental capacity to express what’s going on or what happened. Usually, a hearing individual may be capable of saying something and the deaf individual may have a hard time because of the lack of interpreters or overall a person who may know their language.  

           When an individual experience hearing loss at a young age its likely for them to experience the quality of life than a hearing person. (Knutson, Johnson, Sullivan p.2 ). As a result, there’s a higher chance that mental health disorders occur because so many individuals bottle up emotions inside and are not able to express themselves. Peter A.Hindley, didn’t specify on how many people were tested in this study but instead described some factors which lead to mental health-related issues. He stressed how important it is to recognize the depth of the issue.

           On a medical perspective children, mental health is believed to be caused by the central nervous system(CNS). Medically, deaf children are at a higher risk of CNS than hearing children by 15% compared to children with other related issues such as cerebral palsy or being an epileptic. (Hindley p. 115) Hindley believes that in the medical world its vital to carefully evaluate children because there may be many misdiagnosed.

             In response to the social, cultural and psychological perspective on deafness, it states that parents respond in many ways and it’s important that families should have an option on what services they would need to address their child being deaf. One would question, should the child be exposed to sign language in their early stages of hearing loss or should they have the option to go with a cochlear implant? There were many issues on this topic so that’s why he wanted to create an intervention to separate the groups and see which techniques or method is effective to conclude with his study.  It seemed like he did make a valid point and/or statement that whether you’re an interpreter for ASL or BSL, social worker, clinicians working with deaf children with mental health issues then you must be aware of their needs and you should also be sensitive about it. For example, dig into the route of the child and try to see why he/she are feeling the way that they’re or what is it exactly is making them act a certain way (are they hyper?  are they sad?)  He urges that deaf children should indeed seek out and families should support them.

 

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Archival Response

Ryann Block

Eng 103.0905

Professor Kitana A.

Archival Assignment

10/29/2017

 

During our visit at the Archive Room, we discussed two documents one called The Council Report Of Legal Service Division & the January 2nd Coalition for the Defense of Haitian Refugees. These documents were primary documents part of a special collection in a certain time era. Whereas Books were secondary sources. The first Legal document spoke about the Haitian Refugees being held in the detention center. Waiting their trial dates and citizenships.  There were about 2200 Haitian refugees that have been imprisoned because they entered United State illegally, they would have to wait years to legally emigrate. These Haitians were treated like criminals for example “ Fifty-three of these refugees are presently being detained at the Brooklyn Navy Yard” Not in prison. “Due process rights than are guaranteed every other federal prisoner”. These Haitian refugees wasn’t treated with respect. It’s sad that they had to suffer and fear for their life.

The second Primary document January 2nd Coalition for the Defense of Haitian Refugees is about 3,000 Haitians refugees being imprisoned in the United States and Puerto Rico. The Coalition wanted all americans to understand no matter how much or how the government may support the corrupt government of Jean-Claude Duvalier in Haiti, they’re still responsible for the Haitian Refugees. This document spoke about policies. Policies in detaining Haitians. Another interesting thing that was important there was a man name Papa Doc who killed these Haitians because of their skin complexion. They were trying to stop the deportation of Haitians to travel to Belize. They would use ships to ship them out this took place in Brooklyn, NY  on Nostrand ave & Eastern Parkway.

To conclude, both legal documents stated information about the Haitian Refugees. How they were deprived and treated like criminals, no one wants to live in a world where you have to fear for your life. This was how the Haitians were living. Each has families and the government didn’t take a second thought to think about their families. The government just felt like they deserved to be treated as such, to be imprisoned, to be killed because of their complexion. This was in the year of 1892. The government must do a better job. We all have rights and should be taken into consideration.

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Paper sketch – Story Board -Ryann B

Often times the subject of money may be uncomfortable to some and may become difficult for some to embrace the feelings that we get associated with money. Money may affect each one of us, either in a negative or positive way depending on how it is directed towards us.  Whether you’re a person that comes from a very “rich” background/culture or just a regular person “living by means”. It’s said that money is a source of energy. How can we determine that money is energy? Is money part of law of attraction? Should we change our perspective on how we view money? This paper will address the feelings associated with money and state facts alongside information on how money may be connected to Law of Attraction as well as how it may be a source of energy.

Reflection:

  1. Do you think that you were able to develop an interesting and clear thesis that is well supported by the sources you have found to date? If not, what part of your thesis need more supporting evidence? How will find this evidence? A: Yes, I believe I developed an interesting and clear thesis that is supported by the sources I researched. However, I would like to expand more on my introductory paragraph/ thesis statement. I know that I’ll be able to think of more things to write
  2. What is your next step in the process of researching and writing your paper? A: My next step is to continue to find articles on how money is consider a source of energy. I found three articles to support my topic, however I want to continue to do my research and see how it may connect to the law of attraction, find how and why money may affect a person.

Sources:

  1. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/leisa-peterson/the-energy-of-money_b_5519755.html
  2. https://www.angelic-guides.com/2013/03/27/money-is-simply-the-transfer-of-energy/
  3. https://www.lightworkersworld.com/2014/12/money-exchange-energy/
  4. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WJA_uL4cpSoC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=universal+law+of+attraction+&ots=SG3YZdK55b&sig=bmVQ3BGFOeKHe9lt86qfRNTg_qQ#v=onepage&q=universal%20law%20of%20attraction&f=false
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Research Job-Ryann B

Ryann Block

09/27/17

Research Topics

I’m still thinking about which research topic I’d like to do. I’m stuck in between doing a paper about BDSM and Why and what makes people angry. There are so many topics that are interesting but for some reason, these topics intrigue me. BDSM aka “The dominatrix world” in itself is intriguing. Getting paid to be in this lifestyle. I know some may think it’s not a lifestyle but it is. You can work your regular job such as administrative assistant, director of a multi-million company or be a student in college and by 8 pm you change as a person. dressing in latex, the heels that you wear are 6-inch platforms, the way that you speak to these people.  You turn into a completely different from a person. I wanted to do more research on this to see if there are studies to show how a professional Dom or submissive mind works. Personally, I was into that life a long Time ago and yes being a professional mistress may be enticing because we are getting paid to humiliate these humans, to treat them as if they were worthless. I can only speak for myself. Personally, you’ll have mixed emotions on it. I say so because you are trained to do certain things and then you act upon. Either way, the history of BDSM is very interesting. How it all began? What are these pros feeling, how is this affecting their psychological well-being? How & what does society think about BDSM?

 

My second topic, “Why are people so angry or What makes a person angry”. To do research on this may seem interesting. We meet so many people who hold onto the past. Some people may be experiencing pain from either their past relationships or abuse whether it’s verbal or physical. I know angry people who can’t accept the fact they’re angry and will deny it at times. My questions to research would be: What makes a person angry? What is anger? How did anger begin? Is it just a psychological thing so maybe we create anger on ourselves? I was once one of those people. To do research on these two topics may be very informative. So, I’m excited to see what I find in these two topics, hopefully, I can make a decision fast.!

 

 

I found my potential articles here

BDSM:

articles:http://escholarship.org/uc/item/9zf0b4x3

http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1180&context=sferc

For anger:

http://www.pnas.org/content/106/35/15073.full.pdf

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/boilingpoint.pdf

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My Educational Narrative-ENG 103-Ryann B

 

My Educational Narrative…

     As a student, I knew I was different from the rest. While my classmates were “smarter”, than I was (so I thought) I was far behind. Whatever happened to the “No Kids Left Behind Policy?” I felt like I was the only one who didn’t know what the teachers were talking about whether it was in English, science, or math class. Multiple questions were thrown at the teacher and for this reason, it seemed like the kids were getting frustrated because they just wanted the teacher to lecture as the time passed by. Comprehension skills were always the last thing for me to take into full consideration, sometimes teachers would have to read the question aloud for me to fully understand what it is that they are asking for. Although I faced many challenges in school one way or another I slowly improved. I learned new techniques that would benefit me as a student.

Around middle school going into high school, I was diagnosed with ADD and other Mental Disabilities. I remember the psychiatrist asking my mother why would she wait so long for me to get the help that I needed. It wasn’t until I realized that it was fear my mother was dealing with. Fear of not being able to live my life like a “regular, normal” kid. Fear of knowing that I would be enrolled with the special Ed students, knowing that I had to have either an IEP or 504. We knew with the IEP It’ll be harder to get out since I would’ve been with the Special Ed students and with the 504 I would be able to get extra time with any exams that had to be taken. As well as being separated from the class, and having a teacher read aloud the questions for me. Either way, my mother and I faced the reality of it and went with the 504 so that way I can be accommodated as needed.

During my time in middle/ high school, many challenges confronted me. In mathematics class, I would fail every exam. I would cry because I felt ashamed, I was frustrated and upset that I wasn’t able to pass those exams with the rest of my classmates. I looked at these math problems like they were in a different language. Things started to change when a boy classmate started to bully me and call me out of my name such as “stupid” “loser” “dummy” just because I was far behind in class. That all ended once I decided to choke him until he was unconscious and I succeeded in that which resulted in a suspension. The year of 2012, I was then transferred to an alternative school. However, that didn’t stop the challenges that confronted me. In mathematics and science class I failed about two more exams. I still didn’t understand why I wasn’t like the rest of my classmates. Smart. I found myself going into deep depression and was escorted out of the classroom by EMT, policemen, the principal and the guidance counselor from the school. I was rushed to the hospital for suicide. I was experiencing so many emotions, I was easily distracted, I didn’t understand my homework assignments and I was failing my exams so it was easy to say “you know what, I’ll just be a high school dropout”.

Furthermore, while I was going through so many challenges, I came to my senses and decided that this can either break or make me. I didn’t want to end up like my mother or brother who was both high school dropouts, I wanted to be better than them and my classmates. My response to this was to take responsibilities for my own actions, this was my life and I make the rules. I’m currently in college and have 1 year left before graduation which is a major breakthrough. I knew with determination, courage, willingness to take action I can achieve anything that I want to do. “So what if you’re far behind than the rest of your classmates, so what if you consistently ask your peers questions, and so what if you have a mental/learning disability these things don’t define you as a person….” These were words that I had to constantly remind myself daily.

Hopefully, this story encourages you all to do your ultimate best as a student. Education is so important especially if you have goals, dreams, desires. You have to push yourself even when you feel like you are at your lowest.  School is very overwhelming and can sometimes be depressing, however, we must continue to use all of the resources that are available for us. Take time to study, ask questions if you don’t know. The teachers will appreciate you by asking questions, and you’re probably thinking “what about my classmates?” To answer that look at that as motivation to work harder. Do your very best in school and don’t give up. Every day is a battle but the battle is with yourself and just know you and I are already ahead of the game.