Week 5  The Educational Layer: Misunderstood Intelligence   Peel again, and we find the classroom. For many Deaf children, and for many who are also autistic or ADHD, school is the first place where the story of being “misunderstood” begins. Intelligence, for them, is often measured by how closely they can fit into hearing norms or neurotypical expectations by how well they perform within systems never designed with their minds, rhythms, or languages in mind. A Deaf child ma

Week 4  The Layer of Belonging: The Space Where We Breathe   The next layer we reach is the social one, the profoundly human need to belong . To be Deaf, to be autistic, to live with ADHD, often means standing at the edge of conversations that move in unfamiliar rhythms. It can mean being the only one signing in a sea of spoken words, the only one pausing to process while others rush ahead, the only one whose timing and energy seem out of sync with everyone else’s. That diffe

Week 3  The Layer of Communication: Expression and Understanding   Peel back another layer, and we arrive at the heart of interaction: how we communicate.  At the surface, many people assume that “communication” simply means speaking and listening that it begins with sound and ends with words. But that is only one narrow slice of the vast landscape of human expression. Real communication is richer, broader, and infinitely more nuanced. It lives not just in the voice or the ea

Week 2  The First Layer: Access   Once the thin skin of visibility is set aside, the first true layer we reach is access . For many people outside the Deaf community, this is where the conversation begins and often, where it ends. Access is what they see on the surface: captions glowing across the bottom of a screen, an interpreter standing beside a speaker, hearing aids or cochlear implants presented as “solutions,” or technology marketed as a bridge to the hearing world. Th

Week 1 The Surface Layer: Visibility The surface is where most people begin. It’s where curiosity first meets awareness. You notice what’s easiest to see: someone signing across a room, someone reading captions at the bottom of a screen, someone using their eyes, hands, and expressions to navigate a conversation. That first impression matters, it’s an entry point, a doorway into a different way of being. But like the paper-thin skin of an onion, it’s only the beginning. It is

Prologue: Why an Onion? Why an onion? Because an onion holds its truth in layers. At first glance, it seems ordinary: smooth, pale, and wrapped in papery skin. You can hold it in your hand and think you already know it. But once you begin to peel it back, something happens. The air sharpens. The scent grows stronger. One layer gives way to another, each thin but distinct, each essential to the whole. The deeper you go, the more your eyes water, and you realize that understand

Introducing " Interpreting with a Deaf Heart " at Scarlett's Park , College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State Scarlett's Park is excited to announce the launch of an innovative new session titled "Interpreting with a Deaf Heart," scheduled to take place on February 21, 2026. This session is designed to deepen the understanding of interpreting within the Deaf community, focusing on the emotional and cultural nuances that are essential for effective communication.

American Sign Language (ASL) is at the heart of Deaf culture and identity in the United States. ASL is much more than just a way to...

People often misunderstand deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. These misunderstandings can make social interactions awkward and create...

Deaf Awareness Month  celebrates Deaf culture , sign language , and the achievements of Deaf Americans. It honors a Deaf identity  and...

Deaf awareness helps create a society where everyone is included and respected. When we understand different ways people communicate, we...

In the big world of human neurology, Autism and Deafness are often misunderstood. They're complex conditions that can create challenges,...