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Attitude Young & Deaf

ChannelTV One
Date Broadcast Sunday 24 June 2012
Start Time08 : 30
Finish Time08 : 59
Duration29:00
Series2012
Episode15

Making the move from a small town to a boarding school in the big city can be tough for any 13-year-old. Harder still when everyone’s communicating in a language you don’t understand. Gaby Evans is moving from sleepy Whitianga to the hustle and bustle of Auckland City. She is moving to the Kelston Deaf Education Centre to gain life experience and meet other deaf and hearing impaired teenagers. She’s nervous about the move, but excited about learning New Zealand Sign Language.

The Attitude TV series has developed into a character driven, documentary style series. It showcases engaging, entertaining stories about people who live with a disability. Attitude follows great characters, often on extraordinary life journeys.

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Leaving home for boarding school is brave for any 13-year-old; harder still when you move to a house where everyone communicates in a language you don't understand. Captions by Anne Langford. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 Gaby Evans has grown up in a sleepy town on the Coromandel coast. She's deaf, so that suited her till now. I can hear, like, loud sounds, but not quiet sounds. I mean, I could hear a lawnmower or an aeroplane fine without my hearing aid, but it's the quiet sounds that I can't hear. Gaby's the only deaf girl in her community and at her school. SCHOOLCHILDREN TALK INDISTINCTLY Soon she's moving here. Kelston School in Auckland is one of only two schools in NZ that caters to deaf students. She's just 13, and she'll be moving hundreds of kilometres from home. I have to learn sign language, which I haven't really used since I was 2. And, um,... I... I mean, I know... I've got a lot of people here, and I know, like, every bit of Whitianga, but it will be, like, I have to learn how to get around Auckland, like, a whole new way of getting around, including hopping on the bus, and, um, I mean, it's going to be quite different for me cos... Yeah. She is different from the other kids, but she feels that the other kids also see her as being an outsider and as being different, so she's going to go into an environment where there are other kids who are just getting on with it; who are also deaf, and so I hope that she'll be able to let that side of her... sort of, fears and self-consciousness go, and just get on with being Gaby, and not being Gaby, the deaf girl. So, what do we need to mix it with? So, what do we need to mix it with? A knife. So, what do we need to mix it with? A knife. A knife. Or maybe even two. Yeah? Yeah? OK. Then you can go like that. I'll take the good-looking knife. I'll take the good-looking knife. Or we can do it together, OK? Her limited hearing is finely tuned to her mother's voice, but mostly she gets by just lip-reading. OK. And then just tip this out into the middle of it. 'It wasn't clear from the outset that Gaby was deaf, 'and she was slow to reach all of her milestones.' 'They did, um, a hearing test. I asked them to. I said, "I think she can't hear." 'They said, "Well, we'll test her." And then they came back and said, "Ooh, your daughter's deaf."' OK. Can you get me the backing sheet, the one I make shortbread on? Um, I'm asking you to get me the baking sheet. That's the metal thing. Oh, that one. You don't need the baking paper? Oh, that one. You don't need the baking paper? No, not the baking paper. I used sign language when I was really little, but as the hearing aids got better and as I got older and, um, my brain got used to actually hearing sound, I began to, like, lose my use of sign language until I,... like, now I don't use sign language any more. I think they're more tied up to the stereotypes, maybe because we're in a small town. Deaf people are like... they go to special schools only, and disabled people, um, have their own communities. I generally have to improve myself. Everyone in this school is, like, um, hearing, except for me. Look at the sheet. We need to figure out the height. When I got this hearing aid a few years ago, I didn't really, um, need to put my hand up so much to make the teacher repeat himself. You guys, you guys, does Mr Ralph want me to...? (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) When I was 5, I wasn't quite talking that well. As I've gotten older, I've gotten stronger. My balance is OK. I mean, when I was little I had to be careful, but, um, like, um, if there's a whole crowd of people, I'm fine. But my mum thinks I'm not. I feel protective of Gaby in a physical sense, so, um, when she was smaller, I was always conscious of her falling. Because of her cerebral palsy, she was prone to falling a lot. And when she was little, she couldn't hold up her own head, um, and her legs are very stiff. Now she's learnt how to cope with it. Bye. When she goes to the city, I'm a bit concerned about just really practical things like traffic, and crossing the road, not being able to hear what's coming, because we don't have any traffic here to speak of. This is huge in the scale of what Gaby's done until now. I don't think that she realises how big it is. It'll start to sink in when she's packing and getting ready to go. All right, you can go. In Auckland, Gaby will live in a boarding house with other deaf students and communicate using NZ sign language. Gaby only knows a couple of words, so she's trying to teach herself before the big move. I only know my name. If I were to say it, like introducing myself, I would go... name,... my,... and then G,... A,... B,... Y. And that's pretty much all I know. I knew of Kelston School for the Deaf. I've known about that school since I was a kid. Um, I didn't realise it was an option for Gaby, though. I always, um, thought that it was for the profoundly deaf. It can get a little bit confusing cos I do know that when you're, like, asking a question, like, we go, like, more open face, and they go, like, ang... like just like an angry face. But it was, like... And, um... But usually we go, like, open face. When we did go and have a look, we realised that she would not actually be at a school for the Deaf; that she would be at Kelston Girls College, um, under the care of the Deaf Education Centre. I've pretty much grown up, like, talking orally, and I think it would be hard to turn off my voice. But, um, if I do speak, like, um,... I would pretty much be able to lip-read, so I think they might understand a bit along with, like, the signing. And so, yeah, in order to find her peers, she has to go and, um, meet other people who are deaf. You're not really aware of what there is until you get out there and see it, and so I-I-I thought that this move to Auckland could be really good for her. I don't really get homesick, except I'll miss the dogs and all the other animals. She's reached the step of knowing that,... well, that her mother sucks, and that, you know, her mother knows nothing about life and... Um, everything about what we do is... is, um, wrong. I think that's a natural way for a lot of kids to feel. Um, I really only have two chores. Well, um, I have to do my washing, empty the compost. Uh, sometimes helping with the dishes, like, drying, and sometimes have to wash it. What do you reckon's going to be hardest about next year, living away from home`? I won't miss you. I won't miss you. You won't miss me? This is my mum's alternative lifestyle, but it doesn't really suit me, so that's why I'm looking forward to, um, living in Auckland, cos everything's so close. We'll go that way. We'll go that way. Down there, isn't it? We'll go that way. Down there, isn't it? Yeah. In here. With Gaby leaving home, I think that it's really starting to sink in for her. Probably had more hugs in the past few days than I've had in the past few years. No, that was for something else. No, that was for something else. (LAUGHS) That was for something else. So, um, yeah. I've been waiting to see the reality, sort of, sink in for Gaby, and I think it has now that, um, we're sort of here, really. What do you mean? Well, you weren't very, um,... You weren't very interested in talking about it. You weren't very, sort of, excited or anything. I was the one who was all nervous... Yeah. Yeah. ...for you. You haven't been nervous at all. You haven't been nervous at all. No, I'm not a nervous person. You haven't been nervous at all. No, I'm not a nervous person. No. DOOR OPENS You hand me that. You hand me that. OK. I don't really know much about Deaf culture. This time I'll be experiencing it, but I'm not exactly sure what the differences are. Take one more thing? Take one more thing? OK. Hello. Welcome. (LAUGHS) Hi. Gaby. Gaby. Nice to meet you. Gaby. Nice to meet you. Yeah. Do you sign? Do you sign? Not really. I haven't learnt. I've been oral most... all my life. You want that one? Are you sure? OK. It looks pretty good. Cool. Oh, do you know about this? You know, if you can't hear people knocking, it... flashes. Oh, that's cool. Do you like the room? Yeah. Do you want that room? You don't want the big room? Do you want that room? You don't want the big room? I like that room. Like this one. Yeah? Yeah? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah. OK. SIGN TRANSLATOR: When I saw Gaby, when she first came in, and she's a beautiful young woman, and she was welcomed here in our traditional manner. She had a good look around, and Mum was here with her. And she was looking at Mum, and I was watching how she was lip-reading Mum, very carefully to understand what she was saying. But when I signed her, she didn't have any idea of what I was saying. Most of them are, like, hearing impaired. They come from a mainstream school. They come straight here into our Deaf environment, and they'll say... Well, we know straight away because, um, cos they're standing by themself, so I'll try and encourage them to come in. I want to introduce you to two students. I want to introduce you to two students. OK. This is, um... You want to tell her your name? My name is L-E-R-O-Y. And my sign name is Leroy. > My... How do I say in sign...? My name... My name... Yeah. My name... Gaby. Yeah, that's good. Gaby is her name. Not her sign name. Do you have a sign name? Yeah. What is it? Gaby? Oh, Gaby. We tell the other students, the older ones, to, you know,... 'They're shy. 'Please teach...' They say, 'Fine.' And it sort of gives them a little bit of pride, because they like to be the one, you know, the older brother who will teach and show them around. Yeah. So, Gaby's moved in, and I've left her there. Um, yeah, I'm just hoping that she's... she's going to be able to communicate with everybody. That's the big thing from now on. She doesn't, um, know sign language, and although some of the kids can both sign and use speech, um, there are also kids there who are profoundly deaf. Most of the time, normally the new students we have that have, um, homesickness because they're not used to us, um, not used to having staff here, um, new friends. I'm really proud of her, you know, being willing to leave home and to leave everything she knows. We try and keep them as close as we can to our office. So if we can hear them cry, we just go up,... (WHISPERS) 'Don't cry.' POIGNANT MUSIC INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS DISHES CLATTER Mm? Can I help with anything? I'll put that away for you. OK, what...? Thank you. We provide a homelike environment here for students, so when they come and stay in the residence, they feel like they're warmly welcomed. And it's important that the parents and family feel that they're welcome here as well. CHAIRS CLATTER WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY Mm. WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY Mm. How old are you? > How do you like coming to, um, Totara Village? It's OK. How is it, like, meeting all of us? How is it, like, meeting all of us? It's OK. For me it was so different. Like, when I first came here, I was really shy, and then I met them, and now I get along with them like that. How's school? > How's school? > Mm, yeah. I started here in 2009. When I first started here, I was, like, nervous, eh. Missing your family. On the first day. Quite cool meeting the other deaf people. You're, like, the youngest, and I'm the oldest. > ALL TALK INDISTINCTLY Within weeks, Gaby's talking about heading back home. The buildings are very old and they're kind of very echoey, so they amplify the noise. In the classes, everyone's always talking and being really loud. ALL TALK NOISILY So, I might go back cos it's quieter there. Yeah, it's really hard. Everyone's talking over each other and just to be heard. And they like making a lot of noise. They want to be loud. In the weeks since Gaby moved here, her mother started on a new career path, training as a teacher and moving away from the family home on the Coromandel. For Gaby, it's tough. She's struggling in the classroom where she can't hear the teacher. She's going to have to try really hard to listen to what the teacher is saying to get the end of... the ends of each word ` the speeches. When the teachers are talking, it's the speech pattern... it's the sounds that are really quiet that she has to listen carefully to, and she didn't really like it. She sat there with her bag, and when the teacher called her, she just went, 'Yes, miss.' And she didn't look at the class. After school, Gaby goes back to the quiet of the boarding house. She can't communicate here as she still hasn't learnt to sign. She's missed several days of school. It has been hard, but, um, I can't give up, but I want to. Still, I can't give up because Mum's got teacher training, and she's going all over the place, and so I have to stay here and live here cos, I mean, I can't because she won't let me give up. SIGN INTERPRETER: At the beginning she was homesick, saying she wanted to go home and back to her own school. So the staff and I spent quite a bit of time with her in the second week, saying, 'You know, it's going to take time. You're gonna be fine.' I tried to be compassionate and to be sympathetic, but it went on for so long, that, in the end, I basically said, 'Look, you've promised to do this. You've promised to give it a year, 'and, um, there's nowhere to come home to now.' Finally, everything falls into place. My homesickness is improving. Yeah. So, I'm getting better. Gaby's sign-language skills are improving too. SIGN INTERPRETER: When she gets home, she's absolutely worn out because she spends so much of her time concentrating on signing here to pick it up. I've still got a long way to go. Um, I haven't learnt very much. Um, I mean, I've learned some, but I just still really can't hold a conversation yet, because when I do, sometimes people go my signs are all over the place and stuff. SIGN INTERPRETER: Her signing is really improving. I can say to her, 'How was school today?' And her reply, instead of being one sign, it's two or three signs back, and it's got to the point now where I can tease her a little bit and say, 'You want to go home?' And she says, 'No, no, no. I want to stay.' ALL LAUGH AND GIGGLE What happened? Do you have nail polish? > Do you have nail polish? > No. The noise is like... in the classes, I've gotten used to it. Um, well, at first, it was, like, 'Whoa. This is way noisier than all the kids in my old school were.' Well, I mean, I had gotten used to it, so by comparison, they're probably way quieter. And I just love hearing about the people and the things... the people that she's seeing, and the things that she's doing, um, while she's in Auckland. So that gives us a lot more to talk about, and it's really broadened... it's broadened both of our worlds. SIGN INTERPRETER: Quite often, you'll see that within a matter of weeks. These students have grown up speaking and lip-reading. They're learning how to sign very quickly ` mixing with their deaf peers as well. And I think that's great. They can access both worlds ` the Deaf world and the hearing world. Gaby's celebrating her 14th birthday. Life away from home has really grown on her. I find it cool to learn a whole different culture, another language, and make good friends. And they accept me for who I am. Blow it! > Next week on Attitude, Sophie Pascoe was an unknown 15-year-old when she burst on to the Paralympic scene in 2008. She won three gold medals and a silver. She will arrive in London with a huge expectation to succeed. Since our achievements in Beijing, we're the hunted now, and to be able to retain that is the hardest thing possible. For the last four years, her sole focus has been the London Paralympics. I have this thing inside of me that's just life's too short, and you've got to really make the most of what's been given to you, and I think swimming's been given to me, and I'm just making the most of it. The fifth annual Attitude Awards will be celebrated on November 29th at the prestigious Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland. Once again we're here to celebrate the achievements and the contributions of some of the 17% of NZers who live with disability. People are recognised for excellence in sport, art, employment, and making a difference in their communities. My congratulations, and congratulations to all of you are due to the finalists in the various category awards here tonight. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. Nominations are open this week. It's my first time here. It's an absolute pleasure. I've just been blown away. Bye. Captions by Anne Langford. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012

Attitude Young & Deaf

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