Parents of a disabled child would be very nervous as their child starts their first day of school, wondering if they could make friends or manage without them.
As their children progress to the stage of being adults but teenagers. The moment would have arrived for them to take off from the den of love, affection, and care. Parents of disabled children cannot constantly protect their loved ones from harm or rough days. But offer encouragement to their children going through awful times.
When the day came for me to leave the home briefly to pursue my higher studies. Like every other parent of a disabled child, my parents were so concerned if I could deal without them. If I could manage because of the language barrier. What if I become sick, who would be there to take care of me? Plenty of thoughts raced through my parent’s minds.
There is one thing I learned while moving away from home. Independence and problem-solving. As I moved away from home, the need to make myself heard and advocate for myself roused. For so long, I had been under cover of my parents’ love and attention. After moving away from home, I learned to be more independent to the point I was able to talk to others and advocate for my needs.
In my hostel, there have been problems that raised because people could not understand my needs or why I am doing it. Occasionally, I could solve the problems by myself. But I had to let the warden of the hostel know about it since it became serious. My roommate, she is hearing impaired with the loss of 6o DB loss. As she wears hearing aids, she can listen to all the sounds and speak through the phone, understand music. Apparently, people thought my hearing loss is like my roommate's and started questioning me about why I needed all the extra things that my roommate does not need.
Despite the language barrier, I explained to them as best as I could to make them understand that not all hearing loss is identical. The more severe or profound the hearing loss becomes. The more facilities the deaf user needs to keep in contact with her family and catch up with studies.
For example, a blind girl in my hostel needed an accessible phone which can accommodate her blindness. She also needed a good recorder that could store multiple lecturers and a braille typewriter. In my roommate’s case, she needed a quiet place while she talks with her family. A good pair of headphones to listen to music. But for my case, I needed a Wi-Fi with a stable connection to talk with my family and catch up on my studies, and regularly submit continuous assignments.
Home away from home can lead you to discover your self a lot more. It will lead you to do the things once you never thought of doing. It is also a good way of learning to talk with people and solve problems. It also leads you to self reflect on your life by comparing the past and now. I have noticed changes in my thinking and my way of speaking. Home away from home also gives you a chance to become more creative with limited resources.
It also gives you the chance to expand your wings and grow. Yes, there will be bad moments. But these bad moments would teach you how to face them or what to do if it happens again. The good moments will be cherishable and satisfying that have you already learned how to do them.
Home away from home also gives the chance to your parents to see how far you have grown, the capability of dealing with problems, and the ability to manage alone. It also makes them happier when they see you moving across obstacles after obstacles. They would be glad to give you guidance when you have problems and encourage you when you feel that you are stuck in a rut.
I was born profoundly Deaf and use cochlear implants. I'll definitely share this with my family and friends before I go to a gathering.