Leeza

I have been interesting in learning BSL for quite a long time. My mum works at a special needs school, and I picked up a little Makaton when I did my work experience there, and I've toyed with the idea of learning proper BSL ever since. What pushed me to learn though, is my best friend. My best friend Obi lives with me, and has done for nearly 2 years. I knew her hearing wasn't great, but I'd just raise my voice a little and we got along just fine. But she has a degenerative condition due to a deformity in her ears and her hearing has been deteriorating over the last 5 years or so. I didn't realise how serious this was until last week she told me she missed being able to hear me sing, and missed my voice. It only clicked then that the reason we had been struggling to communicate was she was trying to read my lips, as she could no longer hear me. We are both now learning BSL so we can continue to talk to each other without it being awkward of alienating for either of us. So far, her favourite word is 'interpreter' and likes to show me memes about 'gang signs' and deaf kids... I look forward to meeting you all.

Hi everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Leeza, short for Elizabeth. My best friend has a degenerative condition and her hearing has becoming worse and worse over the years. When I met her it didn't present much of a difficulty. I just had to raise my voice. I didn't realise how quickly she was losing her hearing, until last week she told me she missed the sound of my voice, and that she hasn't heard me sing in months. We are both learning BSL now so that we can still talk. I look forward to meeting you! Here is a short video of me awkwardly signing an introduction! If you know of anyway I can improve, please tell me!