When a Door Closes, a Window Opens

In my previous post, Mrs D wrote about the difference between ignorant customers and ignorant employers/co-workers. The result of this ignorance seems to be basically the same. The hearing person does not know how to communicate with the deaf person, so the easiest way to handle it is to ignore him. Of course, this is an extremely simplified explanation for an infinite number of reasons for why deaf and hearing people become frustrated in their interactions. It is a simplified explanation for the interaction between Steve and his boss at the sign shop. I offered a possible solution by making Steve’s boss more aware and teaching him how to work with a deaf employee. Steve chose to quit the job.

I thought a lot about his decision and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. If a customer is being ignorant, it’s usually a temporary problem because you wouldn’t have to deal with him for long. If a co-worker is ignorant, you might be able to talk to the boss about it. If the boss is ignorant, then you have to make a decision. Do you want to spend your time teaching the boss how to communicate and be respectful, or do you want to learn the tasks at hand and contribute to the company? Steve wanted to learn. Since this was not possible because of the boss, he chose to quit and look elsewhere for that opportunity.

The brief exposure Steve had to neon sign making wet his appetite enough to pursue the possibility of getting professional training in that craft. He contacted a school in Maryland where the instruction is one on one by a teacher who has worked with the Deaf in the past. Voc Rehab said they would figure out a way to pay for the class if this is what he wanted to do. The school provides job placement assistance, so if we have to move in order for him to get a good job, we will.

Another opportunity came when a friend of a friend who is very good at neon sign making, told Steve he would teach him how to make neon signs if Steve would teach him Sign Language. That sounds like a good trade to me. He is also going to talk to another man who owns a sign company, and who knows Sign Language. (Where were these people a few months ago?)

It appears some windows of opportunity have opened and he is excited. I do not know how to feel anymore because I’ve seen him excited about something and then get disappointed, many times. I’m learning how to “go with the flow”. As I said in another forum, living with him is one adventure after another and I wouldn’t change a thing.

August 1 Update:

Steve talked to the owner of another sign shop who knows Sign Language. He is a CODA (hearing Child of Deaf Adults) and his brother is deaf. He hired Steve on the spot at the same hourly rate the other sign shop was paying him. Now he’ll have to figure out the SSDI benefits again, but at least he has a boss who definitely knows how to work with a deaf person, and who is willing to teach Steve everything he wants to learn. I have a good feeling about this job.

I asked Steve how he came to know about this man, and he said he met him over a year ago while getting supplies for someone else. Why didn’t he talk to this man in the first place when he was thinking of working in a sign shop? It appears that this is a window of opportunity that was opened for him over a year ago, and stayed open because it is meant to be. He had to recognize it as such.