Signs of success
Being deaf is not a disability for Elizabeth Kauffman.
It’s her life.
The Blanchard sophomore and Montcalm Community College transfer student has been deaf since she was 3-years-old.
“We have our own culture,” Kauffman said. “We have things that we do within our own society just like any other group.”
Kauffman lost her hearing after years of ear infections, forcing her to learn sign language, as well as rely on a modified form of speech.
Most of her communication relies on lip-reading, she said, though she uses sign language as a second language.
“When you’ve been training yourself for years, you become really good at it,” Kauffman said. “Signing becomes second nature. Five-year-olds already know 2,000 words. I know a lot. I couldn’t tell you how many I know.”
Kauffman said she comes from a very supportive family that raised her to work through her hearing impairment along with another sibling, who also is deaf.
“I really don’t let anything get in the way,” she said. “I’m this optimistic kind of person brought up not to let anything get in the way.”
Kauffman’s Busy Day
Wednesday is Kauffman’s busiest day of the week.
She wakes up somewhere between 8 and 8:30 a.m. to have breakfast and prepare herself for her day. At 8:55, five minutes before her first class of the day is scheduled to begin, she begins making her way toward Finch Fieldhouse. From this moment on, Kauffman doesn’t have a free second until hours later.
The time between morning and afternoon for Kauffman consists of rushing to and from class. Her Child Development class is from 10 to 11 a.m.; her Women in America class from 11 a.m. to noon; and her Visual Arts class from noon to 1 p.m.
Attempting to make the most out of her free hour before her next class, Kauffman quickly runs home to make herself some lunch and attempt to make sense of the blur of morning lectures.
Class starts again at 2 p.m., followed by a study session in Anspach Hall for her Child Development class. When that’s over, Kauffman finally is done with classes for the day.
In each of her classes, a volunteer helps her out by taking notes for her and an interpreter follows her to every class.
Julie Poletti, Kauffman’s interpreter, works in several cities to help people with different kinds of hearing loss.
“Having an interpreter fills some of the gaps,” Poletti said. “There are always gaps in communication and an interpreter helps clarify.”
Kauffman said she spends the rest of her day studying, working out and relaxing before she collapses into bed somewhere between 11 p.m. and midnight.
Her ability to communicate with people is something she has carried with her throughout life, she said. Yet some communication problems still arise.
Kauffman said new people are harder to talk to because she is frequently stamped with a label and called ‘dumb.’
“People would exaggerate when they would talk to me and be overprotective and think I wouldn’t understand,” she said. “I’d have to tell them — ‘just talk to me like a normal person.’”
Aaron Seaver, a Northwood University junior from Stanton and Kauffman’s boyfriend, said his girlfriend’s hearing impairment has inspired him.
“She made me realize that you have to go after what you want, no matter what,” Seaver said.
