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Becky Hales, the founder of In The Wrong Story, is the guest of the All About Audiology podcast this week. Becky was a teacher for the deaf/hard of hearing, and she then taught students who had multiple disabilities. Currently, she is studying for her AUD. Her goal is to “increase communication and understanding between people with disabilities, families, healthcare providers, educators, therapists, and the non-disabled world!”

0:50 – In The Wrong Story was a blog originally related to Becky’s sons’ allergy, but she eventually decided to turn the purpose of the blog  around in order to encompass all disabilities. It is alright to grieve and feel disappointed about outcomes being different than one had initially expecting things to go.

4:55 – While teaching, Becky realized the diversity among the deaf and hard of hearing students. Even though communication is the goal, there is not a ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to communication!

9:00: Becky had to watch Sound and Fury for one of her classes. Becky was upset with how the point of view of the main character with the disability was not at the forefront of the decisions made within the narrative! This film is also not particularly reflective of how things are currently.

14:30: As Becky prepares for her second career, within her AUD program, Becky and her peers are seeking out that information that they feel is missing from their program.

17:25 – Universal design in the idea of making different things as accessible to as many people as possible. If we design things with accessibility in mind, life is easier for all. A disability is a social construct. It’s not the lack of hearing that makes a disability, it is a lack of an accessible society that makes a disability.

36:00 – Semantics vary based on different cultures and regions. Thus, we should ask those with a particular disability what words and phrases might be considered offensive to their life story.

For more resources and research visit:

All About Audiology Website 

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All About Audiology Instagram

Check out Becky’s website here: https://inthewrongstory.com/

To support the All About Audiology podcast, visit our Patreon website here: https://www.patreon.com/allaboutaudiology

Listen Next/Related Episodes

Episode 43: All About Creating A Vision For Your Child’s Life with Genia Stephen

Episode 68: Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), All About YOU with Juliana Pedri

Episode 41: All About Deaf Plus and Rare Disorders with Madeline Cheney