It requires a lot of courage and that s something Karishma Mohan, who s been deaf since the

age of two, knows all about. To be deaf has never made me feel like I ve got a barrier.

I can drive, I can do everything everyone else does just the same as any hearing person.

It s just a normal way of life for me. She s a go-getter. We had been very protective

of her initially (when we came) But now she s out and about, doing everything. Sometimes

she does scare me because I m not as brave as her. She s done her sky diving, bungy jumping.

s daring, she s got a different adrenalin rush that we don t have. Karishma s courage and determination gets her noticed.

Deaf Aotearoa saw she d be a perfect spokeswoman and asked her to be one of the faces of the

annual New Zealand Sign Language awareness campaign. This year the theme for NZSL week

is m Deaf, Lets Talk and the reason we ve made it this theme it was an opportunity for

deaf people to share their experiences and to share their life, the challenges that they

have and to share with hearing people on what its like to be deaf. I think a lot of hearing

people don t know what a deaf person is like. What deaf people are like really. And so that

was part of my, wanting to be part of the promotion that they don t really know that

deaf people, you know I m still human, still pretty normal. Sometimes hearing people think,

oh they are deaf but I wanted to show that I can be independent I can do anything, similar

to hearing people. When Karishma was first diagnosed with deafness in South Africa her

parents never dreamed she d become the independent young woman she is today. When the initial

diagnosis of deafness was made, the most devastating part for us was, we believed at the time she

would be illiterate wont be able to read and write, questions of what her future will be

like. And my biggest wish at the time was to make her independent for the times we wont

be around to support her. And we ve been very successful t that because she s very independent,

very strong willed, a mind of her own and she can go and do things the way she wants

it and she not just going to accept any answer she ll fight for what she believes is right.

She has proved that the deaf can do anything they want to.. The entire family has learnt

sign language which has been an incredible support to Karishma. We realised the sign

language was really important for Karishma very early on, it became another language

in our home. So every Tuesday night was our night to go and learn sign language so we

could be abreast with her learning and communicate with her that was the most important thing,

being able to communicate with her while she was at school and get us up to speed so we

can help her along. Krishma s mother decided to change her career direction from being

a mainstream music teacher to a teacher of the deaf so she could better understand Karishma

s world. When Karishma was diagnosed with deafness I continued being a mainstream teacher

but I had the interest of working with the deaf, knowing I needed to improve my sign

language as well, and how best I could support Karishma. I don t think this would have been

my career path if Karishma had not been deaf. But I m not sad for it. This year Karishma

decided to fulfil her life dream and become a teacher of the deaf just like her Mum. ve

looked at my mum often, she s a teacher as well and I ve always thought, I ve dreamed

about it a lot that I d like to be like her and be a teacher and so now that I ve started

my practicum I look at myself and can think, yeah I can do something similar to what mums

done. She s a qualified teacher and I can do exactly the same thing if I want to do

that. As of yet of course I m not a teacher yet but it s pretty amazing for me to think

I m doing what I always wanted to do. It s beautiful, it s a lovely experience. And it

seems she s chosen the right path. Yeah she s doing really well I think. She s showing

initiative, seeing where there have been gaps and where something needs doing. She s getting

on really well with the children they re enjoying her and wanted her attention. We need more

deaf role models, we don t have enough deaf teachers. Because their first language is

sign language they are much better role models for the deaf children they giving them the

language, showing them that they are capable and finding their way in the world that they

are able to communicate with other hearing people. Karishma aims to teach deaf children

and children with hearing. She passionate about all New Zealander s learning more about

our country s third official language. This coming week, Deaf Aotearoa are offering free

sign language taster classes all around the country. And Karishma can give you lots of

reasons why you should get along to one. To communicate with deaf people. And make new

friends. And to be able to communicate with people you might not have been able to communicate

with before! And then you can go anywhere, wherever you want and communicate with anyone.

Meet someone in a coffee bar or wherever. It s just the same as if you were relaxing

with hearing friends you could do that with deaf friends as well. And if you work with

a deaf person that would be much nicer to be able to talk to them easily. If you d like

to find out more about these taster classes visit their website. gdLW urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags

place urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags country-region It takes a certain type of

person to jump out of an aeroplane at 12,000 feet nathalie Normal nathalie Microsoft Office

Word It takes a certain type of person to jump out of an aeroplane at 12,000 feet Title

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