Deaf Awareness Month celebrates the community while raising awareness

June is Deaf Awareness Montha time to support and learn, while celebrating community.

Ryan Riehl is a deafblind person in Saskatchewan. He has won awards in water skiing and likes to keep himself busy. He remembers when he first got involved in this sport.

“It’s amazing. Maybe in a week, two weeks, I’ll be able to ski by myself.”

Riehl suffered a back injury and can no longer water ski. Now, he mostly paints sunsets.

“It’s finding things that keep you busy, you can’t just… call and call friends.”

“My mother was the one who invited me to paint. She thought I could do it and could put the images I saw in my head onto canvas. So, I started painting and the image I remember when I could see well, was the sunset. And I thought it was very beautiful because I could see the sunset and the trees.”

When he was nine years old, Riehl suffered from a tumor on his optic nerve. Then in his 30s, he started going deaf. Doctors couldn’t explain it.

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More than 600,000 people in Canada over the age of 15 are identified as deafblind. This month is about creating understanding and awareness for society.

“Awareness is important because it helps people understand the deafblind community. It reduces barriers and there are many opportunities for miscommunication, misunderstanding, but it allows for inclusivity in the community,” said Patricia Spicer.

Spicer, who is also deafblind, works with deafblind people as a vocational counselor and early childhood and family services worker. He said there are still many misunderstandings in society.

“A lot of people think that people in the Deafblind community are completely deaf and totally blind. That’s not true. A lot of people think that deafblind people can’t communicate. That’s also not true. A lot of people think that deafblind people can’t live independently or that they can’t have a job, but they can.”

Spicer said people can help end the month by taking time to learn and educate themselves about the community, while still providing support.

“It’s important to have an open heart and realize that people in the Deaf-Deaf community have all these possibilities and can do them. It’s important to study the community as a whole.”

“It’s important for everyone to know that we are out there. You may not see or hear us often, but we are out there,” Riehl said.

The City of Regina will illuminate City Hall with blue lights June 26-28, in recognition of Deaf-Blind Awareness Month.

Watch the video above to learn more about why this month is important and how you can help support.