WEBVTT

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Scott:  I always wear my hearing aids.

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Unless I want to quickly end
an argument or something.

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Then I turn them off
and I don't hear anything.

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So I win no matter what.

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[music plays]

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Anne: And I was at my grandparents’ house
and I was going down the stairs in the dark

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and I was shuffling with my feet

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to feel where I was going.

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My parents were like, “Shhh...”

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you know, and they knew.

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Fatou: Something just wasn't right.

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I realize all of a sudden that I'm missing
passes and I keep dropping the ball.

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It wasn't until later that my older sister

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explained to me what DeafBlindness was.

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[music plays]

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Sarah: I really struggled in the beginning
with my Deaf identity

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because I felt like
I was never hearing enough,

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yet I was never deaf enough.

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Carl: DeafBlind people put both blind
people and deaf people in a conundrum

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because we as DeafBlind people have both things,
which neither one of them want.

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[laughter]

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Rebecca: If you’re deaf you rely
very heavily on your sight.

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But when you're losing your vision
and you don't have hearing,

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how do you process and take in the world?

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[music plays]

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Anne: My name is Anne Cantrill,
everyone calls me Annie.

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Carl: My name is Carl Richardson.

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Rebecca: I’m Rebecca Alexander.

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Fatou: My name is Fatou Sankanu.

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Sarah: My name is Sarah Morrison.

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David: It’s David D’Arcangelo

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I'm the commissioner of the Massachusetts
Commission for the Blind.

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People with disabilities are everybody.

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They’re our friends, they’re our family.

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Disability is the story of us.

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Fatou: If there's anything that strikes you
as funny, just ask us about it.

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Be open minded.

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The more you ask,
the more you'll understand.

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Sarah: Being aware is different
than understanding

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how you treat people with disabilities.

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Carl: Everybody has obstacles to overcome,
mine are just more visible to people

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to watch and observe.

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But what sets people apart is how we

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overcome and deal with them.

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[music plays]