Freya sees her disability as an asset after her Gold Residential

LOFT (Leadership Opportunities for Teens) is a dedicated programme for young people who are deaf or hard of hearing. After attending LOFT for her Gold Residential, Freya saw it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. As someone who is deaf, meeting other young people with a hearing impairment was her favourite part of the week as they could bond over their shared experiences and discuss their similarities and struggles.

After a week of improving her leadership, teamwork, public speaking and self-advocacy skills, Freya says her biggest takeaway from her Residential is “feeling more secure in my deaf identity and realising that my disability is an asset rather than a disadvantage.”

Read more about Freya’s Gold Residential.

Engaging with a range of curated activities for deaf and hard of hearing young throughout the week, Freya says her favourite was a teambuilding activity on a ropes course, giving them the opportunity to work together, increase confidence and strengthen friendships. While one of the biggest learnings came from listening to the first deaf president of Gallaudet University in 1988, who talked about the ‘Deaf President Now’ protests and significance of the Americans with Disabilities Act, increasing understanding of how negative attitudes have been a barrier to deaf people in the past. Meanwhile, a talk from disability services at Georgetown University emphasised the importance of self-advocacy and communication, particularly when it comes to receiving the right support in education, which Freya can take into the future.

With the counsellors and team leaders being deaf themselves, Freya says they were role models who could support the young people in the right way, like taking regular breaks and downtime when they needed it. Through her peers Freya learnt more about “listening fatigue” something she hadn’t heard of before but inspired her to take more listening breaks by taking out her implant when feeling overstimulated. Freya bonded with her peers during the Residential activities and says it helped them feel “less alone” with their disability.

The combination of experiences and activities during her Residential left a lasting impression on Freya. As someone who overcomes obstacles daily she recognises that she can effectively advocate for others as she has to stand up for herself. Freya says that after her Residential she feels more “secure” in her “deaf identity” and “even feels comfortable wearing my hair up and showing my implant, which was something I never did before.”

Freya says that doing her Gold Residential with LOFT has helped her feel more confident about becoming an independent young adult and being the in the driver’s seat of her own life. Freya shared her advice to participants about to take part in their Gold Residential:

If you are about to do your Gold Residential, be independent and jump out of your comfort zone, you will thank yourself for it!

Read more about doing your Residential section here and understand the Residential Requirements.