Blaire Mac comes from a small town in Minnesota. She started learning sign language at around a year old. She shares “My mom hired someone to give me 1-on-1 with deaf and hard of hearing teacher.” Later on, she added speech therapy as well, since Blaire had some residual hearing. She decided to stop with speech therapy just before entering middle school when she lost the rest of her hearing. Now she wears a cochlear implant. She doesn't always use her implant; she prefers to be deaf. “I’m always going to be deaf when it’s off. I identify as a deaf person.” She grew up mainstreamed in school alongside her hearing peers. During the summer, she got her ASL fix by attending summer school at Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf (MSAD) in Faribault. In Blaire’s sophomore year of high school, she transferred to MSAD for a while before returning to her local public high school where she eventually graduated.
Blaire has worked in a variety of occupations - from daycare provider, as a camp counselor working with campers who have various disabilities, being an assistant in the kitchen for camps, and working for Minnesota Conservation Corps. She’s worked on some projects with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). She also has woodworking experience and she is very hands-on crafting things. Right now, she is crafting and selling things that she has made. “I customize and personalize items. Someday, I hope to bloom this into a business. “On the side, Blaire does jobs such as raking, mowing, shoveling, and walking dogs for folks. On top of it all, she balances it out with household and childcare in her own home. “I enjoy various requests that give me new experiences and good positive challenges. I love making things - anything hands on.” One of those projects was remodeling her hardwood floor by herself. “My customers inspire me for new challenges for my products and approaches, but my kids are what keeps me going.”
Blaire takes orders from a mix of hearing and Deaf customers. She shares that her orders are available online, so it helps with some of the barriers. ”However, when I personally meet people, the ones with an accent or shutter, it makes it challenging to hear with my cochlear implant.” She adds that most times she doesn’t wear her implant unless she’s at work or joining a big family event. She often struggles with lip reading, especially with people who have beards and compares it to playing Mad Libs in her head. “I read lips and if I miss words, I fill in the blanks where the sentences make sense, so If I'm hearing things but I’m not sure, my lip reading skills come in handy.”
Blaire applied for several jobs, “But as soon as they saw I was deaf, some places don't even bother to try. It makes finding a job hard, especially if I want to work in a certain field.” She goes on to add that sometimes she doesn’t even say anything at first: “Let them meet me in person first, so I can show them my abilities.” She sees her ability to speak as a helpful asset at times. She also has several resources at her disposal, such as using her phone for captioning. “When it comes to communication, it’s everything - body language, lip reading - everything combined. Sometimes I repeat certain things to make sure I'm understanding them. If I'm wrong, we come up with ways to communicate, like writing, typing notes back and forth on a phone, etc.”
Blaire shares that she “Wishes more people were educated on what being deaf really means,” and that more people understood that there are also folks who are deaf plus, “meaning deaf plus other disabilities.” She shares a memory where she went to a restaurant, “I would tell them I'm deaf, please make eye contact.” She stresses that eye contact is the most important thing in the deaf community when it comes down to communicating. Recalling an incident with someone who did not understand and “a worker brought a braille menu to me. I had to explain being deaf means my ears are dead. I just can't hear. That's it.” Braille menus are not the only things she runs into - she also shares questions folks have asked of her: “Asking if I can drive, if I can dance, if I could ... the answer to those questions is yes. I'm very handy for a deaf person who just can't hear. “
She shares the following advice: ”Spread more awareness about what disabilities are and what being deaf actually entails. I would suggest teaching the police, hospital workers, etc about what's the best way to interact with a deaf person, such as when a sign language interpreter is present, don't look at the interpreter; text through smart phone apps; look at the deaf person, etc. Some may prefer to read your lips. You're there for the deaf person, not the interpreter.”
Blaire considers herself lucky, as her hobbies overlap into her work. In her projects, she loves woodworking, crafting Christmas wreaths, necklaces, earrings, printed shirts, and making customized boxes. “I enjoy making things with my hands.” Blaire also finds time to spend with her family. “We do various activities together as a family, like bowling, skating, dancing, and attending events around town. “I love being adventurous, such as jumping out of planes, road trips to different states, visiting waterfalls, driving go karts and so on.”
“I want people to understand what being deaf is like, and not be afraid to mingle with us. Some people are flexible, with understanding which is nice. We don't bite, well maybe I'll nibble. No, just kidding.”
The #CanDoAnything campaign showcases people who are deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing at work, giving them an opportunity to share what they do at their jobs and explain how communication access works for them. This campaign shows what our community can do, which is anything!
