OT hero Pauline: I am deaf, but not mute

Pauline Vandenbossche is not an ordinary occupational therapist. This young lady was born deaf and inspires both peers and anyone else who comes into contact with her. Read on to get to know Pauline better and also be inspired by her story.

Who are you?

I am Pauline Vandenbossche, a 24-year-old, young, excitable woman. Originally a native of Ghent, I have followed my love to Beernem. I am a motivated occupational therapist who is always looking for new ways to keep my job challenging. I am a realist with a committed and optimistic attitude. 

What are your hobbies?

I like to read and therefore I read a lot. I enjoy small things and fun activities with my partner, friends and family members. I am also an avid Gent supporter.

Besides my hobbies, I’m studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work through distance learning.

You have a disability. Were you born with this?

I was born deaf as a result of Connexin 26. That’s a chromosomal abnormality on the 13th chromosome. I don’t call it a disability, because this sounds rather negative in my opinion.

At 11 months, my parents discovered my deafness. When I was 13 months old, I had surgery done on my right ear for a Cochlear Implant, a CI. I wear my CI daily. Thanks to my CI, I can function almost perfectly in society.

Until my 18th birthday, I attended two hours of speech therapy every week. Other than my brother, there is no one in my family with this same genetic disorder. Because of this, we were raised primarily with speech. However, my brother, parents and I know basic VGT, Flemish Sign Language, to be able to communicate in case of emergency. Think of a flat battery, a broken CI, while swimming etc.

Why did you choose the profession of Occupational Therapist?

When I graduated from high school, I first studied preschool for two years. Soon I noticed that I was not cut out for that. I attended an information session of the HOGENT and the training ‘occupational therapy’ caught my eye. In this profession, you try to get the best out of people and you have to continuously improve and innovate yourself as a person. This to try and make the other person’s daily life as self-reliant as possible again.

How did your studies go?

My educational path did not always go too smooth. At the beginning of the first year, I had a bad feeling about the large packages of study materials, such as anatomy, neuroanatomy and professional development. The further the training progressed, the better the studying went. I found the internships and practical classes the most interesting and enjoyable.

Was your job hunt a big hurdle to take?

No, not really. I graduated in June and could start immediately. I currently work with adults that are intellectually disabled and I still really enjoy doing that.

What are the biggest difficulties you encounter in your job?

Always staying creative and constantly coming up with solutions to keep my residents’ lives as meaningful as possible. They are not verbal, because of this, you have to coordinate well with educator-supervisors and fellow (ergo)therapists, to make sure the activities are indeed meaningful.

You work with people with disabilities. Can you better empathize with their story because of your own experience with deafness?

I think so. But on the other hand, I also think, “don’t ‘trunt’ (whine, ed.d.). If I can do it, you can do it too”. I did my final internship (partly) in an MFC where mostly deaf and hardhearing primary school children came for therapy. They liked having someone there who was also deaf. I partially walked the same path as those kids. I also had to go to therapy until I was 18, I also had “difficulties” with math, language or other subjects. On the other hand, I was also a role model for those children. I got questions from kids like: “Wow, you got a degree. Can I do that too?” Of course you can. If you work hard and go for it, you can do anything!

Do you get treated unfairly sometimes?

Sometimes? Right now, I can’t think of anything bad straight away. My environment knows who I am and takes my disability into account. For them, it’s never too much to repeat something when I ask.

On the work floor, certain colleagues who have difficulty repeating things sometimes. Now, that has to do with the combination of me being deaf and the West Flemish language. But I don’t mind it and I’m super happy with my life.

What annoys you the most?

I get most annoyed by people who still call deaf people ‘deaf-mute’ or ‘hearing impaired’ or ‘disabled’. We are not mute. This term is more likely to be used for people with technical problems with their vocal cords or the speech organ. It doesn’t apply to deaf people in general. Also, the term ‘deaf and dumb’ has a negative connotation. Mute brings to mind stupidity, which deaf people certainly are not. Everyone has their qualities.

How are you experiencing the Covid-19 period and especially the mouth masks?

I have a cochlear implant. Thanks to my CI, in anideal situation I can hear 90%, in a loud world this would come to about 75-80%. Because of this, the mouth image helps a lot. Now that the mouth image disappears, communicating with a mouth mask in a noisy environment is sometimes difficult. A 1-on-1 conversation still works well.

Now, Corona is not going to stay around forever, so the masks will probably disappear from the streets at some point. That’s why we all mustfollow the guidelines.

What would you have become if you could hear?

As a child I always wanted to be a police inspector or anatomical pathologist. The latter is the study of diseases, therapy development, etc.

I tried to become an inspector. 😊 I “failed” the medical tests. If you work in the police you have to be able to localize sound. And since I am bilaterally deaf and only have a right implant, this was too big a risk in case of danger.

What are you particularly proud of?

I’m proud of who I am and where I’ve been. I am especially proud of my parents and speech therapist. Thanks to their perseverance during my childhood, I can talk very well, I can function well in society.

Without them I would never have reached where I am now.

Do you want to share a message with other occupational therapists?

Always keep believing in yourself and your client! Keep getting the best out of yourself and the other person. Together we make a difference.