Matt White

I was born on Nov 29, 1982 as a hearing baby. A year after my birth, I caught spinal meningitis and ran a high fever which severely diminished my hearing. My parents consulted with specialists to help them in deciding which would be the best course of action for me – deaf school or mainstream. Ultimately, they chose to mainstream me so that I could speak well. I have to admit, it paid off and I am comfortable with my voice.



During elementary, middle and high school – my parents made me use an FM device. I never knew sign language, because my parents wanted me to learn how to talk, so they put a lot of emphasis on the usage of the FM device. I hated it entirely but eventually convinced everyone to discontinue the use of it during my sophomore year at high school.

Once I got into RIT, I finally started accepting my deafness and learned sign language. Sign language made it so much easier for me to communicate with my peers at RIT. I felt comfortable and felt like I actually “fit in”.


My biggest problem that I had growing up was the communication barrier between myself and others in the general public. People always assumed I could “hear” because I talked so well. I hated that and I also hid the fact that I was deaf to “fit in” as much as possible. It actually only made things worse on myself. Yes, I could “hear” but the understanding part is an entirely different story. I tried hard every day to understand what people were saying to me and finally caught on. Sign language was much easier for me and also led me to accept my “deafness” which then made it easier on myself when people try to talk to me. I would say “I’m deaf” and people were much nicer about it.