An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890 MONDAY 10.16.2017 No. 40 Vol 213
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EMBRACING
DEAF: StuGov member discusses ins and outs of identity
EMILY BLOBAUM/ IOWA STATE DAILY Kody Olson, a senior in global resource systems, became deaf after contracting bacterial meningitis after a kid bit him at daycare when he was two. Olson utilizes a choclear implant and translators, depending on the situation, to help him understand others.
Kody Olson was born hearing.
However — when he was just two years old — an incident at daycare would inadvertently alter his way of life. Olson doesn’t remember specifics, but knows this for a fact: He was bitten by a kid at daycare and contracted bacterial meningitis — a spinal cord infection — as a result. This led to nearly 48 hours of vomiting and a misdiagnosis of strep throat by the county hospital. He was then referred to the hospital at the University of Iowa where they properly diagnosed him with the bacterial infection. And it was only some time later after a bedtime story from his aunt, and a lack of response on Olson’s part, that his family came to the realization: Kody was Deaf. “To have only lost my hearing is pretty fortunate because I could have lost my ability to walk, or just a wide range of things,” Olson said. “To only lose my hearing was probably a good outcome.” Olson was then implanted with a cochlear implant in his right ear — a decision his parents
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had to come to pretty quickly. A cochlear implant is an electronic medical device that replaces the function of a damaged inner ear. By the time the first surgery was done, Olson said, his left cochlea was so thick it couldn’t be penetrated as his cartilage had turned to bone, leaving no choice but to only have one implant. “And that is how I became Deaf,” Olson said. GROWING UP DEAF
Olson, who is currently a senior in global resource systems, grew up in Keswick, Iowa. Population: 240. “It’s a very small town and a very small community,” Olson said. “Growing up Deaf in an elementary school where you have a graduating class of 25 is really unique. “What was so unique about it was — and not many deaf people have this experience — is from kindergarten all the way until my eleventh grade in high school, I had the same interpreter.” Misty DeWitt, Olson’s interpreter, was kind of like a second mom, he said. The two would go on FFA trips together and eat dinner with each other’s families, in addition to being with each
other from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every weekday. What was even more unique for Olson was that his class learned sign language, as well. “We all learned sign language together,” Olson said. “Everyone in my class knew basic sign language, so it was a really cool experience to grow up in such a supportive community.” But the transition to Iowa State — which boasts a population of more than 36,000 students — wasn’t exactly easy. “My whole freshman year was all about learning about my Deaf identity,” Olson said. “The disability of being Deaf is so much more than not being able to hear. There is culture behind it, there is an entire language behind it.” The fact that Deaf people have their own jokes, social norms, art and culture, Olson said, was something he had never considered before he came to Iowa State. This is exemplified through Olson’s unique experience — instead of having one interpreter that he grew up with, he now has four to six. “You talk to Megan [ Johnson] and she’ll say my
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BY ALEX.CONNOR AND EMILY.BLOBAUM @iowastatedaily.com Editor’s note: The word “Deaf” is capitalized in this story because Olson identifies as being culturally Deaf and has learned to embrace his Deaf identity. Read more about the difference between “deaf” and “Deaf” online.