Triumph Against Adversity

A real life story

A young girl chooses to believe in herself

Lai Yee Chin was born deaf. She was someone who grew up without ever hearing her parents’ voice, or her own name being called.

At age four, her parents decided to send her to the Cued Speech Centre for Hearing Impaired and Hard of Hearing, Kuala Lumpur. They wanted her to learn cued speech so she could communicate with people.

Although she is not mute, Yee Chin also had speech difficulties and initially often felt frustrated when people could not comprehend what she was telling them. She could only speak slowly and at times, her speech is unclear/hard to make out. On most occasions, Yee Chin usually ended up writing her thoughts on paper to ‘speak’ to normal people, which she uses to refer to the rest of us.

“I am aware that I am not a normal person.”, tells the 21-year-old college student during the online interview.

“I cannot hear other people while I am in class. I have not been able to hear anything while I’ve been studying at primary school, secondary school and even college now.”

“But I have accepted the fate from God that I am deaf. I do not mind that I am deaf, because I am a deaf person who is happy, brave and determined.”

Yee Chin was successful using cued speech to communicate with her new found friends at the centre. Her family also learned cued speech in order to have actual conversations with her.

At age 13 however, a new challenge presented itself when she enrolled at Sekolah Menengah Pendidikan Khas Jalan Peel, Kuala Lumpur.

She realized that most of her classmates are mute as well as deaf, and everyone was communicating using sign language, which she could not understand at all. (Cued speech is different from sign language, according to Yee Chin, cued speech facilitates lip movement with hand cues to communicate, while sign language relies on hand gestures, it is normally used for mute people)

It took Yee Chin four months to learn how to ‘speak’ all over from scratch again. She was resolute; Yee Chin did not hesitate to borrow (sign language) books from her teacher and asked for help from her friends. Her classmates and teacher were delighted watching her made good progress.

She subsequently transferred to Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato Ibrahim Yaacob and was placed in a special class for the hearing-impaired.

She encountered no further problems in communication, and her strong/tough personality and responsible attitude earned her teacher and classmates’ trust. She was the deputy class monitor in Form 2 and 3 and was then appointed to be the class monitor in Form 4 and Form 5.

However, Yee Chin struggled with her studies and had to sit for her SPM twice (in year 2008 and 2009).

Although she ended up getting less than desirable results, having failed half of her subjects for both times, Yee Chin did not allow herself to be disappointed as she is determined to believe that this is not the end of the road. She did even want to think of giving up just yet.

“I listen to the advice of my parents. They always tell me to think positively and be a mature person.”

“I know that I must be confident and believe in myself.”

With the help of her teacher, Yee Chin then applied to enter the Selayang Community College, and enrolled herself in the course of her choice: Certificate in Hotel and Catering. She is grateful that the college placed her in the class for hearing-impaired students, as she found it relatively easy to understand the instructions given by the lecturers who taught them the necessary practical skills via sign language.

Armed with a passion for cooking and baking, Yee Chin is considering taking up a diploma in culinary arts next (after completing her current course). She shares that she likes to decorate dishes (Yee Chin likes to present the dishes she cooks in artful ways) and watches culinary arts programmes on TV often.

“I hope you don’t mind that I am deaf. I am friendly.” Yee Chin describes herself as a helpful person who never hesitates to lend a hand to her friends whenever she can.

It is because Yee Chin herself remembers being in a similar situation before (being on the receiving end).

Recently, while she was taking her theory lesson for driving class, she had a tough time following what the teacher was explaining about traffic rules and driving safety, as she could not read the teacher’s lips fast enough.

Although the teacher did write down some notes for her afterwards, during the lesson, it was a kind girl who volunteered to sit beside her, and attempted to explain much of the lesson by mapping out everything on paper for her.

While Yee Chin is extremely appreciative towards kindness from strangers, she is pretty much an independent person and hopes to carry whatever she could on her shoulders.

“I do not want to burden my family and friends.” said Yee Chin, who also revealed that this is one of the reasons she is bent on getting her driving license.

“Besides, I will be able to go out with my friends more if I get my driving license,” said Yee Chin , who shares that like any other teenager, she enjoys going out shopping with her friends.

Although she has yet to handle driving a car, Yee Chin is not worried about it as she will have a hearing aid in place to assist her when the time comes.

“I have not started the practical yet (driving), but any time soon I will be sitting for my theory exam.”, explained Yee Chin.

Things are not slowing down for this determined lass.

Having completed two semesters of study, Yee Chin has just started with her industrial training at Sushi King which will be running for four months. (She wears a tag to show customers/patrons at Sushi King that she is hearing-impaired)

Not the least troubled by her handicap, Yee Chin is certain that like everyone else, she would be able to do well as long as she put in her best efforts.

“I want to build a path for myself for my future, to let other people know, that even if I am deaf, I am capable of doing it.”

*Curiousplayfan hopes that this brightens up your day. May you be inspired to work harder to achieve your goals in life!