Ask Sam letter

Asker

To Sam

Subtitles on TV

hello sam
i not like want thing in my way but this my problem
im deaf fully and i sometime get annoy when i watch tv it got no subtitles making me annoy cos i got right to know what happening in tv. i love my family but my mum would say that tough it life, well i don't argee with her and also some time when i at school and when we watching sometime which link to subject and it got no subtitles i would had to go other room to watch same thing with subtitles and i don't like this, also i sometime had to watch it without subtitles, i do have right but sometime i feel that no one in world can't see why i need subtitles for tv or films etc. what if there something important or something. i do know that most tv and program now have subtitles but sometime it doesn't, hope i wasn't wasting your time but i just want know what i can do?
oh and sometime people just being rude to me in school sometime cos they think it funny like wave in my face, shout something at me and i don't know what they said. and once time someone shout me from behind at me MOVE! and other time this boy just poke at my ears (where my colchear implant is) i  feel scare and upset inside but outside i just act like it nothing. sometime it make me feel like i want to shout at those people and respond but then i think again i won't understand them and it make me feel silly
i understand that you cannot reply to every letter but can try reply if possible i just need some advice that you think is good? by the way i think childline is amazing!
Ask Sam

Sam

Hello,

I’m really pleased that you got in touch - you’re not wasting my time at all. There may be other young people reading this who feel the same as you. The ‘Living with Deafness and Disability’ message board is a place where lots of young people have posted messages about their thoughts and experiences. You can read these and you could also post your own message for other people to reply to.

It sounds like you love your Mum, but feel hurt when she says that you can’t change what is happening. It seems like you feel things need to change, and it’s true that you should be given the same opportunities as other people. You can read more about the rights of people with disabilities on the Childline website.

Watching TV with no subtitles seems frustrating for you, and I agree that you shouldn’t miss out on important information when you watch TV in school. Some people in a situation like this might consider talking to staff at school to tell them about how this makes you feel. It may help to tell them about what you think would make you feel more comfortable, one idea might be for some other pupils to watch the subtitled films with you so you aren’t by yourself.

It sounds like other pupils are treating you unfairly, and it’s understandable that you feel scared and upset. It’s not silly at all for you to feel angry and want to shout. I’m concerned that you could be hurt when people shout at you and poke you, at school. If a teacher finds out what is happening they have a responsibility to try and stop people treating you like this. Schools have to have guidelines about what they do when someone is being treated unfairly, so maybe you could think about asking a member of staff that you trust about that. You could also look at The Deaf zone where there are films with subtitles, and actors using BSL (British Sign Language) about bullying and family relationships as well as things like staying safe online. 

You’ve told me that on the outside you are acting like the bullying is nothing – keeping feelings inside can be really difficult, and one way to let out feelings might be to talk to ChildLine – you can do this by having a 1-2-1 chat online, or by sending a personal email that a counsellor would reply to. You asked what you can do, and that is also something you could talk about more with a ChildLine counsellor. 

Thank you for your letter,

Sam

Need help straight away?

You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.

Ask me a question

You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.

Write me a letter