Abigail Beilfuss

Abigail Beilfuss is a free-spirited traveler, a deaf interpreter, who knows multiple sign languages - Indian Sign Language (ISL), American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), German Sign Language (DGS), French Sign Language (LSF) and International Sign (IS). She is an independent single mother. She is the General Secretary (Woman), Goa Association of the Deaf and Vice-President of the newly established National Youth Association of Deaf (NYAD), India. She is fascinated by the power of sign languages in transforming deaf lives, giving an identity, sense of self-confidence and a way to express the most complex of the ideas and feelings with ease.

Abigail was born in Calcutta, India and spent most of her childhood in Delhi, India. She became deaf due to meningitis when she was 6 months old. Initially, she was put for the speech therapy, better known as the ‘Oralism’ approach.  But she found it dull, and highly inadequate. She was introduced to the world of sign language by her father - Arun C. Rao when she was 3 years old, who initially referred to ASL Dictionaries, as nothing on ISL was available in those days. Later on, Arun went on to acquire exceptional ISL skills from the Indian deaf community and became one of the pioneers in the field of interpreting in India. Her father always encouraged her to read books, and often would explain what the book was about. She still loves to read, and acquiring new vocabulary and expressions in written English.

Abi was home-schooled. The rest of her family- three brothers and two sisters are all hearing . But they all communicated with her through sign language. Abigail feels grateful for the support she received from her parents and her family. But her life has not been a bed of roses. It is filled with some bitter-sweet episodes. She recalls : "My childhood was not filled with very good memories. I was suppressed and looked down upon by many people. I have been teased and mocked due to my deafness and my use of sign languages. Someone even called me a 'monkey' among other offensive names. I have suffered a lot while growing up, because the hearing society can be really insensitive at times.... I have become stronger now, more independent, overcoming all those struggles"

Her adventure with life began when she turned 18 years. She left India and traveled to Mexico all on her own. She worked there at a youth camp as a volunteer supporting and helping children in an orphanage for 2 years. Afterwards, she traveled around Europe for some time before settling down in London. There, she enrolled in a college. She recounts her delightful college years: "It was my first experience in a college. I did not know what to choose or what to study. I was surprised to see that there was communication support in the college in the form of a Sign Language Interpreter and a Note-taker which helped me in me immensely my studies. I was very happy! I was the only deaf person in the classroom surrounded by hearing people. I did a course on Humanities and Science. It took me 4 years to complete my studies and during that time I interacted with many deaf people."

Abi also did a lot of 'Theater and Performance Arts' work with a person called Billy Read who is also deaf. She elaborates : "We both worked together to encourage deaf children in different countries to do many activities. And that is when, I learnt many sign languages. For a deaf person, it is very easy to learn sign languages. Sign Languages are visual languages, the most natural form of communication for the deaf. For me it was more difficult to learn how to speak and to understand speech. But, while using sign language it was very easy for me to follow conversations."

Abi does not consider herself as a ‘speech impaired’ or ‘hearing impaired’ person, rather she prefers to be called ‘deaf’. There are many misconceptions about what the deaf can or cannot do, some of which include: we cannot drive; we cannot speak; we cannot dance; we cannot travel alone, etc.
But she proudly bursts all the myths, she says : "I can drive, I can dance, I travel alone... I have undergone speech therapy classes which has enabled me to able to talk a bit. I have participated in the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival in San Francisco in 2014 and also performed at many places around the globe.  I can be given almost any project and I will tackle it and manage it and never give up and find very creative ways of completing it."

Abigail is currently determined to complete her studies. She is very interested in Psychology and Holistic Medicine, and wishes to do a M.A. and PhD in the future. She knows that it's not an easy road with all her responsibilities, but she is a firm believer in power of perseverance and passion!