I’m not yet an expert at sign language, I hope to be, but not yet. I want to continue learning and improve my signing skills. But compared to most psychologists in the Massachusetts area, other places as well, I know a lot about the deaf community, and when other psychologists are dealing with deaf children it can be dangerous not to know anything about the community. Because it’s possible that they could refer them to the wrong person, or give them the wrong recommendation, they may blame the deafness for their problems when really it’s a totally separate issue.
Amy Szarkowski was born in South Dakota and moved to Oregon when she was ten. She majored in psychology at Southern Oregon State University, earned her master’s degree at Eastern Kentucky University, and attended Gallaudet University as a hearing minority. Currently she is a psychology fellow working in a deaf and hard of hearing program at a children’s hospital. In this interview, Amy describes her passion for teaching and helping deaf children as a psychologist and a teacher.