Blake Culley
Blake Culley, they/them/their, is a Deaf, transgender, non-binary person. I was born and raised in California by my hearing family, in a spoken language environment. I attended mainstream educational programs, with very little exposure to ASL. That changed drastically my junior year when I transferred to CSD Riverside. I went on to complete all my post-secondary education, including my Masters, at Gallaudet University. I’ve chosen a very fulfilling career as a School Psychologist, specifically with a focused passion for support in the Deaf School system, for the past six years. Currently, I’m on sabbatical from this work to focus on my other passion: providing educational workshops with a focus on the Deaf LGBTQIA community. While working as a substitute teacher at CSDR, I also travel to various Deaf schools/programs to teach about LGBTQIA topics and how to best support Deaf, gender-expansive students.
Presentation
Best Practices Working with Deaf and Gender Expansive Students: The Basics.
Learning objectives: Basic LGBTQIA terminology, appropriate signs, the different stages of gender identity, understanding the concept of transitioning (both from my personal journey and from the journey of other trans folks), and proper etiquette when interacting with gender-expansive people. This will all be tied together with an emphasis on best practices and techniques regarding support provision, including why this is critical for Deaf LGBTQIA students.