Thomas Irish experiences disability through deafness. But does that make him disabled?

Thomas was born with partial hearing that suddenly diminished in early childhood. At age 14, he decided to get cochlear implants.  

And while that technology enables him to hear, he wonders how the use of the implants affects his identity.  

“I don’t say I have a disability, but rather I experience disability. I can’t hear without my cochlear implants, but with them, I can.”  

Fine distinctions like this help Thomas in his goal of identifying who he is – and contribute to his advocacy work.  

Sport has been central to that journey. “Sport saved my life,” he says. “It provides a different way of understanding the world and interacting with people. Playing basketball allows me to make connections outside of sport that led to where I am today.”    

Now a PhD student at the Health and Physical Cultures for Social Justice Lab at Western University Thomas is exploring how perspectives shape identity with a focus on athletes who experience deafness and how race intersects with their identity.

“I want to understand people from different racialized backgrounds, within the context of their particular deaf cultures.”

And to do that, he is using storytelling. He attends sporting events and familiarizes himself with deaf athletes’ experiences.

“I observe how they behave or speak a certain way, then I gather and document what I’ve learned and experienced. I transform those observations into creative nonfiction. Storytelling has the power to change perspectives. I want people to immerse themselves into a story and come to understand why deaf cultures are the way they are.”

Through his research stories, he wants audiences to see the potential for learning from each other and growing together.

The desire to understand deafness as it relates to identity and culture has been a passion of Thomas’s for much of his life. He grew up in the U.K., where he attended a boarding school for deaf students. As the only deaf person in his family, his education proved to be a transformative entry into the deaf community where he came to view his peers as his extended family.  

“I’m forever grateful for that school. That’s where I realized most of us do not identify as disabled. We do everything we need to, just not with hearing.”

Thomas wants others who experience deafness to explore their identity and build confidence.  

“Do you want people to control your life or do you want to control your life?”

It’s a mission he plans on taking much further.  

“I don’t know what the future holds for me, but one thing I know for sure is I want to be able to help other deaf people.”