my name is Anderson pleasance what is it
that gives our names a sense of identity
I don’t know most of your names but I do
know that everyone in this room is
unique and has their own sense of
purpose and potential even if it hasn’t
been fully realized yet I know what it’s
like to lose hope self-worth and sense
of direction in life I’m a firm believer
that the best way to find solutions help
others and bridge understanding is to
share our stories to show others they
aren’t alone so here’s a sliver of my
story how I found hope by finding myself
and in the process found a way to impact
so many others around the world I’m
different let’s address the elephant in
the room yeah I look different but I
want to talk or actually sign rather
about what I’ve been doing with my hands
the way I communicate is a major
wonderful part of who I am that I’m
proud of but it also has its challenges
I hope you’ve realized by this point I’m
not just doing extensive arm and hand
exercises I can’t speak so I’m nonverbal
and I communicate with American Sign
Language or ASL as a deaf performer I
interpret music in ASL like the cover
I’ll be doing of whatever it takes by
imagine dragons interpreting music was
the beginning of my realisation of self
I’ve always had my identity at my core
but it wasn’t until Andy signs became an
integral part of who I am that my sense
of identity evolved allowing me to grow
as a person and see hope for myself that
I was more than
just someone who had challenges and
looked different ever since I was about
six months old sign language has been a
major part of my identity I’m deaf hard
of hearing which means I can hear with
my hearing aids on but without them I’m
profoundly deaf unless you’re my
incredibly loud sister McClain the Deaf
I call myself is with a capital D as
opposed to the lowercase D and that’s
culturally crucial to my identity its
capital D because I don’t see my
deafness as something that weakens or
limits my life far from it deaf culture
is a community centered around sign
language and pride to us it’s not a loss
of sense but a sense of self
I still use hard of hearing because I
consider myself part of both worlds the
Deaf world and the hearing world
communication has always been an issue
for me I’ve been in mainstream schools
for years so almost everyone I knew
didn’t know sign language and no one
could understand my so-called speech
ironically I’ve sometimes been told that
when I swear vocally it’s surprisingly
easy to understand my main method of
speaking to other kids is to just type
it out on my phone and show it to the
other person but there’s no emotion in
words on a screen it’s also not nearly
fast nor fluid enough it’s difficult and
I often fall behind in conversations
leaving a lot on set my personality is
an outgoing sarcastic and fun-loving one
so it pained me to mostly be a passive
quiet observer it was pure torture I
wanted to express myself share my jokes
and make others laugh engage in
stimulating intellectual debates I
always thought that surely
if people could just read my mind and
hear my inner voice then surely they
like me for who I am
I think my tumblr obsessed 14 year old
self put it best
I’m not voiceless you just choose not to
see hearing people talk which means I
gotta try and actually hear correctly
and death makes it a bit tricky I want
you all to imagine you’re six years old
and your mother comes downstairs with a
surprise message for you now imagine the
mixture of excitement terror and
confusion when you the small six year
old hear your mothers say hey Andy I got
you some new bed sheet new sheep woman I
don’t even know how to wipe my butt yet
watch let’s take care of another living
thing now imagine the horror and
confusion multiplied because at the time
you also have a massive phobia of pretty
much every animal on the planet another
story for another day
shockingly there’s no species of sheep
that’s miniaturized and can only live on
your bed like I was imagining at six
years old they were actually of course
new bed sheets there are some parts of
me that I was born with that’s out of my
control there was a time when I hated
myself and wish so badly to be normal
just so I could easily be who I wanted
to be I figured the only thing holding
me back was the fact that I couldn’t
talk and I look different but by
avoiding mirrors and cursing my luck I
was preventing myself from finding hope
and happiness I will always be Who I am
this face is handsome as it may be
isn’t a mask for sale at Party City I
have Goldenhar syndrome I’m happy with
how I look it’s how I was born I’m also
thankful for the cranial craniofacial
community full of kids who I saw myself
in and adults who are also accepting it
wasn’t easy I went through years of
being stared at pointing and rude
questions even from adults four years
ago I became extremely depressed with
suicidal thoughts because of how
isolated I felt due to all the societal
barriers constantly orbiting around me I
felt so alone in the world one in which
I never saw anyone who looked like me
nor had the same challenges finding
success in a society so judgemental I
know I never had that kind of role model
to show me the way to live as someone
like me I didn’t think I stood a chance
in this world but one morning I started
to give myself a chance I woke up got
out of bed moved my desk and stacked a
bunch of boxes and books angled my phone
on it just right and I pressed record as
I signed the song waiting on the world
to change by John Mayer it was so
therapeutic to just express the emotions
and deeper concepts of this song in my
language singing in American Sign
Language showcasing the wide array of
emotions and deep thought that’s been
inside me and left unspoken my whole
transition from isolation to pride and
hope that has all been possible because
of my youtube channel and assigns
my videos started out only as ASL covers
of songs and within two to four years
and II saw and in two to four minutes
I felt freer than I’ve ever felt I was
able to scream cry exclaim and even rap
and E signs was born out of a need I
needed to do these videos to help myself
cope and and feel and it helped me to
sow connections with tens of thousands
of others around the globe it
transformed from a coping tool for one
to a community of shared positivity and
the spreading of awareness and
understanding my videos represent Who I
am I touch on Deaf culture life with a
cranial-facial difference mental health
and so much more I finally found a way
to chip away at those communication
barriers while I sign and vocalize with
closed captioning my videos range from
my performance with Grammy winning duo
21 pilots to yelling at Siri for not
understanding me to opening up about my
experiences and thoughts through it all
this platform has allowed me to see my
challenges or barriers in a new light
and turn them into strengths that
empower me it’s why I’m now so much more
comfortable with sharing these
lesser-known perspectives that exist
within the diverse spectrum of
identities and stories that make up
humanity through my self-acceptance I
found a new passion and drive in life I
want to be a role model from whom kids
like me
and learn love and confidence someone
they can definitively point to and say
he’s like me he gets it I’m not alone
that’s why I make my videos why I
showcase myself and share my story
there’s a stigma against those who look
different that were somehow inferior my
goal is to shift that thinking not just
for me but for all the kids out there
who struggle to find acceptance Andi
signs is part of who I am my identity as
a person in psychology there’s something
called self complexity it’s this idea of
human identity as being the sum of
multiple identities that make up who you
are for example the identity of being a
brother son friend artist student etc
the more identities you possess the
higher your self complexity and the
higher your self complexity the more
supports you have to lean on when you’re
feeling lost I know there are many out
there in the world who are uncomfortable
with the idea of labels they feel labels
can be restricting and I completely
agree with that statement except I drop
just one letter from that statement a
label can be restricting but multiple
labels can be quite liberating i opening
and connect you even more with yourself
and humanity all of these labels or
identities have a sense of community or
second family people united and pride
for themselves and each other the more
identities you possess the more
opportunities you have to meet with
people with different stories and
by simply being myself after tossing
aside the fears cultivated by society
that held me back I was energized and
motivated to find more identities that I
could draw from myself and with those
identities came their respective
communities I even gained the confidence
and self-love to think about myself
romantically now I’m a proud member of
the lgbtq+ community and I found a
deeper sense of understanding of myself
by accepting and being proud to be
bisexual the whole time I’ve been
describing my own self complexity which
helped me recognize my potential in this
world I’m Anderson Pleasence also handy
for short I’m a son a brother a friend
and also deaf hard of hearing nonverbal
disabled a deaf performer a youtuber no
no no not the Logan Paul kind an
activist bisexual music lover and more I
will discover as I grow Goldenhar
syndrome will forever be part of my
identity through good and bad days I am
someone with a cranial-facial difference
and by opening up and embracing that
I’ve learned to love and accept myself
so that others can in love and accept me
too a few weeks ago I was admittedly
half paying attention in my English
class
reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet and then my
hearing aids picked up this quote from
my teacher to thine own self be true and
it must follow as the night the day thou
canst not then be false to any man
polonius from Hamlet what I took from
this line was that if you’re true to
yourself
and you carry yourself with the pride of
who you are it will have a positive
impact on you and those around you
everyone surrounding you is different
from you and each other we are all
unique with parts of our physical and
inner identity that helped give us
definition don’t be afraid to accept
what can be a positive component of your
identity I’m going to keep driving home
the point that no matter what your
differences are be proud of them
do not let society’s use control your
life’s narratives we must normalize
different just as much as we’ve
normalized whatever normal is at the end
of this conference when you all go back
into the world or for those of you
watching online when this video ends I
ask that you please keep an open mind if
you meet someone different from your
usual expectations of life get to know
them but don’t befriend them just
because they’re different I’m not
recommending you be a fake friend
because I’ve had my fair share of those
rather simply get to know someone and
carry yourself with the knowledge that
there is more to everyone than just
their name or face we all have our
deeper layers that make up who we are
this is a call to action that will last
your entire life so I’d like to ask that
you remember this advice for the rest of
your life to love yourself and you will find yourself
that gives our names a sense of identity
I don’t know most of your names but I do
know that everyone in this room is
unique and has their own sense of
purpose and potential even if it hasn’t
been fully realized yet I know what it’s
like to lose hope self-worth and sense
of direction in life I’m a firm believer
that the best way to find solutions help
others and bridge understanding is to
share our stories to show others they
aren’t alone so here’s a sliver of my
story how I found hope by finding myself
and in the process found a way to impact
so many others around the world I’m
different let’s address the elephant in
the room yeah I look different but I
want to talk or actually sign rather
about what I’ve been doing with my hands
the way I communicate is a major
wonderful part of who I am that I’m
proud of but it also has its challenges
I hope you’ve realized by this point I’m
not just doing extensive arm and hand
exercises I can’t speak so I’m nonverbal
and I communicate with American Sign
Language or ASL as a deaf performer I
interpret music in ASL like the cover
I’ll be doing of whatever it takes by
imagine dragons interpreting music was
the beginning of my realisation of self
I’ve always had my identity at my core
but it wasn’t until Andy signs became an
integral part of who I am that my sense
of identity evolved allowing me to grow
as a person and see hope for myself that
I was more than
just someone who had challenges and
looked different ever since I was about
six months old sign language has been a
major part of my identity I’m deaf hard
of hearing which means I can hear with
my hearing aids on but without them I’m
profoundly deaf unless you’re my
incredibly loud sister McClain the Deaf
I call myself is with a capital D as
opposed to the lowercase D and that’s
culturally crucial to my identity its
capital D because I don’t see my
deafness as something that weakens or
limits my life far from it deaf culture
is a community centered around sign
language and pride to us it’s not a loss
of sense but a sense of self
I still use hard of hearing because I
consider myself part of both worlds the
Deaf world and the hearing world
communication has always been an issue
for me I’ve been in mainstream schools
for years so almost everyone I knew
didn’t know sign language and no one
could understand my so-called speech
ironically I’ve sometimes been told that
when I swear vocally it’s surprisingly
easy to understand my main method of
speaking to other kids is to just type
it out on my phone and show it to the
other person but there’s no emotion in
words on a screen it’s also not nearly
fast nor fluid enough it’s difficult and
I often fall behind in conversations
leaving a lot on set my personality is
an outgoing sarcastic and fun-loving one
so it pained me to mostly be a passive
quiet observer it was pure torture I
wanted to express myself share my jokes
and make others laugh engage in
stimulating intellectual debates I
always thought that surely
if people could just read my mind and
hear my inner voice then surely they
like me for who I am
I think my tumblr obsessed 14 year old
self put it best
I’m not voiceless you just choose not to
see hearing people talk which means I
gotta try and actually hear correctly
and death makes it a bit tricky I want
you all to imagine you’re six years old
and your mother comes downstairs with a
surprise message for you now imagine the
mixture of excitement terror and
confusion when you the small six year
old hear your mothers say hey Andy I got
you some new bed sheet new sheep woman I
don’t even know how to wipe my butt yet
watch let’s take care of another living
thing now imagine the horror and
confusion multiplied because at the time
you also have a massive phobia of pretty
much every animal on the planet another
story for another day
shockingly there’s no species of sheep
that’s miniaturized and can only live on
your bed like I was imagining at six
years old they were actually of course
new bed sheets there are some parts of
me that I was born with that’s out of my
control there was a time when I hated
myself and wish so badly to be normal
just so I could easily be who I wanted
to be I figured the only thing holding
me back was the fact that I couldn’t
talk and I look different but by
avoiding mirrors and cursing my luck I
was preventing myself from finding hope
and happiness I will always be Who I am
this face is handsome as it may be
isn’t a mask for sale at Party City I
have Goldenhar syndrome I’m happy with
how I look it’s how I was born I’m also
thankful for the cranial craniofacial
community full of kids who I saw myself
in and adults who are also accepting it
wasn’t easy I went through years of
being stared at pointing and rude
questions even from adults four years
ago I became extremely depressed with
suicidal thoughts because of how
isolated I felt due to all the societal
barriers constantly orbiting around me I
felt so alone in the world one in which
I never saw anyone who looked like me
nor had the same challenges finding
success in a society so judgemental I
know I never had that kind of role model
to show me the way to live as someone
like me I didn’t think I stood a chance
in this world but one morning I started
to give myself a chance I woke up got
out of bed moved my desk and stacked a
bunch of boxes and books angled my phone
on it just right and I pressed record as
I signed the song waiting on the world
to change by John Mayer it was so
therapeutic to just express the emotions
and deeper concepts of this song in my
language singing in American Sign
Language showcasing the wide array of
emotions and deep thought that’s been
inside me and left unspoken my whole
transition from isolation to pride and
hope that has all been possible because
of my youtube channel and assigns
my videos started out only as ASL covers
of songs and within two to four years
and II saw and in two to four minutes
I felt freer than I’ve ever felt I was
able to scream cry exclaim and even rap
and E signs was born out of a need I
needed to do these videos to help myself
cope and and feel and it helped me to
sow connections with tens of thousands
of others around the globe it
transformed from a coping tool for one
to a community of shared positivity and
the spreading of awareness and
understanding my videos represent Who I
am I touch on Deaf culture life with a
cranial-facial difference mental health
and so much more I finally found a way
to chip away at those communication
barriers while I sign and vocalize with
closed captioning my videos range from
my performance with Grammy winning duo
21 pilots to yelling at Siri for not
understanding me to opening up about my
experiences and thoughts through it all
this platform has allowed me to see my
challenges or barriers in a new light
and turn them into strengths that
empower me it’s why I’m now so much more
comfortable with sharing these
lesser-known perspectives that exist
within the diverse spectrum of
identities and stories that make up
humanity through my self-acceptance I
found a new passion and drive in life I
want to be a role model from whom kids
like me
and learn love and confidence someone
they can definitively point to and say
he’s like me he gets it I’m not alone
that’s why I make my videos why I
showcase myself and share my story
there’s a stigma against those who look
different that were somehow inferior my
goal is to shift that thinking not just
for me but for all the kids out there
who struggle to find acceptance Andi
signs is part of who I am my identity as
a person in psychology there’s something
called self complexity it’s this idea of
human identity as being the sum of
multiple identities that make up who you
are for example the identity of being a
brother son friend artist student etc
the more identities you possess the
higher your self complexity and the
higher your self complexity the more
supports you have to lean on when you’re
feeling lost I know there are many out
there in the world who are uncomfortable
with the idea of labels they feel labels
can be restricting and I completely
agree with that statement except I drop
just one letter from that statement a
label can be restricting but multiple
labels can be quite liberating i opening
and connect you even more with yourself
and humanity all of these labels or
identities have a sense of community or
second family people united and pride
for themselves and each other the more
identities you possess the more
opportunities you have to meet with
people with different stories and
by simply being myself after tossing
aside the fears cultivated by society
that held me back I was energized and
motivated to find more identities that I
could draw from myself and with those
identities came their respective
communities I even gained the confidence
and self-love to think about myself
romantically now I’m a proud member of
the lgbtq+ community and I found a
deeper sense of understanding of myself
by accepting and being proud to be
bisexual the whole time I’ve been
describing my own self complexity which
helped me recognize my potential in this
world I’m Anderson Pleasence also handy
for short I’m a son a brother a friend
and also deaf hard of hearing nonverbal
disabled a deaf performer a youtuber no
no no not the Logan Paul kind an
activist bisexual music lover and more I
will discover as I grow Goldenhar
syndrome will forever be part of my
identity through good and bad days I am
someone with a cranial-facial difference
and by opening up and embracing that
I’ve learned to love and accept myself
so that others can in love and accept me
too a few weeks ago I was admittedly
half paying attention in my English
class
reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet and then my
hearing aids picked up this quote from
my teacher to thine own self be true and
it must follow as the night the day thou
canst not then be false to any man
polonius from Hamlet what I took from
this line was that if you’re true to
yourself
and you carry yourself with the pride of
who you are it will have a positive
impact on you and those around you
everyone surrounding you is different
from you and each other we are all
unique with parts of our physical and
inner identity that helped give us
definition don’t be afraid to accept
what can be a positive component of your
identity I’m going to keep driving home
the point that no matter what your
differences are be proud of them
do not let society’s use control your
life’s narratives we must normalize
different just as much as we’ve
normalized whatever normal is at the end
of this conference when you all go back
into the world or for those of you
watching online when this video ends I
ask that you please keep an open mind if
you meet someone different from your
usual expectations of life get to know
them but don’t befriend them just
because they’re different I’m not
recommending you be a fake friend
because I’ve had my fair share of those
rather simply get to know someone and
carry yourself with the knowledge that
there is more to everyone than just
their name or face we all have our
deeper layers that make up who we are
this is a call to action that will last
your entire life so I’d like to ask that
you remember this advice for the rest of
your life to love yourself and you will find yourself
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