04/11/2025
“Sorry, can you say that again?”
It sounds like a small question.
But for many deaf people, it carries a whole world inside.
Not hearing doesn’t mean not listening.
Sometimes the sound drops.
Sometimes lips turn away mid-sentence.
Sometimes the brain needs just one extra moment to process.
And in that moment… courage rises.
Because asking again isn’t easy.
Yet the response they get is often:
“I already said it.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“It wasn’t important.”
And just like that, the conversation moves on without them.
Not because they weren’t trying.
But because asking again felt like asking too much.
What many people don’t realise is this:
🦻 Repetition isn’t inconvenience.
🦻 Repetition is access.
🦻 Repetition is dignity.
Repeating yourself isn’t a burden.
It’s how you keep someone in the room with you ...
not outside the conversation looking in.
When someone asks again, it’s not because they weren’t listening.
It’s because they were.
It’s because they’re trying to stay in the moment ...
instead of quietly falling out of it.
Asking again isn’t confusion.
It’s commitment.
It’s effort.
It’s choosing connection when silence would be easier.
So the next time someone says,
“Can you repeat that?”
Try again ... kindly.
Not louder. Not annoyed.
Just present.
Just human.
Every repeat is a bridge.
A moment of belonging.
A reminder that communication isn’t hearing perfectly…
It’s showing up for each other.
Repeat with patience.
Repeat with kindness.
It costs nothing.
But it gives someone the world.
Sometimes, saying it one more time
is how you make someone feel like they belong.
© Talking Deaf Kid, 2025
