a picture of oral only education

[ash345]

Well, you have to start somewhere. It's a lot for a child to get the hang of things. I was able to advance at a rapid pace. Keep in mind that kids are able to learn multiple languages at once. They do it all the time. I don't see a problem with kids learning speech and signing at the same time. They ought to gear the program to the child's abilities.

For what it's worth, it worked out for me. Yes, I'm very isolated socially and spiritually. I may have a total of 17.5 months of intimate relationship experience in a span of 22 years, but I have a master's degree, have toured Europe twice as an orchestra musician, played in a variety of music settings, and I work retail on the floor, where I have exposure to customers from all over the world. I'm an exception to the rule. It isn't for everyone.

But I don't know that there is a way around the inherent inequality present in the bridge between the deaf and hearing worlds, unlike between first and second language worlds, where all the foreign speakers have to do is learn the second language. I realize that this is not an option for those unable to learn to speak well enough for it to be useful to them. I don't know what to suggest to get around this limitation. As well as I do, I'm ALWAYS going to be faced with limitations beyond one-on-one. The only answer I can see if stem-cell-therapy (SCT), but it won't be coming for quite some time, I think.

What is your suggestion for getting around this AND maximizing the student's potential for doing well in the hearing world?

I was raised orally... and saw myself as a broken hearing person for so long... so let me explain to you, from my point of view, from my history...

We are Deaf, not broken... we don't need Stem-cell-therapy to "fix" us... we are NOT broken hearing people, but whole Deaf people. The main thing with the inequality, people need to learn, attitudes need to change, we (the Deaf) need to educate people... and be Proud of who we are, our language, our history... (this is something I didn't do for a long time... I tried to "fit in") and yes, as shel said, societies attitudes need to change... the CI's are making things worse, because they are being seen as a fix. People are thinking again, that children who are implanted don't need sign, because they are now "fixed" that is not true... because a) we don't need fixed b) take off the CI you are still deaf c) a CI doesn't restore "normal" hearing...
so from my point of view... society needs to learn and who better to teach them then us?