Grendel, I think the deaf adults you spoke with may have an outdated view of Deaf Ed and ASL. Until the last twenty years, Deaf Schools and ASL weren't exactly the best educational placements. A lot of them had kids who were really language delayed (both spoken and signed), and that reflected in its test scores and acheivements.
I think the oral and mainstream=better education mindset is a holdover from the bad old days. I really do think that a lot of the deaf adults advocating mainstream and oral would be amazed at what they see happening at Rocky Mountain Deaf School or TLC or MSSD or Maryland School for the Deaf or Texas School for the Deaf or Kansas School for the Deaf. Yes, they're not exactly producing a lot of kids who go to Ivy League Schools (sorry matajan) Hell, there are hoh kids attending Deaf Schools nowadays! . You would not have seen that twenty years ago!
Now here's an interesting point to ponder. Did you know that 50 years ago 80% of blind kids were Braille users? It fell out of favor. The emphasis was on getting them to use their residual vision AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. As a matter of fact, one of my friends attended Perkins less then 20 years ago, and he never learned Braille, although he went to Blind School. (he uses large print) The argument was that blind and low vision kids did not need Braille, they needed technology like books on tape or those giant magnifiers...CCTVs I believe they are called. Anyway, although technology has improved, employment rates in the blind/low vision community are very low. The kicker.....turns out that those blind as kids who are literate in Braille are the ones who are employed in good jobs?!?! Sound familiar?
faire joure, you just don't get it. I mean poor language as more then misuse of spoken English syntax. Many deaf kids can develop OK spoken language. Not nessarily on par, but more like the language delays an LD kid might deal with. Also, you're forgetting that even oral kids may often have reading and expressive writing difficulties. HELLO, that is why the cued speech association advertises in Volta Voices!
I do think that many kids should have the right to good quality speech therapy (ie a speechie who is experianced with dhh kids) and experianced TODS....but you're completly missing that those aren't usually available in a solotaire mainstream enviorment....and many parents are resistant to sending their kids away to Clarke or Deaf programs. How do you know that enrolling the kids in a Deaf School or a Dhh ed program wouldn't improve their spoken language and language abilties in general more then MORE AND MORE AND MORE therapy. Why the hell should a dhh kid have to live life as an eternal speech therapy session? You do when you're oral!