discovery channel: deafblind triplets

hi everyone,

just a reminder that the show about zoe, emma and sophie airs on the discovery channel tonight at 8 pm.

i'll be here after the program to share my impressions.
 
Hear Again said:
nika said he saw the program. perhaps he can tell us how many of them have implants.
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I did see it but it was a long time ago so I'm going to need a recap. I remember that one of them had CI's but I don't remember about the other two. I also remember not liking it cause they kept framing deafblindness as a tragedy. "Their worlds end where their hands can reach...they have no way of understanding the world beyond their reach..."
 
nika,

it was also my understanding that sophie was the only one who had a ci. i saw the triplets on oprah some time ago and sophie had her implant at the time and if i remember correctly, she was the only one who did.
 
I already set DVR at 11 so I will be in bed by then. I will watch it tomorrow or Friday or whenever when I am in a boredom world! :giggle:
 
Nika said:
I did see it but it was a long time ago so I'm going to need a recap. I remember that one of them had CI's but I don't remember about the other two. I also remember not liking it cause they kept framing deafblindness as a tragedy. "Their worlds end where their hands can reach...they have no way of understanding the world beyond their reach..."
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oh, brother. <eyeroll> did the narrator of the documentary actually say something like that?
 
LakeTahoe said:
I already set DVR at 11 so I will be in bed by then. I will watch it tomorrow or Friday or whenever when I am in a boredom world! :giggle:
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i'm curious. are you able to watch recorded programs on dvr over and over again? i'd love to have dvr myself, but can't because i'm totally blind and have no way of scrolling through the menus. my vcr isn't hooked up to my tv either since i don't have room for it, the digital cable box and my dvd player on the shelf of my tv stand.
 
LOL! I hate to miss the show...but for my son yes..he watch it over and over! Sometimes I do but not always watch the same show twice or three times. :)
Hear Again said:
i'm curious. are you able to watch recorded programs on dvr over and over again? i'd love to have dvr myself, but can't because i'm totally blind and have no way of scrolling through the menus. my vcr isn't hooked up to my tv either since i don't have room for it, the digital cable box and my dvd player on the shelf of my tv stand.
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for those of you like myself who are in the central time zone, the program is on right now.
 
LakeTahoe said:
LOL! I hate to miss the show...but for my son yes..he watch it over and over! Sometimes I do but not always watch the same show twice or three times. :)
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that's awesome! i'll have to ask my sister about dvr and whether or not she thinks i can learn how to maneuver through the menus. like i said, my vcr isn't hooked up to my tv, so i don't have any way to record the shows i'd like to watch.
 
hi everyone,

well i watched the documentary and thought it was very good for the most part.

the one thing i had *major* problems with was how the mother described her daughters as being in a dark, silent world. the narrator used this phrase as well.

i'm sorry, but i don't live in a dark, silent world. saying things like that only make the general public think that those who are totally blind see nothing but black.

i also didn't like how it was incinuated that sophie was better off than either zoe or emma because she had some residual vision. if truth be told, sometimes it can be far more difficult to be legally blind than it is to be totally blind.

one final thing i didn't like was how the doctor said that he expected sophie to have unlimited potential unlike zoe and emma.

quite frankly, some parts of this documentary really angered and insulted me as a totally deafblind person. <very, very mad>
 
Hear Again said:
hi everyone,

well i watched the documentary and thought it was very good for the most part.
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Thanks for getting back to me about it? How up to date is this film? The last I heard Zoe and Emma were supposed to have intervieners to help them manage better.

the one thing i had *major* problems with was how the mother described her daughters as being in a dark, silent world. the narrator used this phrase as well.

i'm sorry, but i don't live in a dark, silent world. saying things like that only make the general public think that those who are totally blind see nothing but black.
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I agree. My world isn't dark or silent either.

i also didn't like how it was incinuated that sophie was better off than either zoe or emma because she had some residual vision. if truth be told, sometimes it can be far more difficult to be legally blind than it is to be totally blind.

one final thing i didn't like was how the doctor said that he expected sophie to have unlimited potential unlike zoe and emma.
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It seems that Sophie is managing better then Zoe or Emma. What do you think the reason for that really is?


quite frankly, some parts of this documentary really angered and insulted me as a totally deafblind person. <very, very mad
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That's understandable.
 
i think one of the reasons why sophie is doing better than zoe or emma is because she is able to communicate with her parents by voice. zoe and emma can't do that and rely on tactile sign instead -- although zoe (if i remember correctly) is starting to make utterances that her parents eventually hope will turn into words.

to my surprise, i learned that all 3 triplets have ci's. i thought sophie was the only one who was implanted. from what i understand, speech and tactile sign are used together when communicating with zoe and emma.

however, i don't know if they wear their ci's all of the time or only when they are working with their intervenor.

the documentary showed sophie in first grade and emma and zoe at 5 years of age. it also showed an intervenor initially working with zoe and later, emma.

zoe received artificial eyes because her mother wanted her to look normal. she said that some people acted like they were afraid that sophie, zoe and emma were contagious. she also said that when people looked at zoe after she received her artificial eyes, they commented on how pretty she looked.
 
Well before the discovery story, I commented on how these girls are NOT an example of well brought up deafblind children. This is one overwhelmed mother who does not have all the tools, support, and most importantly the MINDSET of raising three deafblind girls.

Saying that the girl with more sight would be the most successful is a self-fulfilling prophecy. More interventions are had for the child with 'potential' and thus the expectations for her are raised.

That doesn't mean she's actually more capable. It just means that the other two aren't getting everything- including, and you cannot imagine how important this part is- parents that EXPECT you to be great. Parents that go against what 'professionals' think you're capable of doing and instead assessing their OWN children, who they live with 24/7, and knowing that they have more potential than understanding 'only the world in hands reach.'

Not parents that turn their own children into some pity show for every media outlet that will listen.
 
I guess I did remember that correctly. The whole attitude that more sensory perception equals more success really annoyed me too.

I don't live in a world of darkness either.

We have a ways to go in terms of awareness, folks.
 
Dangit!! I think i missed it! :mad2: Will have to check my Tivo when i get back home to see if it picked it up.
 
Nika said:
I guess I did remember that correctly. The whole attitude that more sensory perception equals more success really annoyed me too.

I don't live in a world of darkness either.

We have a ways to go in terms of awareness, folks.
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what really surprised me was the fact that sophie, zoe and emma's own mother said that about them. if my parents ever said that about me, i'd be livid! <very mad>
 
Aleser said:
Well before the discovery story, I commented on how these girls are NOT an example of well brought up deafblind children. This is one overwhelmed mother who does not have all the tools, support, and most importantly the MINDSET of raising three deafblind girls.

Saying that the girl with more sight would be the most successful is a self-fulfilling prophecy. More interventions are had for the child with 'potential' and thus the expectations for her are raised.

That doesn't mean she's actually more capable. It just means that the other two aren't getting everything- including, and you cannot imagine how important this part is- parents that EXPECT you to be great. Parents that go against what 'professionals' think you're capable of doing and instead assessing their OWN children, who they live with 24/7, and knowing that they have more potential than understanding 'only the world in hands reach.'

Not parents that turn their own children into some pity show for every media outlet that will listen.
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good post, aleser.

i was watching the documentary with a neighbor of mine (the same one who came to my apartment to see how i used a computer) and she asked me why zoe or emma (i can't remember who right now) kept shaking their head from side to side, poking their eye and rocking. i told her those were called "blindisms" and were not acceptable behaviors for any blind or deafblind child. despite the fact that zoe and emma are deafblind, i think it's the mother's responsibility (or their intervenor at the very least) to teach them that "blindisms" are not appropriate. when i started doing those things as a child, my parents immediately took the bull by the horns and corrected my behavior. having said that, i do still have problems with rocking (which is sometimes caused by my manic episodes), but i solved that by buying a recliner and wooden rocking chair. whenever i feel the need to rock, i sit in either chair.
 
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