"Fixing" the child or not?

Grendel, if you want to practice, I'm on Skype.
 
sallylou said:
What I wouldn't give for my parents to have taught me ASL as a child. I'm learning fast and deaf people are amazed at my progress. Still, it would have been so much better if I had learned when I was younger. I would been more prepared.
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Absolutely. Did you see where I was asked if I would opt for a CI if I lost my hearing? My reply had a lot to do with the fact that I am already prepared for that possiblity, so no, I wouldn't.
 
sallylou said:
Grendel, I highly recommend that you see the movie See What I'm Saying. I saw it this week and it was great. An actor named Robert explained how much he wanted his mom to learn ASL. The mother never learned any ASL. His story about taking an interpreter to the hospital to say goodbye to his dying mother is heartbreaking. I'm not saying that you're like his mother in any way. I just think that the movie would help you understand deaf people more. Robert needed his mom to enter his world but she never did.
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But Grendel provided ASL as her child's first language and the Deaf community and access to Deaf peers and she and her family have all learned ASL, so how has she not "entered her world".

Does giving the child a CI somehow negate all the other things a parent does? All the work to join the Deaf community and provide visual language and learn ASL, none of that matters if you also choose a CI?
 
jillio said:
In other words, people who do not have CI or HA access LANGUAGE all the time. They simply do not access SPOKEN LANGUAGE.
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I get the feeling you just want to duke it out with me and are so blinded by some sense of us vs. them that you can't figure out how much we actually seem to agree on something very critical: the value of language, the importance of parental intervention in a deaf child's life and learning, how imperative it is to recognize that this child is deaf and ought not be left in a world without access to means of communicating and connecting with those around him through a rich language that meets his or her complex needs.

I'm aware that without her CIs my daughter cannot access spoken language, Jillio. That's the reason I've put forward again and again for why we have opted for CIs: to provide access to sound / spoken language.

I'm also aware that without instruction and immersion, my daughter can't access ASL. That's the reason I've put forward again and again for why we've opted for bi-bi/ASL immersion environment from the time she came home to us: to provide access to sign / manual language.

Both English and and ASL are languages we value that were not accessible to Li-Li until we took specific action.
 
sallylou said:
Grendel, if you want to practice, I'm on Skype.
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That just sent shivers of fear down my back :) Every time I attend a Deaf event, I freeze up! I've been trying to find a week-long summer program that Li-Li and I can both attend together and just live it, breathe it -- I think that's the only way I'm going to get past the ASL novice level. Had to do the same thing with French (although I'm sure everyone thought I was just looking for a good excuse to spend a summer in Paris).
 
GrendelQ said:
I get the feeling you just want to duke it out with me and are so blinded by some sense of us vs. them that you can't figure out how much we actually seem to agree on something very critical: the value of language, the importance of parental intervention in a deaf child's life and learning, how imperative it is to recognize that this child is deaf and ought not be left in a world without access to means of communicating and connecting with those around him through a rich language that meets his or her complex needs.

I'm aware that without her CIs my daughter cannot access spoken language, Jillio. That's the reason I've put forward again and again for why we have opted for CIs: to provide access to sound / spoken language.

I'm also aware that without instruction and immersion, my daughter can't access ASL. That's the reason I've put forward again and again for why we've opted for bi-bi/ASL immersion environment from the time she came home to us: to provide access to sign / manual language.

Both English and and ASL are languages we value that were not accessible to Li-Li until we took specific action.
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Don't want to duke it out with you at all. I'm sorry you feel that way. Just making sure that no one has the perception that CI is necessary to access language. It is only necessary to access a specific mode of a specific language. I have found when statements are left too broad, it leaves too much room for misinterpretation by those that are new to this process. It is the same reason that I insist on clarifying differences such as "hearing speech" and "discriminating speech." That may seem like nitpicking to you, but believe me, those disctinctions have very real consequences for deaf children.
 
GrendelQ said:
That just sent shivers of fear down my back :) Every time I attend a Deaf event, I freeze up! I've been trying to find a week-long summer program that Li-Li and I can both attend together and just live it, breathe it -- I think that's the only way I'm going to get past the ASL novice level. Had to do the same thing with French (although I'm sure everyone thought I was just looking for a good excuse to spend a summer in Paris).
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Its been my experience that folks at deaf events are pretty helpful when you introduce yourself as a parent trying to become more fluent for your child's benefit. Just do the best you can and let them guide you.
 
rockin'robin said:
Thank you, Sally.....then why is this thread named "Fixing" the child or not?.....

I was asked awhile back, that if I was the mother of a deaf baby, would I use ASL or speech when I talked to it?...I responded, BOTH!...Someone said it was audism....Now why is that?

If the entire family is hearing, just the baby or child is deaf, why would I just use ASL to converse with my child? The child realizes that most people are hearing and they "talk with their mouths"....so should I "close my mouth" when talking to the child and use ASL only?....What does that teach the child?...Signing, along with mouth movement should be the appropriate way to converse with a deaf child (or I feel it should).

I don't feel any deaf child should be taught "ASL only"....they will grow up, and be in both worlds....hearing and deaf....they can learn lip movements/reading more quickly. And using their vocal cords!...It enables speech, at a faster rate, then just ASL and not using any speech.
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RR , there are many deaf who just couldnt develop speech skills no matter what so how can a parent use spoken language to communicate with the child if the child cant understand it?
 
shel90 said:
RR , there are many deaf who just couldnt develop speech skills no matter what so how can a parent use spoken language to communicate with the child if the child cant understand it?
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True. Versus via in some hearing people who could not able to absord the memory of learning how to sign even they live with deaf children for years.
 
Grendel, give yourself permission to make mistakes. Heck, laugh along with the deaf when they laugh at your signing! I love it when a bunch of deaf people around me start arguing about what a sign should be. lol Some words have more than one sign.

At first, I went to ASL socials and I just watched. People were really patient about having me stare at them while they signed. That's the first phase of learning. Just watching and picking up some signs.

When you feel more comfortable, try having a conversation with someone. You can explain why you're learning ASL. Practice what you're going to sign before the social. If you can't remember a sign, go ahead and finger spell. Usually, the person will show you the correct sign after you finger spell.

Having your daughter with you will break the ice, of course. People will ask about your child and what mother doesn't love talking about her own child?

I'll send you my skype info. There are several people here on Skype.
 
I missed the first showing here of "See What I'm Saying" and REALLY want to see it...I've been reading through all this "fixing" thread and when am not so tired <rear-ended again this week for third time in two years and therefore much surprise logistic arranegemnets suddenly> will look back more closely and would like to reply as I have found really good for me to follow and I know I was one of the folks who asked Shel to discuss, am glad to read, will come back....
:ty:Shel....
 
souggy said:
Regardless, it still make me want to finish my English/History degree.

Even if all the paper means is wiping your ass with it after you landed a job at Wendy's.
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That is a very expensive toilet paper!!!!
 
Buffalo said:
That is a very expensive toilet paper!!!!
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Yeppa and a very expensive brain drain as well. Kids are graduating from College only to find no job in the field of study. That's pretty terrible considering the economy. :(

Yiz
 
#6

There are still a few degrees out there which will land jobs, pretty spot on... You just gotta think ahead. Most of them are the desired things in the current era.
 
Not in this economy. There are some really talented people in good fields without jobs. How can recent grads compete with experienced candidates?

Maybe the answer is to find something that can't be outsourced? Plumbing or auto mechanic might be a good choice.
 
#10

Special engineering branches..
Wind engineering (using wind power)
Solar engineering

Medical:
Biomedical fields
Bio-energy
Biochemistry

But most of the general breadth stuff that can be taken from introductory courses (physics, math, english, special languages, psych/soc/ etc) seem like it's a gamble.

By the way Sally, I am also working on my third degree at the moment, kind of switched one too many.
 
Nursing Assistant... they are always hiring because of the high turnover.. and they make pretty decent money depending where you work.
 
Wirelessly posted

naisho said:
Special engineering branches..
Wind engineering (using wind power)
Solar engineering

Medical:
Biomedical fields
Bio-energy
Biochemistry

But most of the general breadth stuff that can be taken from introductory courses (physics, math, english, special languages, psych/soc/ etc) seem like it's a gamble.

By the way Sally, I am also working on my third degree at the moment, kind of switched one too many.
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Even specialized fields are having a hard time breaking in. Limited positions, many experienced people filling then out and many newly graduated BSc and MSc trying to get their foot in the door.

Been going on for awhile here. If you're not working for the oil industry, good luck with the specialized degrees in Canada.
 
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