Is more speech therapy worth it?

Does anybody read what I write?
If I was more inflammatory would people read and respond to what I say?

I think I have good ideas. I will not attack another person. We all have shit to deal with.
 
ecp said:
Does anybody read what I write?
If I was more inflammatory would people read and respond to what I say?

I think I have good ideas. I will not attack another person. We all have shit to deal with.
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People read posts for the most part... Don't take offense if people don't respond right away. There are all kinds of reasons people may or may not respond to any given post at a particular time, and it has nothing to do with the content or substance.

You do have good ideas, and please don't start writing inflammatory posts!! :)
It's also important to remember that sometimes its not the post itself that elicits a response from others, sometimes it's the poster.
 
ecp said:
I'm possibly going to regret this but why should speech therapy be eliminated?
I'm not saying that my years in speech therapy were enjoyable but I was able to communicate better (I have progressive hearing loss so when I was a kid I could hear more than I can now). Now as a profoundly deaf adult I recently asked a friend from high school who is now a SLP to give me some articulation drills for practice because I have to learn new disease names every day for school.
I'm not trying to have perfect speech, I just know that like everything else, I have to work harder than my hearing peers at everything. I want to use every resource I have.


When it comes to kids everything becomes more tricky and thus more emotionally charged. That is natural.
I know I react with mild revulsion when I see AVT therapists cover their mouths but that is partly because I need to see to hear. That doesn't mean that some kids don't do amazingly well with AVT. My mild dislike of AVT is based on my experiences as a person who needs visual access to language.

Basically, the world isn't white and black. There are shades of grey (oh god. That book everybody has been reading is ruining metaphors!). Some deaf/hoh kids are amazing in an auditory only environment and some struggle. Some hearing kids just don't do well learning from listening. Some kids need sign.
The point is that we sometimes forget that the sign v oral debate doesn't have a right or wrong. It all depends on what works for the kid AND what works for the kid can and does change.
Adults should probably relax a bit and take cues from the kids.
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:gpost:

You have very good points, and I agree with you... Nothing is black and white, and there will always be shades of grey. I also agree that a child's needs can and do change over time, and it's important for parents to stay in tune with those needs.

My reaction to AVT therapists covering their mouths is much the same as yours... :)
 
Wirelessly posted

ecp said:
Does anybody read what I write?
If I was more inflammatory would people read and respond to what I say?

I think I have good ideas. I will not attack another person. We all have shit to deal with.
Click to expand...

Ecp, It is a valid argument you bring up in this debate, if given choice. However, my point is, that there are alternatives. Why put a child through that which is not natural for him/her when there is a perfectly natural way for them to communicate? CIs are incredible technology but the user, whatever age, still does not acquire speech naturally, otherwise the need for any speech therapy at all for a Dhh person would be eliminated. That hasn't happened yet. Also, I am convinced that Deaf culture and its Language will not die out. It has survived attempts of annihilation over the generations and it will live on till the end of time.
 
Frisky Feline said:
No, deaf kids won't disappear but deaf culture may disappear in the next 50 or so. its sad to see the deaf world changes but i won't be there in 60 yrs later. So i am not worried but in my heart, it is sad.
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It is so true by the number of new posters who come to AD saying they dont belong in either worlds.

Deaf schools are the backbone of Deaf culture and ASL. Since many parents are hellbent on mainstreaming their kids, your predictions could be right.

I guess in 50 years I will be too old to care. lol
 
shel90 said:
It is so true by the number of new posters who come to AD saying they dont belong in either worlds.

Deaf schools are the backbone of Deaf culture and ASL. Since many parents are hellbent on mainstreaming their kids, your predictions could be right.

I guess in 50 years I will be too old to care. lol
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Yes yes you would continue to care, never too late. I remember i was about 12 yrs old. I had to sit by the elder deaf (in late 50s to 60s) and listen to their experiences. I was so fascincating their stories. Yea they used to be oral then they found their happiness is asl when they were older. They told us to do our best to continue teaching young deaf kids like baby to 2 yrs old about everything. I told them i would. But i havent seen any small deaf kids but deaf kids with ci who speaks only. I did try to talk to a 7 deaf kid with ci who knows some asl but no immersion in deaf culture. We can communicate but not fully asl so i had to sign in see with my voice on. She uses both speaking and signing. Oh it hits me hard. Im sure you see your kids all the time in the classroom.
 
Hayden said:
Well, this really got away from me. :P
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Didn't you post though, a few pages back that you'd made up your mind to forego speech therapy right now, and continue learning ASL? I thought you'd already come to a resolution... And yes, this thread has taken a bit of a turn- but that is usually what happens. :)
 
Hayden said:
Well, this really got away from me. :P
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CSign said:
Didn't you post though, a few pages back that you'd made up your mind to forego speech therapy right now, and continue learning ASL? I thought you'd already come to a resolution... And yes, this thread has taken a bit of a turn- but that is usually what happens. :)
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Or is Hayden referring to how many posts have been made since he had a chance to check this thread?
 
CSign said:
Didn't you post though, a few pages back that you'd made up your mind to forego speech therapy right now, and continue learning ASL? I thought you'd already come to a resolution... And yes, this thread has taken a bit of a turn- but that is usually what happens. :)
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Yes, I was (mostly) joking. :P On of you thread-hijackers can make it up to me by helping me practice ASL though! :angel:

I am glad that it took a turn, though. It has been interesting to read. My parents definitely operated under the assumption that my speech could be to the level of a hearing person, and as my friend said "[you] just sound like a lazy teenager when you speak! :P" However, it's incredibly stressful and time consuming for me to keep it up, and honestly, I'd rather sign in my personal life. I think I still feel a lot of shame about my hearing loss, and the fear of sounding "not-hearing" has been keeping me going, not a genuine desire to better my speech.
 
shel90 said:
It is so true by the number of new posters who come to AD saying they dont belong in either worlds.

Deaf schools are the backbone of Deaf culture and ASL. Since many parents are hellbent on mainstreaming their kids, your predictions could be right.

I guess in 50 years I will be too old to care. lol
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Bold - that's not true for Utah School for the Deaf. :(
 
BecLak said:
Wirelessly posted



Ecp, It is a valid argument you bring up in this debate, if given choice. However, my point is, that there are alternatives. Why put a child through that which is not natural for him/her when there is a perfectly natural way for them to communicate? CIs are incredible technology but the user, whatever age, still does not acquire speech naturally, otherwise the need for any speech therapy at all for a Dhh person would be eliminated. That hasn't happened yet. Also, I am convinced that Deaf culture and its Language will not die out. It has survived attempts of annihilation over the generations and it will live on till the end of time.
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Exactly. If CIs allowed dhh kids to aquire language nautrually, they wouldn't NEED audiotry verbal therapy. You could just put a CI or hearing aid on them, and just allow them to hear.
Yes, there are some children who do very well, but that could be b/c many auditory verbal programs have a high rate of dropping out. I remember reading of a thing in Canada where it said that 90% of parents of deaf kids chose oral only (audiotory verbal) initially, and then by high school only about 30% were still following an auditory-verbal track. Kids deserve to become BILINGAL in both speech skills AND ASL skills too! They deserve the abilty to function in the hearing world (which may include speech skills) but they also deserve the abilty to function WITHOUT expensive hearing technologies.
 
shel90 said:
It is so true by the number of new posters who come to AD saying they dont belong in either worlds.

Deaf schools are the backbone of Deaf culture and ASL. Since many parents are hellbent on mainstreaming their kids, your predictions could be right.

I guess in 50 years I will be too old to care. lol
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On the other hand shel, go back and read Train Go Sorry.....they were mourning the death of deaf culture, and were worrying about mainstreaming back then too!!!! I think that a lot of today's parents may be more openminded as to deaf school placement b/c of the headache of dealing with the mainstream/inclusion. I think the mainstreaming movement isn't exlcusive to the dhh population....they're trying to be all inclusivey with other disabilities too......
 
Hayden said:
Yes, I was (mostly) joking. :P On of you thread-hijackers can make it up to me by helping me practice ASL though! :angel:

I am glad that it took a turn, though. It has been interesting to read. My parents definitely operated under the assumption that my speech could be to the level of a hearing person, and as my friend said "[you] just sound like a lazy teenager when you speak! :P" However, it's incredibly stressful and time consuming for me to keep it up, and honestly, I'd rather sign in my personal life. I think I still feel a lot of shame about my hearing loss, and the fear of sounding "not-hearing" has been keeping me going, not a genuine desire to better my speech.
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Anyone who is pro auditory verbal and who thinks that oral only and total and complete inclusion will allow complete and total access to the hearing world should read this post.....It's incredibily stressful and a LOT of work for kids to only have oral only......I think that says a hell of a lot!
 
Frisky Feline said:
Oh really. I had no idea what was going on in utah. I do not have a friend whos from UTAH that attended to the deaf school.
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That is b/c Utah School for the Deaf is heavily oral (with a small signing program And its been very heavily oral for many years....since the 80's I believe.....I thought that the res school in Utah was very small , and it was mostly made up of "satillate" programs (including two or three oral, ending in inclusion programs)
 
Foxrac said:
Bold - that's not true for Utah School for the Deaf. :(
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I tried to look into that further by trying to get on their website, but couldn't find one that seemed to work properly.

I did, however find an article from last year that referenced the fact that they had to cut their sign language class for parents due to budget cuts.

Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind fight to keep programs - ABC4.com - Salt Lake City, Utah News

I'm rather shocked that a state school for the deaf (and not an
NPS or private school) would take a listening and speaking approach without any visual support.
 
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