jillio
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No, She decide to let the child be it's true individual. I applause her for that.
No, She decide to let the child be it's true individual. I applause her for that.
umm...you need to update your info. Uncircumsized penises facilitated easier masterbation, this was seen as "dirty" to religious zealots, thus they cut off the foreskin to disuade young boys from masterbating.
america and israel are the only countries who circumsize thier young boys, other, less "clean" countries across the world have no problem with hygiene on uncircumsized penises.
we do it for cultural and traditional reasons
this is an honest question....how many "complications" or deaths have resulted from CI surgery? Ci surgery vs any other surgery? how does it compare in risk vs reward?
So I am new to posting on this board. Our 19 mo old son has been implanted for 2 months and is doing wonderfully compared to the "experts". I wholeheartedly agree with your point Drew's dad, however, all the debate has given me pause in what the AV and oral experts say. I can understand why we should do all the AV therapy to give him the best chance with the implant, but what I can't figure out is the lack of willingness to expose and surround them with sign as well? Don't get me wrong, I didn't know 1 deaf person before we found out about our son 6 months ago, and all the choices are so overwhelming. Just speculating, but could part of it be that the people who descend on parents of newly diagnosed deaf kids are those who seem to be more of the oral and AV mindset, while the ASL and Deaf community seem to hang back and wait for you to approach them. Part of me wonders if it is because the healthcare industry (ie for profit) stands to benefit, while the Deaf community doesn't, therefore aren't as motivated to get to know new families and come along side them in the same way???
I would have preferred that information be provided for us (especially right at the newborn screening), but that was not the case [no one wants to be the one to give the true diagnosis]. I would have preferred that people seek us out, either ASL or oral, but that did not happen either.
I am curious how parents, like you, would like to be informed on the different aspect of deafness? What kind of information and experiences are essential to new parents of a deaf kid? What should seek them out? "Biased" people or professonials providing information without giving any opnions?
So I am new to posting on this board. Our 19 mo old son has been implanted for 2 months and is doing wonderfully compared to the "experts". I wholeheartedly agree with your point Drew's dad, however, all the debate has given me pause in what the AV and oral experts say. I can understand why we should do all the AV therapy to give him the best chance with the implant, but what I can't figure out is the lack of willingness to expose and surround them with sign as well? Don't get me wrong, I didn't know 1 deaf person before we found out about our son 6 months ago, and all the choices are so overwhelming. Just speculating, but could part of it be that the people who descend on parents of newly diagnosed deaf kids are those who seem to be more of the oral and AV mindset, while the ASL and Deaf community seem to hang back and wait for you to approach them. Part of me wonders if it is because the healthcare industry (ie for profit) stands to benefit, while the Deaf community doesn't, therefore aren't as motivated to get to know new families and come along side them in the same way???
U mean why the deaf community arent motivated to get to know new families and come along side them in the same way? What do u mean by that?
Why do the Deaf community hang back? Well..I think it is because we are unaware of which babies have been identified as deaf and where. Also, there are issues with confidentality or privacy laws so if deaf people were to go to every audiologist center to try to get info on families of deaf babies, wouldnt that be breaking the law? I know the offices wouldnt give out private info like that.
My work has a family intervention program and since I dont work in that dept, I am not sure how it works but they are trying to collaborate with John Hopkins CI center to allow them to be part of the screening process. As usual, the medical field is very very relunctant to let in any aspect of Deaf culture or deaf people be part of the screening process. Nothing new there..
My mom didnt know of any deaf community nor that there was such a thing as Deaf culture cuz nobody provided her with that info. She said when she brought up sign language for me, it was disregarded as a bad thing for me so she took their word for it. The only reason my brother was involved with the Deaf community since he was 5 was cuz he "failed" in developing adequate speech and lipreading skills and the public school where I went to didnt know what to do with him so they referred him to the Deaf school.
Did your parents expose you to sign and the Deaf community?
Shel and others, Regarding the Deaf community, yes I feel like they hang back. And practically, because of privacy laws and no notification you are right. We do have an early childhood program here that is great, but in our area, we are always told, "The program is here to do whatever you want it to do", while on paper that looks great. The other thing they say is they can't recommend one method or another and that when asked what we should be doing, it is up to us parents to decide. I like that idea, but as new parents in this role, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO! I have been kicking around with our regional coordinator the idea of a parents group for deaf toddlers. We live in that mix where it is an hour to the nearest major city to get all the great variety of families and educational facilities, and we are just not quite big enough to really have it here. I am starting to get involved as much as I can, in fact I am going to a panel discussion tonight with another parent from my community about educational styles and what our state offers, so I feel like I am trying...but we do have 3 other kids who love the school they are at, and have lives of their own. It is so hard trying to figure out the balance between changing everything about your family for the 1 kid that is different and making that 1 kid fit into the family he has!
I would have loved it, though, if a deaf adult had come to meet with us, or a parent of someone in our shoes. It does happen eventually, but it is hard for both sides I guess!
Thanks, but we are in Colorado. Denver is the city that I am referring to. And yes, we asked them that question many times over. TELL US WHAT TO DO, and they said that because it is controversial, and there is no crystal ball saying which kid will excel with which method, they can't recommend any certain method. We do have an ASL interpreter come to our house and work with our family, and she is great, but she is not Deaf. I have met parents of other younger deaf kids, but not really any Deaf adult. Please don't misunderstand. In no way am I blaming the Deaf community, I haven't really put our family out there yet, and to be honest, I am, and my husband even more so, intimidated by it. I think that as Deaf adults, wherever you are in the world, try and be as accepting of new parents as you can. Chances are very good that they have NO idea what they are doing, and are trying to feel this out for what they think is best. I think that there is a big perception of the Deaf community as being very closed off and hard to enter, so new parents seem to be afraid of that.
I have learned tons on this board, and will be thankful for all of your opinions, but so many seem to think that we parents are harming our kids. I really can say that most of us aren't trying to. I think that honest discussions are great, and back to the point of this thread, I still defend the decision to implant our son. BUT, the flip side is valid and needs to be heard and paid attention to as well. You as Deaf adults hold the real experience in your hearts and memory, and if we as new parents ignore that, we could be faced with tough questions to answer when our kids grow up.
I think that there is a big perception of the Deaf community as being very closed off and hard to enter, so new parents seem to be afraid of that.
I have learned tons on this board, and will be thankful for all of your opinions, but so many seem to think that we parents are harming our kids. I really can say that most of us aren't trying to. I think that honest discussions are great, and back to the point of this thread, I still defend the decision to implant our son. BUT, the flip side is valid and needs to be heard and paid attention to as well. You as Deaf adults hold the real experience in your hearts and memory, and if we as new parents ignore that, we could be faced with tough questions to answer when our kids grow up.
Great to see you on here Colesmum and it's fantastic that you are trying to seek out the deaf community and improve on your signing skills for the sake of your son. It really sounds like you are trying to strike a balance and I think your child will grow up to appreciate that.
I as a deaf adult do not think you are harming your child - it's so obvious that you care deeply for your son. I know there are some here who have that view but views change over time and you have to understand that many of them have had painful experiences growing up mainstream without any support and without parental sensitivity to their challenges.
When your child reaches his teen years it's very probable that he is going to be very much like his peers - able to communicate bilingually. My nephew is a teenager and has grown up signing only, however most of his friends at his residential deaf school have both skills, even though they consider themselves culturally Deaf.
Thanks for reaffirming that the oral only attitude is still prevalent in the CI community. This is a point shel and I have often brought up, only to be told by the CI zealots that we are wrong. Your experience confirms.
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Yes - I don't think it can hurt to give her the pamphlets to read, especially if it gives her more information about the school, especially if it has an infant program.
If you are a bit leary about knocking on her door, you can always put the pamphlets in her mailbox with a friendly, handwritten note. It does seem like she is avoiding you but she might need time to absorb the information and chew things over. My sister went through a stage like that - so don't take it personally. It just shows that she is confused.
Was the little boy wearing a hearing aid?