Someone Please Explain...

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DeafCapricorn

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When I was diagnosed with Bacterial Meningitis at 3 yrs old... (which was the cause of my deafness/hearing loss) my parents took me to an audiologist who told them that since I could use hearing aids, no one in my family would have to sign... BUT she told my parents to enroll me in deaf preschool along with hearing preschool... I have no problem with the fact I was mainstreamed or the fact that I'm going to attend a public college and can rely on some hearing and lip reading, but WHY did they have to rob me of my deaf heritage?! MAKE ME SO MAD!

Can anyone explain what causes some ignorant people to do that and why they can't allow the Deaf to choose whether or not they want to hear and be counted as part of the hearing culture when they are denied their Deaf culture?

Anyone had similar experience?
 
Trust me, u are NOT the only one....I have been here for a year and I have had some heated discussions with some members here especially the parents of deaf children about this issue.

I grew up oral and didnt learn ASL until 25 years old. I became fluent in it around 28 years old and then I went to Gallaudet University for my Master's and boy did I experience a HUGE culture shock. After the shock wore off, I became angry at why I was denied ASL and Deaf culture so I lashed out at my mom one time. I am not angry at my parents anymore but I am still angry at those so-called "experts" for telling my parents not to expose me to ASL.

Many of my friends who are not ADers have been through the same thing and there are quite a few other ADers here that have been through it too.

My strong belief is that EVERY deaf child should be exposed to both not just oral-only or hearing-only.
 
I am sorry you're angry! I agree that deaf children should be exposed to both cultures/languages fully. I think things are *slowly* changing in that people are more "open minded" about the options available to them when they have a child with a disability (not just deafness, but autism, blindness, developmental disabilities, etc). Years ago, it was "lock them away, they'll never be able to function in the real world" (out of sight, out of mind), and with deafness there continues to be the approach of "mainstream" - why does oral school = success in so many hearing minds??
What I have never understood is how a child deaf from birth or the critical language development years is expected to pick up a language that is based on sound, when they have no instructional language to work off of and can't hear?

Here's an interesting story though just for thought...

My mother's parents are both from Italy. When my grandfather was little and began kindergarten in the US, he was mercilessly teased for not being able to speak English, and then for speaking it with an accent. Because of this, he FORBADE my grandmother to teach their 4 children (my mom included) Italian. He didn't want his kids going through the same teasing he did. He didn't want my mom, aunt and uncles to speak English with an accent. To this day, my mother still holds a small grudge against him for denying her the opportunity to become bilingual from an early age. But then again, he thought he was doing the right thing.
Now of course, in most schools, the kid who knows the foreign language is the "cool" kid (at least that's the way it was when I was in school, and I'm only 21).
 
I had bacterial meningitis when I was 2 that also caused my deafness. And every audiologist or professional out there kept telling my parents not to use sign language with me and all that junk. I'm glad my parents had their own minds and they learned sign language and did everything they could to help me communicate.. signs, gestures, worked with me on my speech, all that. When I had to be tested before I could go into kindergarten I think it was, they "professionals" said NO SIGN LANGUAGE!, that the signs would be giving me the answers... my mom was so furious.

I hate how professionals just do not understand that the deaf culture is ok. Fine if you want to expose the deaf child to the hearing world, but also allow that child to experience the deaf culture too if possible.
 
OpheliaSpeaks said:
I am sorry you're angry! I agree that deaf children should be exposed to both cultures/languages fully. I think things are *slowly* changing in that people are more "open minded" about the options available to them when they have a child with a disability (not just deafness, but autism, blindness, developmental disabilities, etc). Years ago, it was "lock them away, they'll never be able to function in the real world" (out of sight, out of mind), and with deafness there continues to be the approach of "mainstream" - why does oral school = success in so many hearing minds??
What I have never understood is how a child deaf from birth or the critical language development years is expected to pick up a language that is based on sound, when they have no instructional language to work off of and can't hear?

Here's an interesting story though just for thought...

My mother's parents are both from Italy. When my grandfather was little and began kindergarten in the US, he was mercilessly teased for not being able to speak English, and then for speaking it with an accent. Because of this, he FORBADE my grandmother to teach their 4 children (my mom included) Italian. He didn't want his kids going through the same teasing he did. He didn't want my mom, aunt and uncles to speak English with an accent. To this day, my mother still holds a small grudge against him for denying her the opportunity to become bilingual from an early age. But then again, he thought he was doing the right thing.
Now of course, in most schools, the kid who knows the foreign language is the "cool" kid (at least that's the way it was when I was in school, and I'm only 21).
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That is very interesting story and I am glad you gave a good example and good posting on this. It is the same with us natives not allow to speak our own languages. We were made and forced to be like the white people to cut our hair short, get dress like them and talk English like them. That is what is wrong with the white people who try to change every one of us who are different and think we should be like them. That make me sick and that is the good example of what happen to people like your grandparents. It is same with forcing us to wear hearing aid or CI so that we can be able to talk and being in the regular hearing classroom instead of special education classroom or go into Deaf school. They are just weird people with weird minds which they don't understand our Culture even our Deaf Culture. What is wrong with this people? They should know better that we are different and they should accept us the way we are. It has been like that for many centuries. :pissed:
 
How did they rob you of your deaf heritage? If they enrolled you into a deaf/mainstream school, they're giving you both experiences allowing you to choose later on in life.
 
Unfortunately, the majority of health care professionals take the perspective related to functionalist theory in sociology. Therefore, their focus is on eliminating the disability (hearing aids, cochlear implants, AVT, etc) and to insure that individuals with disabilities function as closely as possible to the expected social roles of the majority non-disabled population. In health care, professionals have the social power to control, modify, or eliminate what they consider to be "deviant behavior" associated with disability. In other words, health care professionals have the power to restrict the use of manual language (signs) and promote the "non-deviant" behavior of using spoken language. No where is this more obvious than in the oralist view that restricted spoken language is preferable than fluent manual language. Appearing to be "normal" is more important than being competent.:rl:
 
how were you supposed to decide at age 3 wether you wanted to be part of your "deaf heritage"?
 
Don't even get me started on this. I honestly honestly think that most of the experts out there are incredibly naive when it comes to the downsides of oral only. Definitly encourage parents to have their kids orally trained......but come on....don't make it a fucking lifestyle. That's actually what I have against oral only.............it can be such a consuming lifestyle thing. Like therapy 24/7. It is also very much idealized as some sort of utopia.
I think it's also b/c oral-only is just such a HUGE HUGE business. I mean think abt it . There's so many ways that hearing people can profit off of dhh kids, with oral only. Heck, the healthcare industry is HUGE! Get a couple of dhh kids oral only and they are gonna be dependant on really good health care.
With ASL, the only profit are classes, books, and ILY sctuffs.
 
Ok to answer some questions... they didn't expose me to the deaf culture as much as they did hearing culture... and as for being 3 and deciding, it's more of a reflection and regret.

Glad I'm not the only one that's been through that...

I wish AG Bell would've shut up a long time ago... *twitches*
 
I am a student learning ASL and taking classes for interpreting. Prior to studying this field, I worked as a pediatric nurse in hospitals, schools and doctors offices. Let me tell you that the average physician has no clue that Deaf Culture exsists. They don't know other options besides the usual medical treatments of aids and CI with speech threapy. They know these things because it is taught to them and promoted through the companies that make these products. Most hearing parents when faced with a deaf child will be told by their pediatrician or family doctor that the child is deaf. Of course they will then be given all the info on how to "correct" this problem but not how to live with it. Perhaps NAD needs to lobby the AMA for Deaf Culture classes in med school so physicans will be aware of the other options available and better advise their patients.
 
jabbur said:
I am a student learning ASL and taking classes for interpreting. Prior to studying this field, I worked as a pediatric nurse in hospitals, schools and doctors offices. Let me tell you that the average physician has no clue that Deaf Culture exsists. They don't know other options besides the usual medical treatments of aids and CI with speech threapy. They know these things because it is taught to them and promoted through the companies that make these products. Most hearing parents when faced with a deaf child will be told by their pediatrician or family doctor that the child is deaf. Of course they will then be given all the info on how to "correct" this problem but not how to live with it. Perhaps NAD needs to lobby the AMA for Deaf Culture classes in med school so physicans will be aware of the other options available and better advise their patients.
Click to expand...

It takes more than just being aware that the culture exists. It takes a philosophical change of perspective. Inherent in medical training of any kind is the view that any deviance from optimal physical functioning is pathological and the requirement is to correct the pathological condition to improve physical functioning. Until physicicans are trained to see a patient in a more holistic perspective, awareness that the culture exists is not sufficient to change attitudes toward treatment. Oliver Sacks is a perfect example of a physician who sees his patients from a holistic perspectice and takes the psycho-social implications of disability into account in his treatment plans. He has developed an understanding of solutions other than invasive medical intervention as treatment. Unfortunately, even if the majority of physicians are aware that Deaf Culture exists, they do not see it as a solution to coping with deafness, because they view deafness as pathological.
 
DEAFdotDORK said:
Ok to answer some questions... they didn't expose me to the deaf culture as much as they did hearing culture... and as for being 3 and deciding, it's more of a reflection and regret.

Glad I'm not the only one that's been through that...

I wish AG Bell would've shut up a long time ago... *twitches*
Click to expand...

Never too late, I strongly encourage yout to search on website in your hometown to find what their events, workshop, etc... You can make new Deaf friends during socialize. ;) It will develop your ASL pick up really quickly!
 
Even if you live in a small rural community like me there are still ways to pick up ASL. Ive been studying online for about a year now and Im just now getting enough absorbed that I can start picking up signs in the non-captioned ASL vlogs in YouTube. And Im feeling confident enough that maybe *maybe* one of these days when I get the time I will make a ASL video, formally introducing myself and a personal narrative on my experience.
 
DeafCapricorn said:
Ok to answer some questions... they didn't expose me to the deaf culture as much as they did hearing culture... and as for being 3 and deciding, it's more of a reflection and regret.

Glad I'm not the only one that's been through that...

I wish AG Bell would've shut up a long time ago... *twitches*[/QUOTE]

I wish we can :rl::rl::rl: to AG Bell...LOL!
Click to expand...
 
jillio said:
It takes more than just being aware that the culture exists. It takes a philosophical change of perspective. Inherent in medical training of any kind is the view that any deviance from optimal physical functioning is pathological and the requirement is to correct the pathological condition to improve physical functioning. Until physicicans are trained to see a patient in a more holistic perspective, awareness that the culture exists is not sufficient to change attitudes toward treatment. Oliver Sacks is a perfect example of a physician who sees his patients from a holistic perspectice and takes the psycho-social implications of disability into account in his treatment plans. He has developed an understanding of solutions other than invasive medical intervention as treatment. Unfortunately, even if the majority of physicians are aware that Deaf Culture exists, they do not see it as a solution to coping with deafness, because they view deafness as pathological.
Click to expand...

and because of that, they have screwed up things for many Deaf people regarding to language development. Ugh!
 
jillio said:
It takes more than just being aware that the culture exists. It takes a philosophical change of perspective. Inherent in medical training of any kind is the view that any deviance from optimal physical functioning is pathological and the requirement is to correct the pathological condition to improve physical functioning. Until physicicans are trained to see a patient in a more holistic perspective, awareness that the culture exists is not sufficient to change attitudes toward treatment. Oliver Sacks is a perfect example of a physician who sees his patients from a holistic perspectice and takes the psycho-social implications of disability into account in his treatment plans. He has developed an understanding of solutions other than invasive medical intervention as treatment. Unfortunately, even if the majority of physicians are aware that Deaf Culture exists, they do not see it as a solution to coping with deafness, because they view deafness as pathological.
Click to expand...

Indeed. My own father who is a retired doctor is well aware of the Deaf culture. He simply can't understand why many deaf don't consider themselves disabled or that many don't want a CI. He just rolls his eyes at me when I mention this to him.
 
DeafCapricorn said:
When I was diagnosed with Bacterial Meningitis at 3 yrs old... (which was the cause of my deafness/hearing loss) my parents took me to an audiologist who told them that since I could use hearing aids, no one in my family would have to sign... BUT she told my parents to enroll me in deaf preschool along with hearing preschool... I have no problem with the fact I was mainstreamed or the fact that I'm going to attend a public college and can rely on some hearing and lip reading, but WHY did they have to rob me of my deaf heritage?! MAKE ME SO MAD!

Can anyone explain what causes some ignorant people to do that and why they can't allow the Deaf to choose whether or not they want to hear and be counted as part of the hearing culture when they are denied their Deaf culture?

Anyone had similar experience?
Click to expand...


Ugh! Same old story!
 
My deafness

I 56 yrs old and I have lost my hear to a brain tumor on the left side.Had it removed in 07, the right side I wear a hearing aide.But if i had been caught earily in my age.I would not have this problem with talking right. I say what I see..Does that make any sence to you. and spelling is a big problem. But I wish they would of introduced me to hearing and sign before I lost the hearing I had. I still have 30% in the right ear,but any noice and I am gone. I have a TTY which helps but ,It is hard.I hate stearing at people and then my husband apoligises for me..It makes you feel like a out cast..so I am trying to teach myself to sign. my husband an di jester, wave hands point at things, you know wave to mouth eat..so I am limited..I also have a ballance issue with the tumor gone..
 
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