Deborah

Thanks for you input! As I said before, we haven't had a lot of exposure to the Deaf community--a lot of what we learn about it comes from the media. And, I will admit that some of it was presented to us with a distinctly oral bias through things like AG Bell. However, there is a lot of media coverage NOT coming from them--and it makes me scared for my daughter--I just want her to feel loved and accepted, not judged and looked down on. Some examples: The documentary "Sound and Fury"--it was interesting to see the viewpoints of the Deaf community, but it made me think that my daughter would not "fit in"--at least from what was shown in the film. And many things on tv and in film seem to skew that way, too--the most recent was "Sweet Nothings in my Ear"--yes, it was good to see Deaf pride, but it did kind of make me think that there is still a lot of prejudice toward "oral deaf" within at least a part of the Deaf community. OK--real life: Heather Whitestone--tried out for Miss Deaf America in Alabama--completely shunned because she preferred to speak (but yes, that was years ago)--still, even now, I know people who have contact with that same school--they are very proud of being "Silent Warriors"--not so sure my daughter would fit in there. And yes, we are in Georgia--visited the deaf school there--completely silent--my daughter would not fit in there, either. And on this message board, there have been discussions where people were looking for "true Deaf schools where most people are voice off"--if they are happy there than that is wonderful for them, but my daughter would not fit in at a school like that at all. From my experience of visiting some deaf schools in the past, I didn't know what to expect when visiting FSDB--would it be a "silent school" where only ASL is used? I was pleased to see BOTH speech and sign being used all over campus. Some of the teachers were oral deaf--GREAT role models for my daughter--they also signed as they spoke--great way for my daughter to learn ASL. My point is--there DO seem to be some schools and camps--and some groups and events--where no one speaks. That is great for those who are comfortable in a silent environment--but for many deaf people, this would be uncomfortable if NO ONE talked to them. I guess I am focusing on those awkward adolescent years--my daughter feels shunned if she is in the midst of hearing people and no one talks to her, and she would feel just as shunned in a situation where Deaf teenagers didn't talk to her, either. One thing I have noticed--maybe it is because of improved technology over the years, but many young deaf people with powerful hearing aids do seem to be oral--and, of course, there are kids with cochlear implants who are oral, too. So, even though my daughter hasn't met a LOT of deaf teenagers, when she does, often they are also oral. And many of them are learning ASL as a second language, but still use spoken English as their primary language. There does seem to be more moderation and less prejudice among my daughter's generation--this can be said about many things such as race, gender, etc. Hopefully, the old prejudices of past generations are fading away, and the up and coming generation is much more tolerant of differences. I see this in politics, religion, and yes--among the Deaf community, too. I hope that there are more and more places where the younger generation can go and see deaf people talking AND signing--being divisive is not good, and I hope that future generations continue to all come together and respect each other, not shun each other for being different. Anyway--this applies to so many aspects of life--I am SO glad to see MANY things changing in America--yes, there is still work to do, but I think more and more people are coming together with mutual respect for each other instead of judging others who think and act differently than they do. Viva la difference!