How many of you had parents who refused to accept deafness?

ChicagoBlue2

ChicagoBlue2

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I was born hearing, but lost it at 15 months of age. After it was discovered, my parents embraced the fact that I would never be a hearie. They went to some trouble of learning how I would adapt, but unfortunately, they never learned ASL, and I don't know why.

My question is, have you ever had parents who refused to embrace deafness, or refused to learn ASL? You can include friends if you want to
 
Because my hearing was so poor, my parents treated me like a work animal. I would life and work grueling manual labours and do heavy lifting that grown men would have difficulty doing. I remember actually being rented out to neighbours. They would need something moved, a piano, a sofa bed, or need someone to throw hay bales...and I would do it and my parents would get paid for it.

I wasn't allowed to use captions on the tv because it distracted them from their show/movie, I got accepted to a Math and Science academy at age 12 but wasn't allowed to go because they wouldn't have anyone to do the 'heavy work' etc...

My experiences, from what I've read and learned, are very atypical and yet I think everyone who is different physically is shunned or ostracized to some degree. I often wonder if it's simply human nature, some latent human instinct that causes us to react like that...
 
my parents were accepting. did everything they could so I could get hearing aids, get an education, be happy, communicate. My mom was upset with the "professionals" telling her not to let me sign (if I signed, I would never speak again). she just wanted me to communicate however possible so she was all cool with my learning signs.
 
GenghisJohn-- what your parents did was cruel and unusual. They should've known better, but it's too late to go back, but at least you're still here.

cdmeggers-- I like that. Your mom was the kind of Mom I would've liked to have had.
 
My parents were acceptable of my hearing loss. They learned sign language when I became deaf at 2 years old.
 
I wish mine did that-- it would've been a lot easier to go home today.
 
For me its confusing. When they knew that i was deaf they did everything possible to get me to hear. When doctor said thwre was a chance surgery would fail. They were really angry. The doctor said it would be a good idea for them and me to learn well mexican sign language and american sign laguage. They completely refused. They said i didnt need it at all and i had to hear somehow cuz if not i wouldn't have a normal life. Later when i got my hearing. My mom learned the alphabet with me. But my dad completly refused to learn any kind of sign language. Well now i am hearing. But he still gets upset that i am learning sign language.
 
But you're an adult, right? You have the right to do as you please.
 
When my mom found out I was deaf shortly after I was born, she picked up a sign language book and taught herself how to sign so that she can communicate with us being that my older brother is also deaf/HH. She is now a sign language interpreter and has been for about 20 years, she never took classes for it though. I'm grateful and appreciate her for that. I only communicate to my father with my voice. I'm not sure how he reacted when he found out me and my brother were deaf, I never asked. They're both very acceptable though and loves anybody unconditionally. He does some signing, but we call them 'home' signs that only me and my brother will understand. :roll:
 
I am. My dad is a good guy just well he has weird ideas. He is loosing his hearing actually and cant come to accept it.
 
Hmm. Maybe if you show him this site, and offer him support, then maybe, just maybe, he'll have a change of heart? Never know.
 
I dod show him. Maybe at some point he will accept it. If not i cant force him.
 
No, you can't, but here's hoping that someday he'll see the need for help, and I know you'd be willing to help him should that ever happen.
 
Dreamer03 said:
My dad is a good guy just well he has weird ideas. He is loosing his hearing actually and cant come to accept it.
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Such is life. More often than not it is about accepting what comes along the way that dictating what you want it to be. There are times you face it with a heavy grudge because you realise it's no use fighting it.
 
My parents were and still are awesome to me. They didn't treat me any differently than the other kids.
 
Another good story I like to hear-- awesome parents who cherish having a Deaf/HoH child. More times than not, it's quite the opposite, and quite sad, but that was back then. Today's world has a lot of parents starting to cherish the fact that they'll be opening up to a new world, and the best culture there is.
 
Luckily my family is very supportive. There is a lot of hearing loss in my mother side of the family. In fact every single one of my grandmother's offspring has some degree of hearing loss. So we are all in it together. We fight about a lot of other things like all families do, lol. But when it comes to hearing loss we are very understanding and acceptive of one another.
 
cider said:
Luckily my family is very supportive. There is a lot f hearing loss in my mother side of the family. In fact every single one of my grandmother's offspring has some degree of hearing loss. So we are all in it together. We fight about a lot of other things like all families do, lol. But when it comes to hearing loss we are very understanding and acceptive of one another.
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That's the kind of family I'd like to start someday-- with children growing up with deaf parents.
 
I don't know about my Dad but my mother did not accept my deafness openly and just wanted me to go to mainstream schools (2) and thought that I can lipread her better and not using sign language (ASL). I had fought with my mother and the mainstreams schools that I need accommodations for hearing classes. I wanted to learn ASL so that I can participate in the hearing classrooms so that I can have ASL interpreters to help me understand what they were talking about in class. They refused to listen to my needs. Both my Dad and Mom plus my sister don't really want to sign ASL.

Later my sister learn how to fingerspell but not very well. She forget later in the years.

While I was still in mainstream high school, my mother decided to take me to Minnesota School for the Deaf in Faribault, Minnesota. We went there and I had interview that I wanted to go into Deaf school. He told my mother after the interview that I am too smart and that I should remained at the mainstream high school. I was extremely very upset when I got home with her. I noticed my mother was crying but I think she was probably very happy that I don't have to go into the Deaf school. The problem is they don't listened to my needs and I get mad when they don't. Grrrrrr! :mad:
 
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