Serious Story Line for Soap's Erica Kane

[Miss-Delectable]

The Associated Press: Serious Story Line for Soap's Erica Kane

Erica Kane may not be so selfish after all. The "All My Children" diva, played by Susan Lucci, will focus attention on her grandson's deafness in upcoming episodes.

The ABC soap opera, known for tackling serious subjects as well as the usual murder and betrayal, is introducing a new story line Sept. 20 that has Erica's daughter, Kendall Hart, dealing with the discovery that her toddler is deaf.

At issue is whether the child should have cochlear implants, which help the deaf to hear by turning sound into electrical impulses that activate the hearing nerve. Kendall is dubious.

"She's a perfectionist, so she wants the perfect life for her child and she's afraid that he won't have it," Alicia Minshew, who portrays Kendall, told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

But Erica has tricks up her sleeve. She invites a young boy who had successful cochlear implants to be a guest on her talk show — and arranges for Kendall to watch the interview backstage.

"Erica being Erica, reacts with action," Lucci told the AP.

Instead of using an actor to play the boy, "All My Children" asked JQ DePaiva to play the part. DePaiva, the 10-year-old son of "One Life To Live" stars James and Kassie DePaiva, was born completely deaf and attends a mainstream school after getting implants in both ears.

"This is going to sound very cliche and very silly," Minshew said. "I honestly feel like I am telling a story that makes a difference in people's lives."

 

[Bebonang]

The Associated Press: Serious Story Line for Soap's Erica Kane

Erica Kane may not be so selfish after all. The "All My Children" diva, played by Susan Lucci, will focus attention on her grandson's deafness in upcoming episodes.

The ABC soap opera, known for tackling serious subjects as well as the usual murder and betrayal, is introducing a new story line Sept. 20 that has Erica's daughter, Kendall Hart, dealing with the discovery that her toddler is deaf.

At issue is whether the child should have cochlear implants, which help the deaf to hear by turning sound into electrical impulses that activate the hearing nerve. Kendall is dubious.

"She's a perfectionist, so she wants the perfect life for her child and she's afraid that he won't have it," Alicia Minshew, who portrays Kendall, told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

But Erica has tricks up her sleeve. She invites a young boy who had successful cochlear implants to be a guest on her talk show — and arranges for Kendall to watch the interview backstage.

"Erica being Erica, reacts with action," Lucci told the AP.

Instead of using an actor to play the boy, "All My Children" asked JQ DePaiva to play the part. DePaiva, the 10-year-old son of "One Life To Live" stars James and Kassie DePaiva, was born completely deaf and attends a mainstream school after getting implants in both ears.

"This is going to sound very cliche and very silly," Minshew said. "I honestly feel like I am telling a story that makes a difference in people's lives."

I don't know about the reaction from the deaf communities when they watch "All My Children". I tried to watch some of the episodes about the deaf toddler name "Spikey", but it rile me up when Kendall want to have her deaf son to be hearing just like any hearing parents who want to fix the broken child to be normal. It just make me sick everytime hearing people (parents and authorities) want to fix us up with CI and go into oral school or mainstream school and just learn how to lipread and speak the perfect spoken language. There is no sign language being talk about. I have to remind myself that it is just a play in the soap opera. It is not real. I just feel like they are bashing our deafness and want us to be normal. The hearing people are trying to say that we should be ashame of ourselves being deaf and not proud of being deaf. They have never gone through being deaf themselves. We have been trying to tell the hearing people for years and years that we are use to being deaf all of our lives. Some of the deaf or hard of hearing had been hearing before are not use to it and they want CI to help them hear sounds if they can listen to the words that they are use to. Well, that is fine. But for us deafies, we are very proud of being a deaf person and we are not ashame of our deafness. Hearing people just don't understand and don't want to accept the deafness as the way we are just being natural. They just don't get it at all!!!!!