Speaking and signing called key to richer life

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deafgal001 said:
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If you put a child in a group of hearing kids, how do you think she'll handle it? I do know they will speak, but dropping ASL isn't going to help them in the long term.
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See? You made my point. So basically, the child will be FORCED to learn more ASL until s/he is old enough to decide? Apparently 4-6 years old is not old enough.....

What I get from here isn't the promotion of the full toolbox approach, it's basically forcing them to learn how to do ASL, written English, and speak (maybe) until they are like what? 13? THEN they can decide what to drop, if any.
 
Daredevel7 said:
See? You made my point. So basically, the child will be FORCED to learn more ASL until s/he is old enough to decide? Apparently 4-6 years old is not old enough.....

What I get from here isn't the promotion of the full toolbox approach, it's basically forcing them to learn how to do ASL, written English, and speak (maybe) until they are like what? 13? THEN they can decide what to drop, if any.
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Sending kids to an oral-only school isn't forcing?
 
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Listen, I went entire summer without communication. I think it is a risk of negligence if they drop ASL.
 
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deafgal001 said:
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Listen, I went entire summer without communication. I think it is a risk of negligence if they drop ASL.
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That is fine, I'm just pointing out that I don't think people know exactly what they want. They say full toolbox and the child can choose. But..


Not really.
 
Daredevel7 said:
That is fine, I'm just pointing out that I don't think people know exactly what they want. They say full toolbox and the child can choose. But..


Not really.
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Aye, there's the rub. I was totally oral until I was in my mid-thirties, when I deeply felt I was missing something. Deafness is a social handicap, and I couldn't help but feel that I was missing something, sort of like "Is that all there is???" Everyone kept remarking on how well I could speak, ad nauseum, but in a group discussion I felt utterly alone. That is the thing that worries me about CI kids: they are approaching their thirties now, and I bet there will be a hell of a lot of discontent. We'll see.
 
Beowulf said:
Aye, there's the rub. I was totally oral until I was in my mid-thirties, when I deeply felt I was missing something. Deafness is a social handicap, and I couldn't help but feel that I was missing something, sort of like "Is that all there is???" Everyone kept remarking on how well I could speak, ad nauseum, but in a group discussion I felt utterly alone. That is the thing that worries me about CI kids: they are approaching their thirties now, and I bet there will be a hell of a lot of discontent. We'll see.
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30s?!?!!? If there's a lot of discontent, it would be hell a lot sooner! I've seen quite a few oral only deaf people get angry and go through the "deaf angst" period for several years. Learning sign, yell at their parents, and hanging out only with deaf people, etc etc.

I also noticed that it wears out eventually as they get older. They achieve a balance.
 
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I'm in my thirties...I don't think CI were all that common in my generation.
 
Beowulf said:
Sending kids to an oral-only school isn't forcing?
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Aren't I then also "forcing" my child to attend a school where ASL is the primary language in use? If our 3, 4 ... 8 year olds had their way, they'd be using whatever language they find on TV or their video games, eating candy rather than veggies, and certainly not taking baths or going to bed at night.

Making a decision about sending a child to an ASL school where spoken language is also permitted and supported OR a mainstream or oral school where ASL is permitted and supported -- where the child's carefully constructed and customized IEP is being addressed appropriately -- is not "forcing" a young child against his or her will, it's called responsible parenting.
 
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Beowulf said:
faire_jour said:
I have gotten every single one of these responses. All I can say is that I continue to offer both, and she has her preferences. Like I said, this morning she was signing, but that is certainly not always the case.
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Umm, excuse me, but last night you were dumbfounded there are those of us who could simultaneously sign and speak at an early age. That is very telling. *shrug*
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that's not at all what i said. My issue was with people who say that speech therapy is cruel and pointless (so we can't do that), kids should be in an asl school enviroment (asl is voice off, so no spoken language there either) and that parents need to make asl the language of the home as well. Soooooo....where and when can a child possibly learn spoken english?
 
I need some clarification.

Beowulf makes it sound like there is going to be an angry mob of CI people in their 20s or 30s. (I'm exaggerating but you get the point)

But..what about today? Shouldn't there be an angry mob of oral only kids with HAs? (Not there isn't one today..) I don't see the difference between oral only kids with HAs and CIs? Only possible difference is that CIs can handle it easier in a way since they have "better" hearing.

Are there MORE kids in oral only nowadays compared to 20-30 years ago? I would think it's the same amount or even less? Are there any research articles that shows what percentage of deaf kids are in TC, BiBi, Mainstreamed, deaf schools, etc?
 
Beowulf said:
That is the thing that worries me about CI kids: they are approaching their thirties now, and I bet there will be a hell of a lot of discontent. We'll see.
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I think the FDA first approved CIs for children as young as 2 in 1990, and as young as 1 in 2000, so those first early-implanted kids are college age now, 22 at the most.
 
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Well I was the only deaf in school in a city area. Every deaf I ran into knows ASL (except the late deafened). They also speak too otherwise I would not be able to communicate with them. I felt like the I the only deaf who doesn't.





Both my sister and I felt we should have learn ASL as kids. Still do feel that way.
 
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deafgal001 said:
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Well I was the only deaf in school in a city area. Every deaf I ran into knows ASL (except the late deafened). They also speak too otherwise I would be able to communicate with them. I felt like the I the only deaf who doesn't.



Both my sister and I felt we should have learn ASL as kids. Still do feel that way.
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I felt the same way about learning Spanish. The norm in my family is to teach the children Spanish first then they will learn English at school. But my mom wanted to me to focus on English first. Now my Spanish sucks. I learned quite a bit in HS but forgot most of it.

However.... be careful of what you wish for. A deaf girl my age had the same speech therapist as me, but she was taught Spanish first. Last I heard about her, she was 18 years old and still struggling with English.

Maybe I would excel in both Spanish and English or I'd end up struggling with English like her.

Who knows? You can't change the past. All you can do is assess if you are happy today, and if you are not, do something about it.
 
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grendel, don't you know that asl as the primary language at home and school (with or without spoken language) equals "giving options" but spoken language as the primary language (even WITH asl) equals "forcing" and "restricting".
 
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faire_jour said:
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grendel, don't you know that asl as the primary language at home and school (with or without spoken language) equals "giving options" but spoken language as the primary language (even WITH asl) equals "forcing" and "restricting".
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Only you want to believe we think that way.
 
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