What is wrong with being Deaf?

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RainGurl

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Experiences...not too many positives in the hearing world.
It's ok to be hearing, but not ok to be deaf? Why?
Tolerate of hearing children learning to sign but not tolerate of
a child who has a hearing loss/deaf learning to sign in the boundaries
of his/her own culture? Questions I will NEVER understand.

I was 4 when I was diagnosed as having a moderate/severe hearing loss. I remember being screamed at never understanding the words. Being put on a time out never understanding why? Cruel.

Now as a mother, having had 2 daughters that were born with the same loss as I. I find myself re-living those painful memories of my past. Fighting to educate hearing people that refuse to acknowlege that THEY do not know, they may "think" they know. Forming opinions and showing them as facts is one that I have a hard time swallowing. How can you say? As a hearing person that you KNOW? Have you lived it? Felt it? Dealt with it? Experienced it every single day of your life? Do you really know?

My littlest is having a hard time with oral speech therapy so now I have turned to ASL. Her strongest means of communication. She is constantly being baggered "SPEAK" "TALK " SAY IT". It makes me heartbroken.

How can we make them see? How cruel it is when they do this?
 
There’s nothing wrong with being deaf. It’s just that all hearing people need to be taken out and bitch-slapped around until their beady little eyes roll back in their heads and they see a tiny little glimmer of reality. OK, just kidding. But it felt good to say that. :)

Seriously, it’s gonna take a miracle to get hearing people to pull their heads out of their asses. Until that day comes, I can’t really offer much in the way of advice, just sympathy.
 
Gosh, that's dreadful.

You're a mother and you have to fight for your daughter's right and your choices. Tell the so called experts to stop pushing your kids.

If it continues, then switch.
 
God, I'm sorry to hear about this kind of stuff...it doesn't make any sense to me. I don't see why anybody should keep you from doing for your girls whatever will give them the best chance in life.

Just please try to remember that not everybody who is born hearing is automatically a jerk. I am very aware that there's a lot I don't know or understand. That's part of why I'm here...so that just maybe I'll be a little bit less ignorant if someday I should be dealing with ADA-related issues when I get an HR job with a company. I don't want to be the office idiot who comes out with some stupid remark because I didn't know any better.

I do not look down on a person just because they don't happen to hear, or see, or whatever. There's no sense in it whatsoever. So, if you don't mind, I might ask one small favor in return. Please treat people individually, be they hearing, deaf, or whatever...I can't help the way I was born, any more than anybody else can.
 
I think a lot of the attitude has to do with audism. A lot of us audilogically hoh kids were automaticlly MAINSTREAMED to the max..... the presumption was that we didn't need the deaf world, and that all we needed was to assimulate into the hearing world.
I hate hate hate how oralism is so fraught with "healthy normalism" thinking.
That sort of mentality contribuates to the pathologizion of ASL as "speshal needs" and not a "real" language.
You're fighting this attitude by doing what you are doing! Giving your child the gift of a second language. When hearing people ask you just say stuff like; I want my kid to be bilingal.....I want my kid to have a full toolbox of tools....
 
It is perfectly ok to be deaf - it just makes it harder to get along in the world. I think deaf people should be provided with every opportunity to learn and succeed in life, and it's important for more of us "hearies" to learn about and appreciate deaf culture.

I am a great fan of ASL, but I think some people have done really well with oralism too. I think hearing aids and CI's are great for some people. I think deaf and hoh people should be exposed to all different ways of communicating and use whichever combination of things work the best for them individually. It's the job of the rest of us to adapt to deaf and hoh people and make it possible for everyone to fully participate in society. It's not a "deaf world" and a "hearing world" - it's OUR world to share - it belongs to all of us.

ASL is a beautifully efficient language, quite different from English. I do see the advantage for deaf to learn written English - in this digital age, one need not "hear" or "speak" to communicate with others. But other than that, I don't see any advantage to making people feel bad when trying to educate them in any subject, least of all something important as basic communication skills.
 
i am very sorry that you are having such a hard time. I myself am researching the deaf lifestyle, hoping to relieve some of my prejudices. I didnt even know that i HAD prejudices until i began my research. I know now that deaf people are not handicapped, that they live their lives as functionally as the hearing. I really hope that your daughter pulls through with her speaking, and if she doesnt, then i hope that she is comfortable and not scared about what nondeaf or non hoh people will think of her.
 
Just going literally by the original question, I say everything and nothing if ya get my drift. It's an individual thing based on, basically, one's life experience.

I didn't say anything there now, did I? Oh, well, lol....not being evasive, either, maybe just post-whoring. :)
 
I may see this different than others do, I personally thinks it's important that once your child has a hearing lost , should be able to learn to speak in order to live in both deaf and hearing world afterall it helps us be able to communicate well with others around us, if we were not to speak, then how would they understand us?....


I'm sure they are only helping your child to be able to use their voices so others can understand them, and if something was to happen at home, and your child need to call 911, then your child will be able to talk over the phone, if you child didn't learn how to speak or say things clearly then the 911 caller won't be able to get quicker help by knowing what it really going on, etc....That why I believe it's important that each deaf child learn how to speak by using their voice...
 
personally thinks it's important that once your child has a hearing lost , should be able to learn to speak in order to live in both deaf and hearing world afterall it helps us be able to communicate well with others around us, if we were not to speak, then how would they understand us?....
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Angel, the OP isn't saying that they want to throw the hearing aids/speech training out with the bathwater. They are just ranting about how hoh kids automaticly get sucked into the mainstream without any real exposure to ASL and the Deaf world. I'm hardcore about encouraging parents of newly IDd kids to get them in both speech and Sign training. Besides, most audilogically hoh kids don't really need INTENSIVE speech/language therapy, in the way that deaf kids do.
 
deafdyke said:
Angel, the OP isn't saying that they want to throw the hearing aids/speech training out with the bathwater. They are just ranting about how hoh kids automaticly get sucked into the mainstream without any real exposure to ASL and the Deaf world. I'm hardcore about encouraging parents of newly IDd kids to get them in both speech and Sign training. Besides, most audilogically hoh kids don't really need INTENSIVE speech/language therapy, in the way that deaf kids do.
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OP?? What's that and I didn't say anything about hearing aids....


And I agree what you said above....
 
OP=Orignal Post.....and the hearing aid reference was a reference to how some seperatists think that it's OH SO POLITICAL to protest oralism by not using hearing aids.
 
There is nothing wrong with being deaf :)
I'm hard of hearing but I feel closer to deaf world than hearie world.
As a hoh person I sometimes have extremely difficult situations inside hearies due to their prejudges.. They expect me to understand their speeches as they do but I can't.. I need extra attention inside conversations and this frustrates both me and hearies.. They look at me as if I'm guilty :(
I have these problems at home too..
I don't understand why people aren't tolerant to some people that have some impairment.. I only need a little tolerance .. That's it


Heart2Sign said:
Experiences...not too many positives in the hearing world.
It's ok to be hearing, but not ok to be deaf? Why?
Tolerate of hearing children learning to sign but not tolerate of
a child who has a hearing loss/deaf learning to sign in the boundaries
of his/her own culture? Questions I will NEVER understand.

I was 4 when I was diagnosed as having a moderate/severe hearing loss. I remember being screamed at never understanding the words. Being put on a time out never understanding why? Cruel.

Now as a mother, having had 2 daughters that were born with the same loss as I. I find myself re-living those painful memories of my past. Fighting to educate hearing people that refuse to acknowlege that THEY do not know, they may "think" they know. Forming opinions and showing them as facts is one that I have a hard time swallowing. How can you say? As a hearing person that you KNOW? Have you lived it? Felt it? Dealt with it? Experienced it every single day of your life? Do you really know?

My littlest is having a hard time with oral speech therapy so now I have turned to ASL. Her strongest means of communication. She is constantly being baggered "SPEAK" "TALK " SAY IT". It makes me heartbroken.

How can we make them see? How cruel it is when they do this?
Click to expand...
 
zookeeper4321

Little G isn't a deaf child. He is a child who is deaf. As a parent who has already raised a child to 18 who had different learning abillities I have been thru a lot of the same things before. With both boys I make sure that their education is based around them and not the other way around. I have had to threaten my local public school with law suits before. I am a major advocate for my children. I found one deaf school who insisted G sign and one who insisted he only talk and never sign. He doesn't attend either of those schools. He has a great S.T. who is willing to change up constantly as we see what works for him. Thank God for her. Never let anyone tell you how to raise your kids whether it's about deaf education or anything else.
 
^Angel^ said:
I may see this different than others do, I personally thinks it's important that once your child has a hearing lost , should be able to learn to speak in order to live in both deaf and hearing world afterall it helps us be able to communicate well with others around us, if we were not to speak, then how would they understand us?....


I'm sure they are only helping your child to be able to use their voices so others can understand them, and if something was to happen at home, and your child need to call 911, then your child will be able to talk over the phone, if you child didn't learn how to speak or say things clearly then the 911 caller won't be able to get quicker help by knowing what it really going on, etc....That why I believe it's important that each deaf child learn how to speak by using their voice...
Click to expand...

AMEN! I second that 100%...:D
 
mich said:
I know now that deaf people are not handicapped, that they live their lives as functionally as the hearing.
Click to expand...

Most disabled/handicapped live their lives as functionally and fully as non-handicapped. Just sayin'.
 
I'm hard of hearing but I feel closer to deaf world than hearie world.
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There's a great quote from the book "I Was #87" that I have in my AIM profile:"As a person who is hard of hearing, I'm not always accepted in the hearing world. However, some Deaf people don't accept me because I can speak. Gradually I am finding a place for myself in both worlds."
 
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