I certainly don’t agree with the approach the school for children with cochlear implants takes in not teaching the children how to sign. It is important to know where you come from, and those children will grow up (or have grown up) considering themselves to be strictly hearing persons. That certainly takes away from the existing deaf culture and almost denies it entirely, like a cat taking pride in itself for growing up with a tied-on fox’s tail and considering it to be one.
I agree with Avery in that not teaching the kids sign language is not a good approach. On another topic though, I am intrigued that the topic of the implant is such a heated debate for them. I think Pops needs to slow his roll, and much of the family seemed to become volatile even at the mention of an implant.
Watching this video was a lot like watching a televised drama. All these people have different reasons for how they feel about the cochlear implant, each opinion shaped by their own experiences with deafness and deaf culture. In some instances there is almost a sense of “us versus them” and I’m honestly a little terrified about its effect on these families.
I have a hard time seeing this topic as black or white. I don't believe there is a simple answer to whether or not a child should receive a cochlear implant because there is such a wide variety of factors that play into whichever choice a person makes.
That video gave me chills, it was awesome to see how far she's come and it was also crazy to see how much older she is now. She seemed really happy too in the video even though she was sad about leaving so many people around her.
I wonder if maybe Heather in the beginning only wanted a cochlear implant because her grandmother was swaying her. Because once it was all said and done she told her dad that it was okay and that she really did not care if she got one. I think the entire family voicing their opinions and forcing them onto the parents created this very hectic environment. In the end it will be the child's life so who can really say if a cochlear implant will be better or worse?
when the father said that Shelby didn’t know sign language because the speech pathologist thought she would use it as a crutch. That is an excuse we have heard for linguistic and cultural murder over and over. We heard it with the Native Americans in boarding schools, with the small languages in Bolivia, and now with ASL for people who becoming ‘hearing’.
I was sad for the kids at the school Heather visited, who were all born Deaf but were raised as though they were hearing (after receiving the implant). None of them knew sign language so Heather was not able to really communicate with them. Of course, this is because they all had hearing parents. I think this is what Heather’s parents (her father especially) are so afraid of: that she will lose her Deaf identity. However, as we saw with the first girl Heather met, this almost surely would not be the case.
While communication between young deaf children and their parents is important. There are two factors that contribute to the special bond between child and parent regardless if they are Deaf or hearing. One reason is that communication is integral to the emotional bond between parent and children. Secondly, it is through conversations between children and parent that children may learn language. It was puzzling yet interesting to see how two Deaf parents handle this newfound language that has entered into their home which they cannot hear.
I certainly don’t agree with the approach the school for children with cochlear implants takes in not teaching the children how to sign. It is important to know where you come from, and those children will grow up (or have grown up) considering themselves to be strictly hearing persons. That certainly takes away from the existing deaf culture and almost denies it entirely, like a cat taking pride in itself for growing up with a tied-on fox’s tail and considering it to be one.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Avery in that not teaching the kids sign language is not a good approach. On another topic though, I am intrigued that the topic of the implant is such a heated debate for them. I think Pops needs to slow his roll, and much of the family seemed to become volatile even at the mention of an implant.
ReplyDeleteWatching this video was a lot like watching a televised drama. All these people have different reasons for how they feel about the cochlear implant, each opinion shaped by their own experiences with deafness and deaf culture. In some instances there is almost a sense of “us versus them” and I’m honestly a little terrified about its effect on these families.
ReplyDelete(Emily Callan)
I have a hard time seeing this topic as black or white. I don't believe there is a simple answer to whether or not a child should receive a cochlear implant because there is such a wide variety of factors that play into whichever choice a person makes.
ReplyDeleteCody Baggerly
Heather now.
ReplyDeletehttps://vimeo.com/128280638
Cody Baggerly
That video gave me chills, it was awesome to see how far she's come and it was also crazy to see how much older she is now. She seemed really happy too in the video even though she was sad about leaving so many people around her.
DeleteI wonder if maybe Heather in the beginning only wanted a cochlear implant because her grandmother was swaying her. Because once it was all said and done she told her dad that it was okay and that she really did not care if she got one. I think the entire family voicing their opinions and forcing them onto the parents created this very hectic environment. In the end it will be the child's life so who can really say if a cochlear implant will be better or worse?
ReplyDeletewhen the father said that Shelby didn’t know sign language because the speech pathologist thought she would use it as a crutch. That is an excuse we have heard for linguistic and cultural murder over and over. We heard it with the Native Americans in boarding schools, with the small languages in Bolivia, and now with ASL for people who becoming ‘hearing’.
ReplyDeleteI was sad for the kids at the school Heather visited, who were all born Deaf but were raised as though they were hearing (after receiving the implant). None of them knew sign language so Heather was not able to really communicate with them. Of course, this is because they all had hearing parents. I think this is what Heather’s parents (her father especially) are so afraid of: that she will lose her Deaf identity. However, as we saw with the first girl Heather met, this almost surely would not be the case.
ReplyDeleteWhile communication between young deaf children and their parents is important. There are two factors that contribute to the special bond between child and parent regardless if they are Deaf or hearing. One reason is that communication is integral to the emotional bond between parent and children. Secondly, it is through conversations between children and parent that children may learn language. It was puzzling yet interesting to see how two Deaf parents handle this newfound language that has entered into their home which they cannot hear.
ReplyDelete