Ok, but I think speaking people need to understand the Deaf perspective as more than just “community” but as also being informed by speaking people, especially experts and medical professionals routinely disregarding the needs and wants of Deaf people to force us into their society. After all CODAs are Deaf too.
For context, I’m a hard of hearing woman who was, at the suggestion of experts, “mainstreamed” (ie my parents were told not to learn sign language or teach it to me because I might prefer it to spoken language), my mother and grandmother also had that experience. I feel cheated out of community, culture, and communication. I learned some sign as an adult but it should’ve been a native language because it’s a language I don’t need assistive devices for
Cochlear implants are great! They’re also uncomfortable to learn to use and painful at first even for adults. But when the question comes up as to whether young children should get them we’re treated as crazy for saying that the child should be taught sign language and given a choice. But instead hearing parents of deaf children usually don’t bother learning sign language.
We might start trusting y’all when you start demonstrating that you care more about what’s best for us than what makes us easier to deal with for y’all.
As another comment in the thread said, this situation is fairly different from a cochlear implant for a number of reasons. This situation is most similar to child being born to deaf parents with normal hearing. Not the same as a cochlear implant at all. The choice in this situation is being deaf or having normal hearing, no inbetweens.
Me personally, I wouldn’t want to pass on any of my genetic gunk to my kids in the name of culture, communication, or community. That’s just cruel and unusual. I would not be surprised if my kids resented me for it if they knew it could have been prevented. Even more so if cellular reconstruction technology is available to repair stuff later in life. And it’s not like they can’t participate, they’re still your kids, they’re just different from you in a small way. Humans are adaptable.
Culture should not always be preserved. My family has had to learn that the hard way.
Ok, but I think speaking people need to understand the Deaf perspective as more than just “community” but as also being informed by speaking people, especially experts and medical professionals routinely disregarding the needs and wants of Deaf people to force us into their society. After all CODAs are Deaf too.
For context, I’m a hard of hearing woman who was, at the suggestion of experts, “mainstreamed” (ie my parents were told not to learn sign language or teach it to me because I might prefer it to spoken language), my mother and grandmother also had that experience. I feel cheated out of community, culture, and communication. I learned some sign as an adult but it should’ve been a native language because it’s a language I don’t need assistive devices for
Cochlear implants are great! They’re also uncomfortable to learn to use and painful at first even for adults. But when the question comes up as to whether young children should get them we’re treated as crazy for saying that the child should be taught sign language and given a choice. But instead hearing parents of deaf children usually don’t bother learning sign language.
We might start trusting y’all when you start demonstrating that you care more about what’s best for us than what makes us easier to deal with for y’all.
As another comment in the thread said, this situation is fairly different from a cochlear implant for a number of reasons. This situation is most similar to child being born to deaf parents with normal hearing. Not the same as a cochlear implant at all. The choice in this situation is being deaf or having normal hearing, no inbetweens.
Me personally, I wouldn’t want to pass on any of my genetic gunk to my kids in the name of culture, communication, or community. That’s just cruel and unusual. I would not be surprised if my kids resented me for it if they knew it could have been prevented. Even more so if cellular reconstruction technology is available to repair stuff later in life. And it’s not like they can’t participate, they’re still your kids, they’re just different from you in a small way. Humans are adaptable.
Culture should not always be preserved. My family has had to learn that the hard way.