You will notice this blog is named, "I'm adopting a Deaf child..." NOT a child with a CI or a hearing child or a Deaf child with a CI - I have a Deaf child. Why is that looked down upon or looked at with pity?
As parents of Deaf chilren we face incredibly difficult decisions - one of the many things that I wrestle with is how my decisions are going to mold her. If she is a Deaf child, isn't she part of the deaf community? How do children who are not given sign language fit into the community? How can parents choose this for their children?
Is Deafness a cultural nationality? Is it right for parents to robb their children of their culture? If your child was of a different nationality, would you teach your child that culture and that language? Why is deafness different? because it is a viewed as a disability? I know Deaf people who are more abled then most hearing people. They travel the country and inspire me in ways that I cannot explain. Sign language is a beautiful language and I do not understand why anyone (deaf or hearing) would shy away from this language or culture.
Just step into this culture for a moment - allow yourself to be submersed into what it could be like before you choose for your child. I thank God that he gave me Rebecca so that I could experience this culture and language for myself.
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3 comments:
I want to say that maybe it's more tired being a deaf children Mom. Wish everything OK!
Your story gave me a tear from my eye.. It's very much so true. Now you can see what we, deaf people, have been struggling with our lives trying to fit in "hearing world." In order for us to survive we must cherish our culture - deaf community.
In hearing world, everything must be perfect in their eyes. It's impossible to find any perfection out there in the world. We ALL are perfection in God's eyes.
So.. how can we, deaf people, get hearing people to accept who or the way we are? Hmm..
All they can do is to try to find a way to accommodate our needs. We need ASL for communication. We need flashing light for telephone or doorbell rings. We need closed captioning on TV to understand what's going on with the world. All those things we need to live. It's not that hard.
I just don't understand why hearing people would provide us the accessible accomodations then later on take them away. It's not right.
The key word for this is - Acceptance and Respect.
Thank you!
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