I agree on the partnership points that you present...

2008-11-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

I agree on the partnership points that you present. It seems that the wording is a hollow concept for people who do not usually work with deaf people of all ages.

I've been thinking for a while, 'Doing Deaf Differently in the 21st Century', those words are not from deaf people themselves, it comes from people who have no idea of what kind of hearing loss a child/adult has but living through them.

I can think of many things that were done differently for deaf children/adults in the past century that allowed for independence, interaction, diversity and multi-lingual/cultural avenues.

One example is enlightened parents who knew deep down that doctors don't know everything and they set forth to make a difference in their child's life...not only that, to encourage the child/adult to become successful adults. Parents who knew that the education system was inadequate in meeting their children's needs and took action to bring in IDEA and enforce the law for equal access or pushed for the residential schools in providing improved and equal educational opportunities. Parents who understood the use of sign language and its impact upon spoken language (enhancing it rather than losing the skill) and accepted that their child grew up with one preferred language - sign language, yet is capable of communicating with others. Parents who made a difference, encouraged their children to make a difference in breaking barriers, advocating for change that positively impacts all children, participate in their community activities and the opportunities are countless.

A rare thing happens from time to time, teachers who break the 'stereotypical' behaviors of educating deaf children. It is very rare to have a teacher and a team who actually looked at each of us as children with different skills, learning styles, communication skills and so forth. Those teachers are the joys of education, bringing knowledge and the experience that each child needs.

The interesting thing is that the oralists continue to ignore the past, the past that showed an obvious decline in the education and employment of deaf people, post 1880-Milan Conference and pre-ASL as a language as stated by William Stokoe. The attitudes changed against deaf people because of the ideas of AG Bell and the proponent of eugenics.

Doing Deaf Differently for me would be sacrificing control, listening to the biological (not medical) definition of what a human is, bringing balance to the whole and strip the ego aside and work with deaf people.

The world continues to listen to those who are 'living' through deaf people without understanding or knowing who they are...as whole human beings.

Comments on Deaf Bilingual Coalition of Indiana: A Letter to Hear Indiana, a chapter of A. G. Bell

I agree on the partnership points that you present...