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 Sound and Fury: General Discussion [all categories]
 Sound and Fury
 Sound and Fury: The Film (Page 2)
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pogo New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 12:09 AM
  
I can see why the deaf grandparents felt hurt that their daughter wanted the cochlear implant. It would be like telling your Native American parents that you didn't feel being Native American was best and so you were going to not allow that child to have any part of it. Nonetheless, if my child were deaf and I had the opportunity for my child to hear, I admit I would have the implant done. But I would also like to think that I wouldn't ignore the fact that my child is deaf. To keep my child deaf by not having the implant would be to deny my child the world that I know and love. To not allow my child to participate in the deaf culture would be to deny my child a world that he or she was born into and should be a part of. |
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jcr New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 12:44 AM
Unlike many of you, I have no deaf family members, so my context, by necessity, is an altogether different one. Nevertheless, I was so disturbed by some of the attitudes expressed in the film that I felt the need to write. While I have no doubt that parents and grandparents loved these deaf children, I heard constant references to fear of rejection as reason for denying the implants. This is selfishness, pure and simple. What loving parent doesn't want better for his/her children than he/she had? Yet, the deaf adults constantly became defensive about their deafness. The deaf grandparents even expressed elation at finally having a wonderful deaf grandson! Yikes! I've never heard anyone become jubilant upon learning that a child has been born blind or without limbs. Perhaps deafness is more easily overcome than these other handicaps, nevertheless, it is still a handicap. There are things that deaf people, by reason of deafness, cannot do well or at all, just as there are things that a blind person, by reason of blindness, cannot do well or at all. For that matter there are all kinds of things that most of us cannot do well or at all, but we don't celebrate our weaknesses or inabilities, we work to overcome them. Yet I got the distinct impression while watching this film that the deaf community is doing just that, celebrating. Just because there is a culture which has developed around deafness, doesn't ameliorate the fact that it is still a handicap. So to develop this train of thought; the deaf parents convinced their daughter to forgo the implant so that she could experience the same social and communicational difficulties which they have done, that thereby she might experience the same level of cultural integration into the deaf community that they now enjoy. Where is the love in that? I ramble. Let me conclude with one final observation. The baby's first reaction (without all the prejudice of a deaf or hearing parent) to the sound of a human voice...was a smile. Enough said. |
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djdjd New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 01:08 AM
I just watched the documentary on PBS, and I'm speechless. I almost feel like I've intruded on something I shouldn't have been watching. I'm not deaf, and I don't even know one deaf person. I never even thought that there might be a debate about cochlear implants... as a hearing person I guess I just assumed that deaf people would want to hear and give their children a chance to hear... and now, of course, I feel like an ignorant fool. I plan on learning more about the implants and the deaf culture. Thanks for giving me a window into a world I knew nothing about. |
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steveB New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 01:08 AM
I noticed that many of the deaf folks where wearing glasses. Did they think that the glasses where an insult to the blind? How about corrective eye surgry? Are the deaf opposed to that? The grand father made a terific point. If a family is wheel chair bound but a child could have surgey to allow them to walk, would the parents not allow this? I totally agree that identiy is vital, however it seems that identity and self esteem are being confused. |
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abderda61 New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 01:31 AM
I really appreciated this show, especially learning from the deaf community. Deafness is a way of life, a culture, and a minority. I too would be scared if there be a possiblity of my culture becoming extinct. Because of this doc. i feel educated in this respect. Thank you. I've worked as a speech therapist for ECI for 13 years in TX and in IN. I've learned that most parents do all they can to do what "THEY" feel is best for THEIR children. It may not ALWAYS be what we professionals just KNOW to be the best thing. Every child/family have different needs therefore there can't be just one solution for everyone, especially with CI. Aspirin doesn't work for everyone! Sometimes you need Aspirin combined with something else in order to start feeling better. The hearing family took their child for her CI with a program that would not allow signing. This is what the professionals encouraged parents to do. As a speech therapist myself, if i had a child who was a good candidate for a CI i would encourage both as well as pictures. My goal would be for my child to talk, but at the same time promoting as much language stimulation thru a variety of modes would promote communication. Professionals need to provide parents with as much info. as possible keeping in mind that every child is different as are family dynamics. Signing can eventually be weaned out especially if the child doesn't seem to be NEEDING it. The deaf family on the other hand chose no CI. The deaf community will never understand the hearing community without the ability to hear, what they don't know they are missing. This is a fact. How can a person possibly understand concepts of taste, sight, hearing without ever having experience. There should be someone on the CI team that can be objective and a parent advocate. I commend the deaf parents for advocating for their child eventhough at times it was very painful. At the beginning of the show i didn't quite understand why this family didn't want what i and many percieved was the best for their child,CI. The MOST and SIGNIFICANT people in this very bright expressing little girl's life truly, lovingly, and thoroughly believed that CI was not appropriate for their child. It wasn't just a whim of a decision, and the hearing community should not expect this deaf family to think like them. This doc. also was a reminder that parenting is the hardest job, although most rewarding, anyone could ever have. I thought that based on the fact that the little girl came from a family of deaf parents and parents were not keen to signing being part of the program, the decision that they made was an appropriate one. She would be with her family most of the time and without adequate speech/language models or required to be sent to a boarding school. What ever the case a significant change in the family dynamics would have to occur if parents decided to go CI. |
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Angela Thomas Member Posts: 2 |
posted 01-09-2002 01:40 AM
Wow! Excellant show. One of the most interesting things for me to note here is funny how all families are such FAMILIES! For the beautiful, good, bad and ugly of it all. While I do not have any children of my own as yet, I respect each parents view from the show. The parent or parents of every child is the only champion they have. Glad to have seen both sets of Grandparents at the hospital for the surgery no matter thier viewpoint. I would have to say I don't agree with these experts on excluding a child hearing or deaf to depend on only one means of communication. Especially excluding them from sign even if thier families use it every day...what is that? Did not like to learn of the percentage of poor reading levels/skills of students graduating from a Deaf High School, they are apparantly as bad as from a lot of "hearing" High Schools as well. I suppose I have more exposure than a lot of people to different groups or cultures of people. Volunteering with Special Olympics, and my sister works with Hippa therapy (horse therapy) for individuals with physical and mental challanges. I also work with people of many cultures, Latino, Japanese, Chinese and so on learning bits of their language and culture as I go along. I always find it fascinating. I applaud Heather's parents for wanting and researching the best choices for her education, not to mention her well being. She did just light up and jump right in with all the kids at the school in Maryland that they visited where they used Sign in class. I imagine in a way it felt like my friend from Japan starting school in America when she first moved here at the age of twelve, and having to learn English. One of my oldest and dearest friends has a daughter that has a form of autism. I say that as they still cannot "diagnose" her situation precisely. She usually has to fight tooth and nail as to make sure Angie, also my namesake, has every opportunity open to her in school. I try to support her with always reassuring her she has to stand up and fight for Angie and make sure she gets the doors open for her now that she will need later, and how her hanging in there now will help the next Mom and Dad that comes after that might not have enough strength and resources to fight "the establishment". Case in point she was told not to worry about reading up on anything about Angie's symptons or problems the doctors would handle everything....eee gads that frightened me more than anything else. Luckily they ignored that advice and marched on to another doctor and are still learning something new every day. I liked how they kept the camera on the people that were signing as you can see how beautiful the language is. I remember learning the letters in school, a very long time ago, and still know a few of them. Will definately see if there is a way I can learn more. Any second language is a valuable tool, to anyone. I think too that overall people have grown to accept differences more in our present time. It is all so much more apparant now, especially after September 2001. However it is a slow and tedious process, change. Some are frightened by it, others embrace it. In my case on PBS this evening, Nova came on right before Sound and Fury. Stephen Hawkings was in this show speaking of the theories of time and space. Computer Technology has offered him a synthesized voice as a way of communication. A funny note on his website he mentions that the computer gives him an American accent. Funny thing about hearing is that I assumed he was American for the longest time, till I learned more about him. What are those commercials they used to show all the time? ...Knowledge is Power! Technology will keep growing. |
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Deafgrrrl Member Posts: 3 |
posted 01-09-2002 01:49 AM
For all those people who are saying that deafness is a handicap....we have a saying in the Deaf community....Deaf people can do anything except hear! I don't feel limited by what you percieve as a limtation! Most people who were born deaf have never really wanted to be hearing! Sure there are bad things about being deaf...but there are a lot of awesome things about being deaf as well! |
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Rose T. Monroe New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 01:50 AM
I watched the flm tonight and felt that it did not present a complete picture of the problem of deafness. For over 100 years there has been two ways of responding when your child is diagnosed as deaf. One way is to use manual communication, go to state schools for the deaf. Another way is to build your own local communication and raise your children as orally deaf children. The film did not show the two alternatives. When my daughter was diagnosed as deaf in 1956, a wonderful woman, Mrs. Marge Stibick and her husband Lee, who had a deaf son, Jeffery, took me under their wing and initiated me into the world of the orally deaf. Then another woman, Mrs. Mc Guiness came to us in Orlando , Florida to teach our deaf children there. I had been a teacher and went to Gallaudet College in Washington to get my Speech credentials and ended up the following years working with her in teaching young deaf preschool children. My daughter did not learn to sign until she was earning her Master's degree in Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus in 1980. She has been employed as a Clinical Social worker in the Speech and Hearing Center in San Francisco, CA for the past 20 years. Barbara has a lovely speaking voice which I feel is due to the fact that she vocalized from birth and learned her speech and language from a highly skilled teacher who helped me be a part of her education. She functions normally in both worlds. This film should have shown persons like her as another community that exists outside the very narrow Deaf Culture. I also resent the fact that you gave the deaf persons in the movie language that is not a part of their manual speech. I recently took a class in American Sin Language and became aware of the limitations of this language which has no written language, the signs cannot be parsed as you would a normal sentence although the interpreter gave full sentences and verbal past and present tenses to the signs. This does not exist and, i believe is the reason why signing is a limitation to the education of any young person who is seeking an education. I fully understand the isolation that deafness imposes on an individual and know that is what motivates the Deaf Culture but I believe , in all faiarness, that the Oral culture should have been included in this movie as well. |
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Angela Thomas Member Posts: 2 |
posted 01-09-2002 01:58 AM
[QUOTE]Originally posted by olsen: [B]After watching the documentary, I was very angry with the deaf parents. They refused to admit that deafness was a handicap. The origins of the word handicap are interesting: apparantly it came about early in the 20th century from people with all kinds of disabilities that had to beg as no other resources were available to them....holding out a cap or hat and from someones hand a coin given to them ...bizarre huh? When someone you know has a "handicap" information pours into your life. so now define "normal life" ... I want to know how to apply for one of those! |
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jp New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 03:33 AM
You know, I finished watching the sound and the fury and I agree with most of the others, it left me with intense feelings. I could relate to both sides of the issue. I have worked with a few deaf children and their families in the psyh. hospital in which I work. I can also relate to the intense fear parents have of losing their children to another culture, however, I do not think that allowing your child to mix with another "culture" to communicate in that culture predisposes them to neglect their own culture. I feel culture begins at home. If you do not want your child to be ignorant of ASL, then sign to them at home, make them "bilingual", but allow them to turn off the implant if they like, not deny it to them completely. You are what your parents make of you and I seriously doubt that the young woman with twins would allow her child to make fun of his grandmother who is deaf. I feal her fear is unfounded. It saddened me to see how much anger and rejection was being created out of fear. Finally, I do wish that the parents of the little girl would quit trying to make a huge point of how much of this would be her decision. As she hammered this point to her little daughter again, her daughter replied, "but you said you decided!". She made her daughter say over and over "I don't care", "It doesn't matter". Her grandmother was also coaxing her into wanting one. A child is easily manipulated. I wish both these people would just say, I don't want you to have it now because I am afraid or I want you to have it now because I am afraid. But please, don't use the kid as a pawn. |
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Susan Beth New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 03:37 AM
I am a nineteen-year-old college student who just viewed Sound and Fury. The past semester at my college I enrolled in an ASL class. I went to Deaf clubs and meeting places. Watching people communicate through ASL is such a beautiful experience, as is engaging in it. When a Deaf couple came through my line at my job, I was proud to be able to communicate with them by using their language, not mine. I think that Heather Artinian's parents are wonderful people! Deaf does not mean abnormal! To claim that Deafness is a handicap is an ignorant thing to say; Deafness is as much a part of an individual as being French or Italian, or as having a certain color of hair or eyes. To think that a child must be hearing is truly the viewpoint of a hearing person. The Deaf culture is a true culture, ASL and all other languages used by the Deaf around the world are real languages. To say that they are not is to discriminate just as much as it would be to say someone speaking Russian or Chinese is "wrong". I do not have any Deaf individuals in my family, and did not grow up with anyone who was Deaf. But, I hope that if someday I have a Deaf child, I will embrace their Deafness and let them enjoy the world that they were born into. Too often, hearing people forget how important the other senses are. I support Heather's parents 100 percent. I wish them luck in their futures, and hope the best for them. In response to Resju, I am glad to know that their is another open-minded hearing individual out there who understands that Deafness is not a disability. In response to whistleblower, to call anyone "defective" is very rude and extremely ignorant. The only disability that exists in this case is the inability of hearing people to try to understand the Deaf way of life. As human beings, we all need to embrace all aspects of the collective world that we live in so that we can live together in harmony, which will make the human experience a fulfilling experience for everyone. I hope that someday we can broaden our horizons to accept everyone despite our differences, because we are all under the same sun and created by the same God. Thank you for reading my thoughts on this matter. |
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McGrin Member Posts: 3 |
posted 01-09-2002 07:26 AM
I am the hearing mother of a 2 year old who was born with a profound hearing loss. He has a CI and is making some progress however his primary mode of communication is ( and may always be!!) sign language. Learning about sound is a challange for him and for me! I watched the film for the first time and can only say that both brothers perspective makes perfect sense to me. Everyone talks about how the implant takes away a set of problems but it simply changes the challange. My son will be challanged for may years to come to learn about sound and how to use his equipment. His native language will always be sign language but I hope that he will be fluent in spoken language as well. It just broke my heart to see people who obviously love each other so much argue over something like this rather than be accepting. I know that my son is Deaf. He will always be Deaf and that is part of what makes him the unique and wonderful child he is. I would not want to change him. However I need to give him all the tools I can for success. CI is a tool. Sign language is a tool, spoken language is a tool. These are tools that work for my family and for my son, every family has to have their own tool box! Many children grown up bilingual with two spoken languages and no one has a problem with that. My children will be bi-lingual too.... spoken language and sign language. I applaud both sets of parents in this film for making the decision that is right for their family and their child. I am sure that with our without implants their children will do well. |
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thall0672 New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 09:58 AM
Speaking as a hearing person who has never closely known any deaf person, I was confused and frustrated by the film. I have to agree with several of the other posters who said that the deaf parents seemed a bit selfish. They seemed to view the cochlear implant as a personal insult to them, not as a device by which their children could have a more successful and fulfilling life. I really sympathized with the hearing parents who decided to get the implant for their son. All they wanted to do was give their son the gift of the beauty of sound, but their deaf relatives did nothing but villify them for it. I think that's very wrong. And that deaf grandmother!! What was her deal?? After the baby's implant surgery, she said, "I feel so hurt." Give me a break lady, THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU! Stop being so selfish, this is about helping the baby, not about your hurt feelings. |
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dlowrey New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 09:58 AM
When I first saw the advertising for this film, I thought "Why the heck would anyone be against restoring someone's hearing?" After seeing the film, I am amazed and very disturbed. In my humble opinion, the deaf people who are against the implant are very insecure and self-centered people. Having any sort of handicap does not make anyone "less" of a person. However, I dont think the deaf people shown in this film understand that. They seem to think that admitting that someone is better off with their deafness "fixed" would mean that deaf people are "inferior" people. And, as I already stated, just because you are deaf doesnt mean you are any less a person/human/whatever than anyone else. To sum up my feelings, I agree with the Grandfather when he stated that refusing to allow the daughter to have the implant was bordering on child abuse. I am not saying that a particular deaf child would definately be "better off" by being able to hear. But, by refusing to give them the opportunity to hear, just so they will continue to be like their parents, is the upmost in conceit and insecurity. [This message has been edited by dlowrey (edited 01-09-2002).] |
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SarahF New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 09:59 AM
Children like Heather are exactly the reason why I want to become a deaf education teacher! I have two years to complete my Masters Degree in Deaf Education. I've been struggling with wondering whether or not I want to teach deaf children, and Heather affirmed it for me. When I tell some people that I am going to be a deaf educator, they ask me if I am prepared for behavioral problems. I have hard time explaining that just because a child is deaf, that doesn't mean that there are problems. I've always known that I wanted to be a teacher. All children need to know how to read, perform mathematics, science, etc, and I am lukcy because I will be the one able to do it with the deaf children in my community. Heather's mother and father are excellent parents. When her mother heard that most deaf high school students read on the fourth grade level, I KNEW that I made the right decision because *I* am going to change that. |
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ValD New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 10:49 AM
I saw the film last night and found it to be incredibly thought-provoking (I even dreamt about it). I think everyone who dismisses the deaf parent's concerns are missing the point. By trying to wipe out the deaf culture you are pulling the floor out of a whole group of people. It's a threat to their existance, and in a not-so-subtle way it's saying, "You're not good enough." I am the parent of a child with Down syndrome. Whenever I read in the news about some new diagnostic tool to detect down syndrome in pregnant women, I shudder. While most people hail these advancements, I think - "They're trying to wipe out a whole beautiful group of people from out midst" - and why? Because they're not "perfect." I think our society becomes more and more bland as we try to exterminate all the differences in our population. Congratulations to all these families who so beautifully presented these issues in such a powerful and poignant way. |
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Jenn New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 10:54 AM
I watched this amazing film last night. I am the parent of a hearing impaired 6 year old son. He is deaf in one ear and has a profound loss in the other to which he wears a hearing aid. When my husband and I first found out about his hearing loss we were devistated. He was 3 years old. We are both hearing parents and had never been exposed to the deaf culture. When he started preschool, it was all speech comunication with no signing. He went threw kindergarden the same way. Needless to say, he had to repeat it for another year. He was always frusterated at school because his speech was at a 2 year old level and he knew no sign. The schools never gave us any options. We had to fight to find out what we now know. He is currently attending a school for the hearing impaired were they use both sign and speech with everything that they do. If we would have known about this school years ago, he would have attended. He loves it. He gets the best of both worlds. We sign along with speech at home. I don't understand why "Heather's" parents would deny her the right to hear in a hearing world. It seemed to me that being the mother was not a good candidate for the CI she was taking the daughters chance away. In my opinion it's child abuse. It's like denying a child who's legs are broke a wheel chair. Why couldn't she live in both "worlds"? Wouldn't they want there child to have so many more options than they had? Exspecialy when it comes to children, friends are a big part of there life. And from experiance, a hearing impaired childs self esteem is brought down so low when other children can't understand what there signing or trying to say. They get frusterated. You can't expect hearing parents to teach there hearing kids sign just for the few children in school who are impaired. But I would expect parents to give thier deaf child a chance to learn speech along with sign. |
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Trish A New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 01:25 PM
I watched the presentation on pbs last night and thought it was very interesting. In fact I was glued to the TV. I started to watch when little Heather was talking about what she would like to be able to hear if she could and her list seemed neverending. (How cute she wanted to hear a car crash) How sad it left me feeling that her parents thought she would be losing her identity if she would be able to hear? I was not convinced by the end of the show that Heather changed her own mind and didn't want to hear all the things she dreamed about. She is going to grow up being resentful and she should be. Her parents are denying her the abitity to hear for their own selfish reasons. Kudos for baby Peters parents in making the right decision. I only hope Heathers parents will listen to her fathers parents as there comments were well-spoken and rational. Heathers father is a very bitter and emotional person and is not seeing the entire picture. |
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raging_dave New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 02:10 PM
After watching the program and reading many of the postings submitted, I have to say that I am outraged at the seperatist stance that the "Deaf Culture" has taken in response to their child's deafness. To purposely keep your child out of the hearing world is a deliberate transgression of his/her rights. Let's face the fact. Your child's deafness as well as your own lack of hearing is a handicap. Period. Your untreated child will have far fewer options open to them in life due to their problem, not to mention the loss of enjoying the true human emotion and expression of music. The deaf person argues that we should just let the deaf child be and to let him/her grow up in the "Deaf Culture." This is a selfish and abusive position for a parent to take. A parent's main responsibilty in child rearing is to ensure that every possible avenue and opportunity is open for their child. A Cochlear Implant opens more lanes for a deaf child to grow. It seems that the deaf parents in the documentary think that the only use for a CI is to help someone speak. Being able to speak is NOT the main reason why a deaf child should be given an implant. Being able to HEAR is the focus. Being able to hear Mother Nature's sounds such as ocean waves crashing or feeling the power of music such as a live orchestral symphony are profound experiences that no human being should be kept from absorbing. Yet this is exactly what parents do, when they decide against Cochlear Implants for their deaf children. I understand that people who were born deaf really have no concept of these glorious sounds and therefore don't know what they are missing. Well, as a hearing person I can tell you. You are missing alot! Deaf people seem so afraid that deafness will eventually be eliminated by technology. Is the eradication of deafness such a bad thing? Should doctors stop trying to eliminate birth defects as well? Should we stop developments in the field of prosthetics? Of course not! So why should we not get rid of deafness if the technology allows us? I understand that older deaf people feel seperated from the hearing society and therefore need to be together and share a bond of what they go through, things that hearing people would not understand. But their children need to be able to exist in both "worlds" equally. At least until deafness is a thing of the past. When deaf people stop defining themselves and their children as DEAF people, and start defining themselves as PEOPLE, then the stigma of being deaf can be eliminated. Only then can we look at it as a true problem that we can work toward ridding ourselves of. Deaf people need to start hearing. Hearing starts by listening. |
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kenishmael New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 02:29 PM
As one of the Hearing Society, you are right, I cannot relate with Heathers Parents. But what I can say is It is Their choice to either make her a part of the deaf Society or not. A C.I. is not a cure but a adjunct to deafness. To deny her would be selfish. For those in the deaf community that want to remain deaf, bravo to them I salute them, you are only disabled if you allow yourself to believe you are. Heather is a bright and wonderful child. My 7 year old is a type one diabetic and will always be at this point. I would give anything to see her cured or at least less restrictive. But for now and all time we will love her and support her. I would give Heather the opportunity of receiving the C.I. Keep her in the deaf Society but also allow her to be part of this society... She will always be that bright and happy child. |
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pawolflover Member Posts: 2 |
posted 01-09-2002 04:57 PM
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Brandy Lindsey New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 05:20 PM
I am a hearing person who watched and listened to this moving documentary last night. Heather's parents are obviously concerned with their family's wellbeing. Their loyalty to Heather's future was evident, shown in part by their constant research. It was disappointing, however, to see that the two schools they visited showed the extremes: hearing and deaf, no middle ground. If the education system is showing bias, then it's up to parents to show the children a world of CHOICES. The community in Maryland was comforting, but in the long run, do "like" cultures want to segregate themselves, or be equal with diverse counterparts? Heather's father was probably right when he said that Heather would be successful as a deaf person. The parents' hesitance to get Heather a cochlear implant is understandable when they felt pressured to offer her the chance to hear. But, would she be worse for having a cochlear implant? Would she lose her identity, or would she discover a hidden side of herself? Just as the deaf world is unique, the hearing world is, too! Imagine if Heather had the option of hearing AND not hearing. Could she could learn speech from her hearing friends and in turn teach them sign? Could she help educate both worlds? I'd be foolish to say that she already hasn't. I'd like to close with Heather's mother point. She said she didn't have to hear the rain, that she could smell and taste it. Well, that's wonderful. And she was right, she'll never miss hearing it because she's never heard. But, she does know what sight is. If Heather went blind tomorrow, and there was surgery available to help her regain sight, would her parents allow it? Or would they immediately accept her blindness and plan to learn Braille right along side her? Hopefully they would realize how beautiful sight is and want her to experience it again. Hearing should not be the exception to the rule - neither should taste, smell or touch. Is it wrong for a person to wear glasses to improve sight? Is it wrong to wear a hearing aid to improve hearing? Is it really so wrong to have a cochlear implant? |
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pyxisbeth Member Posts: 4 |
posted 01-09-2002 05:45 PM
I saw the movie last night and I thought it was really good, it gave me a lot to think about on both sides. I've been reading some posts from people who think the not giving Heather the CI was a form of child abuse and I can't understand that. There was already a girl shown who came from a culturally deaf family with the CI, and in comparison to the children from the hearing family, she still identified herself with the deaf culture. So to take Heather, who is in a strong deaf family, and take that all away and make her start over would be a mistake. Did you guys notice that the CI's were more sucessful in the hearing families? If Heather were in that position it might work. Also, she's 5, she couldn't possibly understand everything that was going on with the implants. So it's not like anything was being forced on her anymore than you can say about any 5 year old. They don't have the ability yet to make informed decisions. Okay, here's more complaining about other posts, the Deaf parents should admit they are handicapped? Well, for how long exactly should they live under the cloud of being inferior? Is that just their place in life? Their station?That's not a realistic position. People spend too much time focusing on what they can't do (p.s. that's from Erik Wiehenmayer). I think that one of the main misconceptions that wasn't quite spelled out was most hearing people think that deaf people are stupid and probably emotionally stunted. It would save a lot of time if people would just admit that, maybe write out a big list or something that way everything could be dealt with. I know that people think that the CI's give more opportunities, well, I'm female and being a male would do the same. Also my life would be a lot easier if I was in the complete majority, maybe Catholic, white, 30-35, wealthy. I'm sure I could go on but I think you get the point. |
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vince New Member Posts: 1 |
posted 01-09-2002 06:26 PM
quote: I am very moved by your letter as well as everyone here I was very affected by the movie and by the emotional "button" it pushed. What I felt was neglected is the advantage and beauty of sound. It's good to hear a bird sing or to listen to someone sing badly. there is a beauty to all sound as there is to all sight which I'm sure a blind person would not know. I think that technology is an aid, not an end. I mean that why not everyone get a CI even the adults would that make them any less deaf without the technology, No, but it would allow them to hear and then decide whether they want to continue hearing. They can always turn it off, if they like. I appreciate the hardy spirit of survival that is shown by anyone with any sort of handicap. Life is about survival and making the best out of your situation, and handicaps can come in many forms, visible, invisible, even undetectable. Science is a tool, let's use our tools to create the greatest good for the greatest amount of people, but let's not intentionally continue a handicap when there is no need to. Deafness is a handicap, it does not make anyone any less than anyone else. those two things on the side of your head are audio collectors/antennae. Put them to use. In the savage world of 3000 years ago it would not be a survivable handicap. Now it is, but it shouldn't be a choice made by parents for a four and a half year old girl. I'm proud of their successes and their hardy spirit, but the question remains if they were still children would they want the implant to be denied them by their parents? People should have the choice, and a child is too young to decide, it'll be too late for her to decide later, if she doesn't get the implant now. I wear contact lenses and glasses, I don't wear them every day. I know that is a pitiful parallel but she would still have all her choices intact including communicating at high speed with a large proportion of the human english speaking race..... |
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Sherrilynn Nelson Member Posts: 2 |
posted 01-09-2002 07:41 PM
I have two respectful objections to make against what you have posted. Firstly, I found the grandmother to be an admirable mother of her son. I could see in her eyes that she truly has absorbed much of the pain and alienation that her son had to undergo as a deaf child (as well as an adult). Much of this suffering, during his early years, I doubt he is even aware of. She most likely spent a great deal of effort sheltering him from the ignorance of others. This could very well explain his not having a grasp on the whole picture (which, admittedly no one has-- either you're on one side, or the other). This desire to shelter is paradoxically what he is trying to do with his daughter, but in the opposite way. (I know! Let's move to Maryland so we can surround ourselves with people like us!) She was not in any way rejecting him, but his disability which he himself acknowleges as a disdvantage. I think she did not want her grandchild to have to go through what she what she was powerless to do anything about when he was a child. The son completely misunderstood her, as I believe you have done, and the pain he felt stems from his identifying himself more as a deaf person than as her son. He acted in a way towards his mother as he did with his daughter, sadly, putting his disability first and their relationship second. His wanting to preserve his daughter as deaf is understandable, especially considering how limited in number the deaf community is. Why would he want to "sacrifice" one of their own? But this is the most selfish thing that anyone can do, no matter how much the deaf experience, culture, or community can bring to you as an individual. What would he have done if he were to have had the "misfortune" of fathering a hearing child? That would have probably torn his whole world apart. My heart truly went out to Heather, the most inquisitive and sensible individual presented in this documentary. She was clearly manipulated into not wanting the device that threatened everyone's world but her own. While I could see that her parents were extemely loving of her, I cannot fathom how they would think it preferrable to move to Maryland to keep her in the fold! Now that you've waited until your daughter is 15, I believe that you have already imposed your choice upon her, as Heather's parents have done. Of course I do not advocate your conveying to your daughter that she is defective-- quite the contrary. But by waiting util she is capable of making the decision herself, you have already severly constricted what her options are. And this brings me to my second objection, which is that you seem to equate acknowleging the limitations of deafness as a way of making a strike against a deaf person's self-esteem. There are limitations to being able to hear, as well. But no one is tiptoeing around, saying, "Please don't acknowlege my being able to hear, because it could hurt my self esteem." Not acknowleging a disability out of this fear could be likened to refusing to put braces on a kid with crooked teeth because we wouldn't want them to get the idea they weren't beautiful with the set they were born with. How many kids did you see who weren't glad that they had the implant? None. They all were happy with it. Of course, I think they ought to have been given the opportunity to learn sign language as well. Perhaps it is fear of the unknown, or a reluctance to admit to one's having made a poor decision in the past, or having been born too early to have had the option, or fear of technology, that prevents people such as yourself from embracing this device which clearly is an astoundingly profound medical advancement. A baby is born without culture, but grows into it, and finds themselves in the process. You would not have damaged her self-worth by going ahead with the process which would have enabled her to have had a wider realm from which to choose means of communication, and instead have most likely done so inadvertantly by keeping her in the bottle. I do, however, think that deaf culture is a rich one, one that should not be lost. But take an honest look at the plight of those who have, until now, been destined to live within it. This is not so much a comment on any lack within them, but of the world surrounding them. I think most would not choose to be marginalized, unless that is all they have ever known. All children should be exposed to both visual and aural forms of communication, limiting them to one or the other is a mistake that can now be avoided. As parents come to recognize this, their children will be more articulate in every sense. quote: |
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