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March 28, 2008

While my household has come together to learn ASL, we have simultaneously been given the glorious opportunity to be welcomed into the Deaf community to celebrate their culture, their language, to celebrate their deafness. Our teacher, K10 is the first deaf friend I've had that communicate through sign with and I'm delighted that I'm finally accomplishing a goal that has eluded me for my 34 years due to being raised in the mainstream aural community. The Deaf Bilingual Coalition, through the generous support of its members, sent me to the AG Bell Conference this past Saturday in Milpitas, with a wonderful interpreter named Bunny to sign for me throughout the event. While AG Bell did provide for captions to be available, they do not support ASL as a language to be used by the deaf community, instead supporting mainstreaming through technological advances like hearing aids and cochlear implants along with extensive speech therapy. They spoke to a wide variety of parents, professionals and educators about advances in technology applicable to children as young as one year old. They also had a panel of young adults to share their experience growing up aural.

According to AG Bell, I believe that they would consider me to be a success story having worn hearing aids since the age of 2, mainstreamed with speech therapy through high school and encouraged to not feel limited by my deafness. I speak, as a result, very clearly, with good enunciation and a rich vocabulary. I use powerful hearing aids, lip-reading and I frequently repeat what I hear (or imagine) to fill in the blanks caused by noise, beards, and people who talk through their smiles. I also speak Spanish fluently and have a grasp of conversational French. My sign is not so good... but it is improving;)

While the conference gave me the opportunity to be around other like-minded people who have gone through the AG Bell system, all of us with varying degrees of hearing loss, thus varying degrees of speech control. Remember, how can you know what it sounds like if you cannot hear? The Keynote speaker, Josh Swiller was quite remarkable and passionate as he shared his story, of his deafness, of his experience as deaf, as hearing, as an outsider in both communities. He was funny and candid, honest and humble. His first remarks were those of thanks to the protestors outside for standing up for the rights of ASL to be recognized as a language just as powerful as spoken English. He encouraged the dialogue to happen citing the importance of both sides to be heard. I found myself nodding in agreement often as he shared his story, knowing that yes, there were others out there who had lived similar experiences. I also noted that many of us were similarly ostracized from others with similar experiences.

During our lunch hour, I joined outside, a richly diverse group of people who support the language of ASL for the deaf, their families, to assist the deaf in finding peace in their deafness. They encourage love and support, language and culture to prevent the constant threat of isolation that often occurs when the deaf are not accepted for whom they are. With their signs, their drums, kids of all ages and parents, friends, teachers and supporters, I spoke to the group (with the assistance of my interpreter) telling them how grateful I was to be invited, how honored I was to support the cause. I told them that there were more people outside protesting than were inside at the conference...which they responded with instant applause. Applause is shown with both hands in the air shaking them vigorously above ones head. I told them of the challenging dialogue happening inside."If you had a child who was deaf, would you teach that child ASL or would you encourage cochlear implants?"

After much consideration and pause, the speaker replied that (HE) "would encourage cochlear implants but would also insist on the use of ASL to richen the language of my child". While thoughtful and diplomatic, I empathize with parents in making such a difficult decision. I would not immediately suggest cochlear implants. I believe that there is always time for that. Hearing aids are helpful, and ASL is crucial to teaching language and communication. Parents need to spend quality time with their children in both the hearing assisted realm as well as without technological assistance in order to convey self confidence, love and understanding for their deaf children. I found it interesting that the DBC members outside had a stronger sense of community and support than those inside the conference. The kids outside just seemed happier.

I am experiencing a paradigm shift in my life right now with the support of my friends and family. I'm hopeful that the void that I have felt for as long as I can remember will be filled with the newfound relationship that I am currently developing with my new deaf community. I'm learning sign and I'm loving it. My household is looking to take a structured ASL class in addition to our current lessons with our teacher K10. Eventually, I might even start to live without my hearing aids.

Hello, my name is Bobby and I am Deaf. I was born on 28 October 1990 to frenzied and rushed parents, primarily because I was 16 weeks early. I was born hard-of-hearing, with a 75 dB loss of high frequency and a 30 dB loss of low -- however, my hearing has gotten worse. As a result of this, I spent countless hours in speech training and auditory-verbal therapy learning to speak, lipread, and listen with hearing aids and FM Systems. I am considered an "oral success," however, I am going back to therapy to remove the nasality of my voice that is common to people with hearing loss. This has been my decision, rather than being forced upon me.

At 15, I started learning ASL. Wow, I thought, what a cool and accessible language! As I am entering my third year of formal ASL classes, I am much happier signing than speaking and wish that my parents would have exposed me to ASL from birth. To be honest, my house was simultaneous communication for a while - a few months, when I was 8 - but ASL was thrown out, due in combination from my speech therapist informing them, incorrectly I might add, that ASL would deter speech and language development and my success in speech training.

I plan on going to Gallaudet, and majoring in Deaf education and English. I love reading and theatre. When I teach, I will use a bilingual approach - using ASL to teach core concepts and English would be used primarily for reading and writing.

Regardless of hearing level, I strongly believe that ASL should be exposed to all children - Deaf and hearing - from birth. Bilingualism in America is somewhat shunned, as many have the imperialist attitude of "English only." Being bilingual is something to be proud of, and ASL has been shown to be a bona-fide language which can help English development. I've started tutoring Deaf students at my local school for the Deaf - and I keep the languages strictly separated. Because of this, I've been called "mean" and "hard" by both students whose first language is English and ASL, but their proficiency in BOTH languages is really worth it; they feel more confident with themselves.

Many people ask why ASL should be taught if there is success with English. For me, this is a simple answer: a community where you can truly belong. As Deaf individuals, we are constantly interacting with hearing people everyday - some of whom we love and hold close to our hearts - but that language, English, cannot truly bring us together like ASL can. And, bilingualism is a skill to be proud of. Please, support bilingualism for ALL Americans - hearing and Deaf - the benefits have manifested themselves time and time again, and language is the very foundation on which stories are told, joys exchanged, tears shed - language is beautiful.

I have no problems with a student who pursues speaking and listening skills, as long as it is their decision. You never know, if something is not forced on someone they are more likely to try it! I can sort of sympathize with parents who want their children to succeed in the hearing world - but many Deaf people today use ASL and English to communicate in both cultures successfully. Don't wait to provide language, and remember that you are not alone - there are lots of schools for the Deaf out there and parents like yourselves who understand your struggles completely - and it is perfectly acceptable to reach out for help. People need people, because as poet John Donne says, "no man is an island."

November 2007

In 1995 a miracle took place in Lafayette, IN. A young couple in their very early 20’s had a given birth to a deaf baby. The medical professional’s gave the “hearing impaired” diagnosis with much grief. We were sent out into the world to raise a “handicapped” child without any referrals but a pat on the back for good luck. Ahhh…so much research on a mother’s behalf…the loss of self and employment to figure out how to best raise a deaf baby.

Despite the extreme emphasis on speech and hearing and getting the cochlear implant…my husband and I couldn’t just dump off our baby at a local daycare with hopes that “everything would be fine” while the only stimulation offered by staff would only be auditory. The First Steps Early Intervention Program for Special Needs offered talking directly into my baby’s face and loud toys and music with hopes for a miracle of hearing something…anything! I couldn’t rest at night knowing my baby would be bored all day without visual stimulation. I set out to learn sign language! I contacted the library for video’s, local schools, childhood deaf peers and public school interpreters. I made long distant phone calls to every state to find out the current belief system and medical outlook on “how to raise a deaf child” and was referred to the John Tracy Clinic, Hear Indiana, Shhhh, and AGB. I did the John Tracy Clinic parent coo respondent “courses” and copied signs from the “Joys of Sign Language Book” while scotch taping the signs to my walls in our apartment. Our daughter went to speech therapy and I learned signs on my own. Something was missing though…the signs weren’t grammatical and speech was not working. I hadn’t met any deaf adults! Where were they? Riley Hospital offered nothing to us. No support for meeting the Deaf Community. We discontinued our daughter’s hearing tests there after it was determined our services were no longer welcomed nor needed because we didn’t want a hole drilled into our child’s head with hopes for hearing.

In the meantime, our baby was growing and increasingly bored and just looked into space for anything stimulating to catch her eye.

When my husband, (Purdue Graduate), and I were denied ANY sign language resources and support from Purdue’s Speech and Hearing Clinic….our persistence paid off!!! Despite the “professional” advice from the clinic…we found the Deaf Community and learned ASL. I drove from Lafayette to the deaf school in Indianapolis four days a week. My daughter was 12 months. I drove home at the end of the school day with my eyes burning and dry. This was a LONG day often followed by migraine headaches but well worth every cent and every minute. My mind racing with excitement to teach the ASL signs to my husband after he would return home from work or Purdue classes. Each new sign was documented on the refrigerator as we were finally able to communicate with our baby girl! A connection was made and we started feeling closer as a family! My sadness towards having given birth to a deaf baby was no longer a daily struggle. She would be just fine as long as we kept her within the Deaf Community.

Our daughter is now 12 yrs old and functioning on a “normal” level academically, socially, emotionally and intellectually! She is a bright little lady with much to offer the world! She is happy and doing well in life despite what we were told from THE CLINIC at Purdue. (Chasing down a deaf employee in the halls of the clinic and having a meeting WITHOUT an interpreter paid off! I still have the notes from that meeting and the deaf man advocating ASL and not the implant.)

Ironically, this meeting took place in a waiting room in Purdue’s Speech & Hearing Clinic while the snooty secretary informed me of no sign language resources and passed judgment and “abuse” issues onto me for wanting to learn ASL as a way to raise our daughter.

I wonder how many other parents went through such discrimination before giving in to the “professionals” who seem to have it all figured out when it comes to hearing parents giving birth to deaf babies! I hope that Purdue’s clinic will change their philosophy and mission…PLEASE listen to the Deaf Community and parents having walked the halls of the clinic seeking to learn sign language with OR without the use of the implant and speech. I was encouraged to purchase musical toys and put the volume on high with hopes that my daughter would some day hear any level on the auditory scale. Instead my husband and I raised our hands and learned ASL! The “professionals” seem to be the ones that are handicapped!! A speech referral is easy to make! Driving to the clinic is easy! Being a deaf child and having to focus on hours upon hours of speech and then constantly expected to improve is not easy and is abuse! Expecting parents to shut up and follow the medical advice of speech therapy is unethical! If a mother of four raises each of her children to be disciplined the same way…resentment and ineffective results occur. Why? Because each person is different and has different ways of learning. Each person has ethical rights to be offered accommodations, respect, and love through acceptance. The same goes for the Deaf. Deaf people have the same emotions as hearing. The Deaf Community is beautiful and no medical “professionals” will ever understand by remaining one sided. I hope something good will come out of this weekend at Purdue! May the force be at Purdue this weekend and touch a “professional” to change his/her way of belief.

August 28, 2007 Hello, My name is Shirley Egbert. I have been sitting, watching and reading about languages. I am the person who is quiet. I agreed and disagreed with some comments out there without saying anything out loud. My husband, John started Deaf Bilingual Coalition, I stand by him with FULL SUPPORT. I totally agree with this philosophy. With my past experience growing up, I came from a large Deaf family of eight deaf brothers and sisters. My parents are deaf; I have used American Sign Language all my life. It was what we have always used to converse among each other. I have many hearing cousins who do not know or are eager enough to learn signs and a few relatives using signs. I remember very well with my family reunions, my brothers and sisters ended up gathering together, signing away our conversation alone. My parents used to be in the photography business, taking pictures of weddings, graduations, and families, etc. My father developed and printed many pictures for people in town. My mother did all the oil coloring on pictures. They taught me well about communicating with hearing people via note writing. They told me to do that when they stopped by our house for all kinds of business communication. I attended to a residential Deaf School in North Dakota. As I entered for the first time, I was shocked that they forbade signing. I asked my parents why. They said, “Just do what they ask us to do. It is the rule.” I spent practicing my speech too much in intermediate classes, sitting down with earphones on my ears, hearing the hearing teachers and DEAF students in classes speaking from books, learning NOTHING!! Luckily I could read words in books. If one used signs, s/he would be punished putting inside coat closet, use black mittens on his/her hands, or teachers would throw erasers or chalks. I remember well how I hated using my speech. I could not speak “school” right and had to practice this a thousand times and still could not get right, but a teacher loved to hear my speech over again and again “ Pretty Please”. For what! That teacher did not know ASL…. If she had this signing skill, she could have explained how I placed my tongue right for “K” for sKool. Every week on Mondays, after weekends, we needed to write our weekend activities on the boards in English class. Teachers would correct our grammar without explaining why, because they did not know signs to help us. I remember I had quite good English grammar skills comparing with other students in class. I did not understand why. I used to feel bad about myself, feeling that being hearing or least hearing people were better. Eventually I learned English on my own and realized that being hearing is no better than being Deaf. I began to feel disgusted at my former school for not having to “ teach, learn and lead” the deaf children to do likewise. As I looked at 1950’s class picture with me in the front left, I noticed that they tricked us with “No Signing Contest” and marked out those who signed so in words they forbade signing in school! They forbade communication among students and teachers. This not only happened to me but to my parents. So did with our children where there was too much emphasis on hearing. And today, it still does. Enough is enough. I support ASL for deaf babies and children—the Human Right to communicate and learn freely. So they can teach the others to learn and lead.

I was born with nerve deafness. At age 5 I was enrolled into Davison School of Speech in Decatur, Georgia. Using hand gestures was forbidden. Whoever got caught using hand gestures got punished. Punishments were severe. Standing in a corner with hands in back for an hour. Turn around, get an extra 30 minutes. There were no second chances. We all became obedient from the headstart.

We hid and used hand gestures. It was scary. This type of lifeŠespionage-styled atmosphere and sneaking around in the name of Freedom became Deaf Children's well known way of life before the age of 6 and before the age of 10.

We, the Deaf Children of all centuries will always find a way to use hand gestures. The hand gestures we used at Davison School of Speech was not ASL. Students before us invented it and we carried it on.

AG, Volta Bureau and other organizations against ASL and all forms of hand gestures lost the war since Time began.

It is time for these organizations to meld with the DEAF WORLD. Once they meld, wonderful things - amazing acceleration in education.

I talk Engish. I write English. I sign ASL which has no effect on my English the tinest bit. I am a living proof against any theory claiming a Deaf Person cannot talk if allowed to use ASL.

I can contacted through my e-mail address Wandadaxx1@aol.com for exhibition and for speaker engagements. I will talk for everyone to hear my voice and my speech.

Stanford University tested my hearing when I was a small child. The conclusion: Unknown. It is not hereditary.

No one can stop small Deaf Children from inventing hand gestures for the sake of a freedom to use total communications.

To prevent Deaf Children from using hand gestures resulting corporal punishments is a state of totalitarianism in existence in the United States of America. The state of totalitarianism for Deaf Children AND for Deaf Adults has always existed in the United States of America.