www.dbcusa.org

Thank you for bringing up the Issues about the AGB and ASL as I was a former student of AGBell School as an oralist purely (no sign language usage) and I felt that I was in the dark world while growing up of having to lipread, talk with voice and know English language until I was 19 yrs old when I was able to go to Gallaudet U. I felt that to be able to learn sign language had lit up my life! I understood so much better to connect what I had learned in school to ASL which made sense! After, I graduated and worked in the hearing world. I realized that many people could not understand my speech, so I decided to teach ASL evening classes for 20 yrs so that people would be aware of ASL, for emergency, business or social purposes. It made more people to teach to spread the words about ASL and Deaf Culture. It helped us to feel self-esteem and be more independent to talk with those who use ASL.

Hopefully everyone will learn ASL. The earlier they learn it, the more they will be more fluent in signing.

Anyway, I want to thank you for emphasizing the importance of ASL and its usage as our native language. We can try to talk, lipread and wear hearing aids if possible. However, we will understand a whole lot more 100% by using ASL. I feel more connected to it by all means.

I've recently come to realize, as I think about our experience with Jaden, why was it that we never heard the word Deaf used, never thought of him as Deaf, never found information on Deaf, never found a Deaf person, etc. I believe now it's because, as hearing parents dealing with hearing "professionals", no one used the word Deaf. From the very first Newborn Hearing Screening Test, we were screening to see if our baby could hear. Then being referred meant that his hearing was not there, thus the feelings of something lost and we all know the sad road and story from there. Now, if from that very first test someone was to have used the word Deaf, and then the professionals who so kindly refer to our babies as hard of hearing, hearing impaired, hearing loss, hearing disabled, etc., then maybe the parents wouldn't have such a hard time accepting their baby as deaf. Just recently it occurred to me, no wonder I didn't find anyone or any information on the Deaf community, I was at home "googling" the terms hearing impaired and hearing disabled. I thought I was being correct in calling my baby these things. I know now that the Deaf don't call themselves these ridiculous things, right? I'd never call my son these things now, he's Deaf! That is a positive!!! So, my search was obstructed from the get-go because the terminology that is used by the only people that a hearing parent comes in contact with is incorrect and negative.

So, as the point in the draft states that we need to replace "abnormal" hearing with a positive term....let's not sugarcoat anything and not beat around the bush anymore. These parents need to see and hear Deaf from the very beginning, which is the Newborn Hearing Screening Test.

I, too, feel very strongly that Deaf mentors would have been a gift from God during the first few months of our son's life. Why is it that Early Start has a paid speech therapist that will come to the home for an hour a week, as well as a teacher of the deaf for an hour a week, but will not pay to have a Deaf mentor come and visit in the families homes for an hour a week? If only I could go back and trade all of those visits to have a Deaf adult, or family, come in to our home....what a different life my son and our family would have had up until now!!!!

It's time for a change!

Thanks,

Danielle Reader