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Transcript

The Uses of American Sign Language

Communication Between Hearing Parents and Their Deaf Children

While some use the oralism methodology, others use manualism and ASL. ASL is the language that is used and supported by the Deaf Community.

With hearing children, the main way they learn language through speech. So when hearing parents have a deaf child, they think that they will never be able to learn a language. What they don't understand though is that speech and language are two separate things

The Effect of Oral Communication

Hearing people use oral communication to convey almost everything. When one looses the ability to hear, it becomes increasingly hard to convey thoughts and feelings using this method.

Because a deaf child can not respond to the same verbal warnings that hearing children get, it often seems like they are getting punished without any warrant.

The Use of Simultaneous Communication

Hearing people can use oral communication while doing other things and while not having eye contact. Deaf people are confined to their field of vision. It is important to keep eye contact when speaking with the deaf

Simultaneous communication is using both oral and manual forms of communication at the same time.

The Formative Years: Coping with a Difference in the family

It is the same when it comes to rewarding the child for doing something good. Or conveying feelings of love to them. Since they can not hear it is harder to for hearing to convey those feelings.

It became popular in the 70s and is still used widely today.

Deaf Adolescents of Hearing Parents

At this stage of development children gain a thirst for knowledge and start to be more social. Since transmitting knowledge and socialization are both done with communication, it is vital that children be able to communicate in some way.

They usually lack freedom because of two reasons:

1) Parents may feel that their disability renders them unable to make contributions or decisions regarding the family.

2) Deaf adolescents are unable to express their thoughts because they cannot do so verbally.

Uses the philosophy that by using bimodal communication, messages can be delivered and understood more clearly.

Things can be particularly difficult when a deaf child becomes an adolescent with hearing parents that have not tried communicating with them. The child has grown several years with little or no socialization. They have been isolated for all these years.

If parent cannot communicate with child and vice versa, then the parent cannot understand the child and the child cannot make their wishes known. This will only lead to frustration or worse for the family.

This is why it is important to have language. If one person doesn't have any form of language, how is anyone supposed to communicate with them.

During adolescents is when children usually have more freedom to make their own decisions and start to shape their own life. However for a deaf child with hearing parents, their freedom to choose is usually taken from them still by their parents.

Sometimes, parents can become very protective of the deaf child.

They will devote most to all of their energy to the child. They often end up keeping them isolated from the "real world" and all it's "harshness."

Family Dynamics

Dealing With The Diagnosis of Deafness

When there other siblings they can often feel like they are being left out and forgotten by their parents because the parents are focusing so much on the deaf child.

Parents often become overwhelmed with the stress and fear when they discover their child is deaf.

They are told very different things about what it means for their child to be deaf and they become lost. Their vision of their "normal" child would have been is shattered.

Parents are Misled about many things.

Some professionals even tell them that they will grow out of their deafness.

Or some even tell parents that with a hearing aid and speech therapy, their child will be able to have a full command over the spoken English language.

Parents often go through a grieving process at they try to cope with their child's deafness.

Chapter 3

They go through denial, guilt, sorrow, and anger. They will ultimately either experience resignation or acceptance of the child.

The Early Years:

Recognizing the Disability

About 80% of all diagnoses were discovered by the parents, family, or friends first and not by the doctor right away.

Most of the time, an official diagnosis isn't made until about the age of 3

Often, the professional who made the diagnosis will mislead the parent in "order to soften the blow"

Wholesome Acceptance

Parents who have gained a wholesome acceptance perspective accept their child's deafness. They are realistic about their child's needs. They are ready to cope and handle any Issues that arise. This is the ultimate goal for families to achieve.

Over protection

Parents who are over protective tend to sheild their child from everyday experiences that could be crucial to the development process.

While the parents may be trying to protect their child from the harshness of the world, they are actually hindering their child from becoming independent and self-sufficient.

The Wishful Attitude

Parents who have this attitude believe in the oral method. They wish their child to be as "normal" as possible in the hearing world. They will use oral communication only.

Lip reading is not a very good method. Between 40 and 50 percent of speech sounds are not visible on the mouth.

Social interactions and Family Dynamics

Developing a Sense of Independence

The Attitude of Indifference

A lack of speech is not the only thing that can make a deaf child feel isolated and inferior in some hearing families. When there is no real way of communicating the deaf child will also be left out of family activities and be more isolated then ever.

Most deaf children of hearing parents gain their independence late in life. It is harder for the parents to convey the lessons to be self-sufficient (such as toilet training, feeding themselves, and dressing themselves) because of the communication barrier.

This is the most damaging attitude towards the child. The parents show no affection to the child and don't really pay attention to them. Children raised in this style will often feel isolation and despair.

The child is mentally isolated. They are left out of thing like dinner conversations, or other social events because they cannot hear or interact with anyone and no one interacts with them.

Deaf Adolescents of deaf Parents

The one disadvantage that a deaf person who grew up with deaf parents has, is that they will be less prepared for the possible harshness of the hearing world.

Growing up as deaf individual with deaf parents has had an advantage over a deaf child with hearing parents.

Growing up all they knew were deaf people and deaf culture. Going out into the hearing world may be a culture shock to them.

Their parents, being deaf as well has been accepting of them and their deafness. They are able to establish a place in the family. There is also a common channel of communication between parent and child. This makes for a far less stressful and frustrating childhood.

"You never forget that frightening experience when you were Brian's age. You were left out of dinner table conversation. It is called mental isolation. While everyone is talking and laughing, you are as far away as a lone Arab on a desert that stretches along every horizon. Everyone and everything is a mirage; you see them but you cannot touch or become part of them. You suffocate inside, but you cannot tell anyone of this horrible feeling. you have no one to share your childish enthusiasm and curiosity, no sympathetic listener who can give meaning to your world and the desert around you"

-Shanny Mow, a deaf man.

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