I chose to do my paper on the movie Sweet Nothing in My Ear. The movie was about a child who was born hearing and ended up going deaf, so his parents had to deliberate on whether or not they wanted to get him a cochlear implant. The wife Laura (played by Marlee Matlin) is deaf and her husband Dan is hearing. The movie is centered around Laura and Dan’s struggle to decide if a cochlear implant is what’s best for their son Adam. It doesn’t help Laura make the decision when her parents are both deaf, and her father is basically prejudiced against the hearing culture. The main characters in the story with communication disabilities are Laura and her son Adam. Laura and Adam are both deaf. Both of them were born hearing, and then over time lost it. When someone is deaf, it means that the person can’t hear at all. One of the ways that deaf people communicate is by using American Sign Language, which is where a person uses gestures to communicate with others. Another part of deaf culture is that some speak, and some don’t because they either don’t know how or aren’t comfortable doing it Both Laura and Adam’s communication disabilities are accurately portrayed in this movie. First of all, Marlee Matlin is deaf in real life, so she knows first hand what being deaf is actually like and can portray it accurately. Also, Adam uses Sign Language and expressive facial expressions, which are all trademarks of deaf culture. Also, he doesn’t speak hardly at all, and neither does his mother. Another way that Marlee’s character Laura is portrayed accurately is that her character feels very strongly about deaf culture, and a lot of people in the deaf community feel the same way; that there’s nothing wrong with them and they don’t want to be changed.... ... middle of paper ... ...through literature and media (2nd ed., p. 12). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Tanner, D.C. (2003). Chapter 6: Hearing Loss and Deafness. In Exploring communication disorders: A 21st century introduction through literature and media (2nd ed., p. 189). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Tanner, D.C. (2003). Chapter 6: Hearing Loss and Deafness. In Exploring communication disorders: A 21st century introduction through literature and media (2nd ed., p.192). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Sargent, J. (Director). (2008). Sweet Nothing in My Ear [Motion picture]. U.S.A.: Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions. Tanner, D.C. (2003). Chapter 1: Communication Disorders, Literature, Media, and Society. In Exploring communication disorders: A 21st century introduction through literature and media (2nd ed., p. 27). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
The directors indicated Matt's deafness through the use of other sensory stimuli. The greatest emphasis was put on the feeling of touch. Matt was able to feel the vibrations of the car, of the waterfall, and the crowd noise. The beginning of the movie began in an arena. The decibel level of the arena was nearly equivalent of a jet engine. The noise, the directors indicated, was not to be heard but felt. The directors also used visual stimulus to indicate the child in the beginning of the movie was deaf. The child was unresponsive to sound. Though I am no producer, I'd imagine it would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for a hearing child to have no response to
Mark Drolsbaugh’s Deaf Again is a biography about his life between two dimensions of the Deaf world and the Hearing world as well as the implications he faced throughout his journeys’. Mark Drolsbaugh was born from two deaf parents and was basically forced to adapt to the hearing world even though his parents are deaf. When Drolsbaugh was born he was hearing, however, by first grade his parents and teachers discovered he was losing his hearing. As time went on Mark realized the issues he faced from trying to adapt to the hearing world. Mark Drolsbaugh quotes in his biography, “Deafness is bad. I am deaf. I need to be fixed. I must be like them, no matter what, because deaf is bad.” However, no matter what his family believed that he
Have you ever felt like there was nothing that you can do for your child? In this book, Deaf Like Me, by Thomas S. Spradley and James P. Spradley, I can see the journey that Lynn’s parents took to get her help. (Spradley & Spradley, 1978). This book was an excellent read. I really liked the way that they described the ways they tried to help Lynn to understand the world around her. The book, is a great asset for any family that might be unexpectedly put into a situation that they know nothing about such as a deaf child.
The book, Deaf Again, written by Mark Drolsbaugh, is an autobiography telling his life story which starts with a young boy growing up who goes through the process of losing his hearing and then, as he gets older, he struggles with trying to fit in as a normal child. When Mark was very young, he could hear fairly well then gradually he went hard of hearing until he eventually went completely deaf. Even though he had two deaf parents, the doctors advised speech therapy and hearing aids because they did not understand Deaf Culture and they thought that Mark would be a lot happier if he could hang on to his hearing persona. Throughout the rest of the book, Mark goes through a lot of stages of trying to fit in with everyone and eventually does find himself and realizes that being Deaf is not a disease, but just a part of who he is.
When I first recieved the book, The Deaf Heart by Willy Conley, I was very excited to read it. We had been waiting for over a month to finally get it! The novel follows the journey of Demsey Maxwell McCall, Max for short, and his challenges in high school and following him through his internship at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.
The book A Loss for Words talks about what deaf people go through in their normal everyday life. It is the autobiography of the author showcasing the author’s experience with having deaf parents.
...lusion, I feel that it is heartbreaking that so much weight was placed on the shoulders of such a small child, unnecessarily. Even though he was born hearing, he was born into Deaf culture. His parents and a large part of his father’s family were deaf. He didn’t need to spend his whole childhood and early adulthood feeling like an outsider, never really feeling like he fit in. His grandparents as well as his parents, who went along with it, were only doing what they thought was best for him, what the doctors had told them was best. On Mark’s web site, in the section What is Deaf Culture? The Joy of Belonging, there is a quote that I think sums it up, “The cultural aspects of the Deaf world are vital in providing a healthy sense of well-being. It focuses on what Deaf people CAN do, as opposed to the pathological approach of focusing on what's wrong.” (Drolsbaugh Web)
When it comes to disabilities of hearing, there is some significant division between people over whether hearing impairment and/or deafness constitutes a disability or a culture. Though Kisor has no residual hearing whatsoever, he did not lose his hearing until age three, and his parents raised him to be a lip reader rather than a user of sign language. He never associated with Deaf culture; he has always felt he belongs with those who can hear. He discusses this in his memoir several different times, saying, for example, at one point, “[TDDs] enabled
There are many important issues mention the the book Deaf Again. The book talked about thing beyond disabilities. People tend to judge others who are not similar to them or their ideal image of normal. The overall need for communication is the major topic that is stressed in the text. The foundation of a relationship is built off of the strength of communication so being able to communicate with all is a very important aspect of life. His parents dealt with the struggles with Mark as he grew up.
"Values and Norms of the Deaf Community." College of the Canyons. College of the Canyons, n.d. Web. 30 Nov 2013.
In the following chapters, there is an extensive amount of knowledge to learn about how Deaf culture is involved in our modern world. The pages assigned give us an outlook of how Deaf people are treated in our daily life, and how we should learn from it. Its gives a clear line between what are myths and what are facts, to those who are curious about the Deaf community or have specific questions. This book has definitely taught me new things that I could put to good use in the near future. In specific chapters, my mind really opened up to new ideas and made me think hard about questions, like “why don’t some Deaf people trust hearing people,” or “do we need another ‘Deaf president now’ revolution?” I realized many new things in the course of reading this book, and have recommended this to my family.
Deaf and hearing impaired individuals are know longer an out cast group. They now have there own deaf community. Deaf individuals do not consider themselves having an impairment, handicap, or any type of disability. They believe that through the use of sign language, other communication skills, and technology that there deafness is the way they are supposed to be. Many people who have perfect hearing can not understand deaf people and why they embrace there deafness instead of trying to receive hearing and get rid of there handicap. However not all deaf people have th...
The story takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where Mark was born. Both of his parents were deaf, but his grandparents were hearing. From birth until first grade, he had perfectly normal hearing so he developed language skills as any normal child would. Mark’s hearing loss was slow, and happened overtime without going noticed. When the reality of his hearing loss struck his family and teachers, questions about his education aroused. His parents and his grandparents were worried that teaching him sign language would draw him from learning spoken language, so it was decided that Mark would be raised as a normal hearing and speaking child.
The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to an online transcript,“Through Deaf Eyes” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007) there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing. Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents (Halpern, C., 1996). Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group, every region, and every economic class” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007). The deaf culture and hard of hearing have plenty of arguments and divisions with living in a hearing world without sound however, that absence will be a starting point of an identity within their culture as well as the hearing culture (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007).
In the article “Deafness, culture, and choice” Neil Levy says, “The deaf will always be cut off from the buzz of conversation . . . [and] always slightly alienated from the mainstream of political, social, and cultural life.” Being deaf can have a negative impact on Gauvin’s social life. A scenario can occur when Gauvin is in the playground by himself playing. While a group of kids approach him and start a conversation. The kids are trying to ask Gauvin if he is interested in playing with them. As they are talking, he is staring at the kids not knowing what is going on. As a couple of minutes pass, the kids start to walk away from Gauvin. The kids got furious because he wasn’t communicating with them. This shows how Gauvin might face difficulties like this in his childhood where he will be different from others and can’t fully understand the situation. Another issue might occur at a birthday party where there are a bunch of people and music everywhere. As everyone is enjoying the event, Gauvin sees a little girl fall into the swimming pool. Since everyone is eating food and dancing, no one can see or hear the little girl’s voice. Gauvin tries to go and get help but as he’s trying to communicate with people they aren’t understanding him. By the time he makes people realize what has happened, it is too late and the little girl is taken to the hospital. A lot of complications can