To Speak or Not To Speak
Imagine, you have just given birth to your first child. Emotions of happiness, love, and excitement surround you and your partner as you adore the newborn baby lying in your arms. You are so relieved that the labor went smoothly and to know that your baby was born completely normal, or so the doctors say. However, a couple years later, you are having premonitions that your child is not developing normally. He is not responding to your voice, nor does he react to loud noises, crashing and banging sounds, sirens, etc.
In addition, it is clearly apparent that he is not developing language. After meeting with the pediatrician, you are faced with the harsh reality that your son is deaf. Now what are you going to do? Parents of deaf children have many options to work with the child’s deafness; the two most common approaches being the oral approach and the manual approach (ASL). Choosing which approach is a highly controversial issue. Utilizing the oral method of communication (oralism) is an efficient way to help bridge the communication gap between the deaf and hearing worlds.
When they first learn that their child is deaf, parents, especially those who are hearing, go through a typical mourning process. This process includes shock, denial, grief, confusion, devastation, and recognition of the problem. Progressing through each of these reactions and acknowledging them is important before the parents can accept the situation and take action to be come involved in early intervention work with their child (Ling, 6). Daniel Ling states that the most powerful intervention is that the parents learn to effectively interact with their child who has special needs. The parents are with the child all day and all n...
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...t the process is long. They should expect miracles, but not right away. It takes time. Total dedication from teachers, parents, and most importantly, the child, is crucial for maximizing the child’s ability to communicate with the hearing world. Again, the method of communication to choose is the most important and difficult decision the parents of a deaf child will have to make. These parents need to follow what they believe in their hearts, what they believe is right, and disregard what others may think or feel is right. This child is their own, so they need to do what is best for them. Parents of deaf children must remember that there will always be opposing views pertaining to the oral vs. manual method debate and that people will not always agree with them or support them 100%, but they need to stand firm on one decision and believe in that decision, regardless.
Sheridan, M. (2009) Bookreview of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Deaf and Hearing Persons with Language and Learning Challenges.
This issue is important because if you try to force the Deaf to hear, they might not grow because they will have no form of communication to use with other people. Even though the doctors might say to not use ASL, this will greatly hinder your child's well-being in the long run. I learned a lot about Deaf people, ASL, and/or Deaf Culture after reading this book. Deaf people are normal, just like anybody else, and they should not be treated any differently. Some people treat deafness as a disease that needs to be cured, but it's not.
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.
The people that should read this book are families that are just diagnosed with deafness, this is a helpful resource for them to see and also it will give them an idea of what is out there for help. I think that everyone should read this book and be able to see what the deaf community is about so they do not judge them because they are different in our society, which tells us all that we have to be the same. With this book, the reader can see that we are sometimes different. I really think that this book puts all these things into a different perspective for me and for other families that might come across this situation themselves. Works Cited Spradley, T. S., & Spradley, J. P. (1978).
Although Frobisher's gold mines were soon forgotten his three voyages to the Arctic sparked not only interest in a north west passage to the Orient but also the idea of English sovereignty over northern North America. Over the next three hundred years British exploration and trade gradually penetrated Arctic Canada and Britain's right to possession of the vast area was accepted by other nations. In 1880 British sovereignty over the area was passed to Canada. In 1999 the Territory of Nunavut was established returning a measure of sovereignty to the descendents of the original inhabitants - the Inuit. In the very area that Frobisher had claimed for his Queen four hundred years before lies the capital of Nunavut - Iqaluit.
Language does not only mean oral communication, there are many other forms of communicating however oral communication is the only one considered “normal.” The book “Deaf Like Me” follows a little girl Lynn throughout her early years of life and relates to us the struggles she endured while trying to fit into the mold of being normal. The story written by her father Thomas Spradley and her uncle James Spradley is an exceptional and moving story walking us through the early attempts of Lynn’s family trying to get her to learn the oral language despite her deafness that did not allow her to develop language by listening to the people around her.
Chapter 1: Regions of Canada describe regionalism and how it divides countries, specifically Canada, naturally into six regions: British Columbia, Western Canada, Territorial North, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada. These regions have been divided in a manner that correlates ‘like spaces’ in regards to human and physical geography (Bone, p.6) along with Canada’s historical development. The second key feature of chapter 1 describes Canada’s faultlines and they’re affects on Canada’s regional divide. There are four faultlines within Canada that reciprocate tensions that are mostly solved by being “soft” through negotiation and discussion (according to John Ralston Saul, Bone, p. 10). Bone places a great focus on these faultlines, which include: centralist/decentralist, Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal, French/English Canadians, and newcomer/old-timer. “Canada’s heterogeneous nature often forms the basis of regional quarrels” (Bone, p. 11) particularly for the centralist/decentralist faultline. English/French speaking Canadians focus on Quebec and sovereignty, while the Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal faultline deals with land claims, settlement and colonized peoples. Newcomers/old-timers refer to immigrants and settlers of Canada. The core/periphery model is a key concept that is commonly referred to throughout the text. It depicts the core as concentrations of power/wealth/population, with the periphery/hinterland as the weakly developed, resource based area.
At Clarke I currently teach in a self contained classroom of four year old children that are deaf and hard of hearing who are learning to listen and speak. I assist under the direction of the classroom teacher in planning, preparing and executing lessons in a listening and spoken language approach. I have the opportunity to record, transcribe and analyze language samples on a daily basis. In addition, I facilitate the child's communication in the classroom and ensure carryover of activities between the classroom and individual speech therapy sessions. Every week I contribute and participate in meetings with the educational team to discuss each child's progress using Cottage Acquisition Scales of Speech, Language and Listening (CASSLLS).
The documentary “For a Deaf Son,” delineates a young boy, Thomas Tranchin, who was born deaf into a hearing family, and the battle his parents endured to decide to teach Thomas in sign language communication, strictly communicate in English, or both. The documentary is educational for the hearing world to shape their own particular opinions on what type of technique would be better for their child in the event that they were to ever be in a comparative circumstance. As Dr. Carlos Erting expressed in the film, 93% of hearing impaired children have hearing parents; therefore, this documentary gives a glimpse at both perspectives of nonverbal communication and oral communication. However, as I viewed the short film, the clashing feelings of Thomas’
Mark Drolsbaugh, the author of Deaf Again, was born to deaf parents at a time when the deaf population didn’t have and weren’t given the same availability to communication assistance as they have today. He was born hearing and seemed to have perfect hearing up until the first grade when he started having trouble understanding what was being said but was too young to understand what was happening. (Drolsbaugh 8).
Illness has been a major part of humankind’s lives almost since the beginning of time. Throughout history, illnesses caused fatal epidemics that caused deaths between young and old, and brought fear upon all for the absence of a cure. Having an illness throughout most of history was considered an inevitable death sentence, as the majority of causes of death (Offit). Vaccinations have been experimented in China and Turkey in the 15th century, with methods such as inhaling or rubbing grounded up smallpox scabs against open cuts (Clem). Then in 1700s, the first form of modern vaccination was invented by Edward Jenner with the cowpox virus acting against smallpox, giving immunity against it (Offit).
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.
His parents have different opinions on what’s best for him. His father thinks that he should learn to lipread to be as normal as possible as well as wearing a hearing aid. His mother wants him in a ASL cassroom where he can learn at his pace and understand more things then he is in the classroom he’s currently in. As maybe with other hard of hearing characters in film, the mother can sign but the father cannot as a result of this he is totally out of touch with his child and his needs.
Today’s society consists of numerous individuals who are diagnosed with disabilities that prevent them from partaking in their everyday tasks. Not everyone gets the chance to live a normal life because they might have a problem or sickness that they have to overcome. Deafness is a disability that enables people to hear. All deafness is not alike; it can range in many different forms. Some people like Gauvin, can be helped with a hearing aid, but some can’t because of their situation and health reasons. In society, hearing individuals consider deafness a disability, while the deaf themselves see it as a cultural significance. In the article “Victims from Birth”, appearing in ifemnists.com, Founding Editor Wendy McElroy, provides the story of
The whole world has heard about smallpox and polio but not of any recent cases, the dramatic ended of these diseases is from the use of vaccinations. Illnesses that were once deadly now can be completely avoided by being vaccinated, if the world stopped vaccinating the illness might return. Society has used vaccines for generations, however recently the effectiveness and side effects of vaccines have come under question. The value of vaccines is that they are essential to the survival of the human race, by preventing major epidemics of reoccurring viruses. This paper will expound on why people should be vaccinated, the benefits of herd immunity, the history of vaccines, how safe it is to be vaccinated, the cost effectiveness, and the benefits of vaccines eliminating deadly virus.