Deaf Child: Normal? Various Perspectives

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Deaf Child Normal?Various Perspectives

• Beth Benedict, Ph.D.
• Gallaudet University
• Barbara Raimondo, J.D.
• American Society for Deaf Children
• Marilyn Sass-Lehrer, Ph.D.
• Gallaudet University

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Questions

• Deaf and hard of hearing people are as capable as
  hearing people. Agree Disagree
• Deafness should be eliminated. Agree Disagree
• Use of sign language with deaf and hard of
  hearing children should be encouraged. Agree
  Disagree
• A deaf culture exists in the United States. Agree
  Disagree
• Deafness is a disability. Agree Disagree
• Who should make decisions for deaf people?

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Who are we?
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After identification

• Parents
• Medical professionals/testing
• Audiologist
• Physician
• Geneticist
• Otolaryngologist
• Speech-language pathologist
• Medical technicians

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• Evaluations, advice, and services can be
  valuable.
• BUT
• How do hearing parents learn about the lives of
  deaf and hard of hearing people?

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Deaf and hard of hearing organizations

• National Black Deaf Advocates
• USA Deaf Sports Federation
• Telecommunications for the Deaf Inc.
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government
• AGBell Oral Hearing Impaired Section
• Association of Late Deafened Adults
• National Cued Speech Association
• National Association of the Deaf
• American Association of the Deaf-Blind
• Self Help for Hard of Hearing Persons
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Entrepreneurs Council
• Intertribal Deaf Council
• American Society for Deaf Children
• Religious associations
• State and local organizations and events

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Programs

• Schools
• Statewide schools
• Regional programs
• Charter schools
• Camps and programs
• NASA Space Camp
• Young Scholars Program (Gallaudet)
• Aspen Camp School for the Deaf
• National Leadership and Literacy Camp
• Institutes of Higher Education
• Gallaudet University
• Natl Tech Institute for the Deaf/Rochester
  Institute of Technology
• California State University

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International networks

• Deaf Way I and II
• World Federation of the Deaf
• Deaflympics

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Societal awareness

• Deaf theater and entertainment
• Signing with hearing babies
• Media portrayals
• Sensitivity regarding access such as real time
  captioning, interpreting
• American Sign Language as a foreign language
• Country becoming more diverse

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Legislation

• Americans with Disabilities Act/Section 504 of
  the Rehabilitation Act
• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Television Decoder Act

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Technology

• Video relay service
• Web cams
• Pagers
• Instant messaging
• Internet
• Captioned media

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Myth

• Deaf people oppose hearing technologies such as
  hearing aids and cochlear implants.
• The NAD
• recognizes the rights of parents to make
  informed choices for their children
• respects their choice to use cochlear
  implants and all other assistive devices
• strongly supports the development of the whole
  child and of language and literacy.
• (Cochlear Implants, NAD Position Statement,
  2000)

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Myth

• All deaf parents want a deaf baby.
• Cultural identification with Deaf community
• no preference 62
• prefer deaf 27
• prefer hearing 4
• (SJ Stern, KS Arnos, L Murrelle, K Oelrich
  Welch, WE Nance, and A Pandya (Attitudes of deaf
  and hard of hearing subjects towards genetic
  testing and prenatal diagnosis of hearing loss. J
  Med Genet 200239449-453)

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• Deaf designer baby - 52,000 Internet hits
• First embryo screened for deafness - 600
• Gender selection for family balancing
• (www.microsort.com)

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Why include the deaf community?

• Human rights issue
• Know about lives of deaf people
• Assurance and support
• Positive view of the future
• Better decisions

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Hearing and deaf working together

• Dismantle societal barriers
• Promote positive view of deaf and hard of hearing
  people
• Paid consultants in EHDI programs
• Qualified individuals working in non-deaf jobs

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Resources

• Inside Deaf Culture, Carol Padden Tom
  Humphries, Harvard University Press, 2005.
• Movers and Shakers People Who Changed the
  World, Dawnsign Press, Carolyn Carroll Sue
  Mather, 1997.
• The Silent Garden, Paul Ogden, Gallaudet
  University Press, 1996.
• Two Views of Deafness
• http//www.aslaccess.org/twoviews.htm

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Questions

• Deaf people are as capable as hearing people.
  Agree Disagree
• Deafness should be eliminated. Agree Disagree
• Use of sign language with deaf and hard of
  hearing children should be encouraged. Agree
  Disagree
• A deaf culture exists in the United States. Agree
  Disagree
• Deafness is a disability. Agree Disagree
• Who should make decisions for deaf people?