Friday, November 27, 2015
Its easy to think.. but when you look at the facts
Its easy to think that all parents with deaf children would know ASL, but when you look at the facts such as the panel talked about not all parents choose to learn ASL, and some try but don't pick it up as easily or get as fluent. Some parents just find other ways to communicate but can put a barrier and a distance in between the parent and child as we watched in videos during this class as well.
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I think a parent should do anything they can to make their child's lives easier. If parents have a deaf child, then that parent should learn sign language or set up a way to communicate effectively with their child. If they don't have language from a young age, everything else in their life could be less than the best. If I had a child who was deaf and didn't already know sign language, then I would learn.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this, I think it is very easy to assume that if the child is going to learn ASL in class and the parents used ASL with the child growing up then the parents are just automatically going to become fluent in the language. I think there should be many more classes for parents to learn ASL. Or even family members in general to learn ASL. I am sure that there are a few parents out there where learning another language is intimidating so they don't want to learn advanced sign language and then the communication with their child just stops as they get older.
ReplyDeleteBefore I logged on to the class blog, i was planning to post something very similar to this. Since you beat me to it, ill just leave a comment instead! First of all, i agree with what Sammy, and Kristen said. I think it's extremely important for a parent to have total communication with their child. Anything less than that, can cause problems in any field whether it be their education, their social life, or even their at life at home. Secondly, i just want to recognize the fact that in class we decided that making the parents learn ASL and be similar to making the kids learn to speak. So think it would be a give and take from both the kids and the parents.
ReplyDeleteSadly, yes not very many parents of deaf and hard of hearing children know sign language. Most don't even want to learn it, but I think as the years past by more and more are wanting to learn and I think todays new technology has a lot to do with that. Communication is a little easier now then it was 40 years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to think that choices parents make regarding their deaf child is black and white but when you look at the facts you realize there is a huge gray area. This means as future educators of the deaf, our roles will not only be to educate the deaf individual but also to connect their family and friends with resources so that they may make educated decisions on their child's behalf. We don't have to agree with the views of others, but we do have the responsibility to help ensure that they are aware of the risks and benefits of every option available to them. I came into this class with a bias due to my personal hearing loss. However, I feel like one of the most important things you can remember, and this class challenged me to do, is to look at things from all perspectives not just your own which is tainted with personal feelings and experiences.
ReplyDeleteI agree, as a society, it seem we just assume things about others. If a child is deaf and is fluent in ASL then naturally his parents and family would know this too. Sadly, we are finding it is not the case. Just a few years ago, children were sent to the schools for the deaf and that is where they would learn to sign. When it was time to go home for a break, they had to revert back to the life they came from. There are families who try to incorporate ASL to communicate. However, learning a new language is hard. I feel most of the time, the child is the one who has to adapt. Grace, I am so thankful for your insight. You have been a blessing for me in the class. I agree with you. There is a lot of grey areas. If it were all in black and white, it would be so much easier. The fact we all do have our own opinions has opened the class up for some lively discussions. Thank you for allowing me to hear your thoughts, opinions and feelings.
ReplyDeleteBeing that my degree is Child and Family Studies I am very passionate about family involvement and the importance of being involved in their child's lives. It is extremely important for families to be involved in their child's life no matter what barriers may be involved. Children need to learn a way of communication at an early age and they need the involvement of their families as well. When children are given every advantage possible from birth on they are more likely to succeed in all aspects of their lives no matter if they are hearing or deaf.
ReplyDeleteIn my Speech/Language/Communication class, we are currently covering a chapter about speech versus manual communication. The chapter mentions a study where hearing parents of Deaf children who chose oralism were studied over a course of time. The researchers found that even though the children were not taught ASL, many of them had developed their own signs and gestures with which they communicated and the parents recognized and used these signs and gestures seemingly without even realizing they were engaging in manual communication. One child they studied even grew up to develop a syntactic system for his set of signs and gestures which included verbs and other grammatical structures. I found this to be amazing that these families could develop some mode of communication. However, as a champion worry-wart, I remember being pregnant and constantly thinking, "What will I do if my child us Deaf?" My husband and I talked it over and decided with little hesitation that we would immerse ourselves in Deaf culture and sign to Jude from birth. He was born hearing and still has very receptive hearing, but we do sign to him regardless. While I'm confident that manual communication would have been the best option for my family, I've learned that the "right" decision is different for every family.
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