Recently, I attended a drum circle with my local Deaf community, and the experience solidified my belief that being part of the Deaf community is a lot like being part of an indigenous tribe. When we first learned that Micah was profoundly Deaf, we accepted the traditional medical perspective on deafness; the script that says … More Beating Drums of Resistance
When Micah was about six, he toted around a stuffed monkey named Monroe. Across Monroe’s face, he had duct taped the monkey’s mouth, sealing his lips. At the time, Micah’s lips too seemed sealed shut. He benefited little from his bilateral cochlear implants, and I found the duct tape gesture darkly poetic. In parts of … More What No One’s Saying About Deaf Kids
90% of of deaf children have hearing parents, and only 10% of hearing parents learn to sign. Read one mom’s story about the barriers of communication between hearing parents and their deaf children.
… More A Loss for Words
When we implanted our profoundly deaf two-year-old son Micah with cochlear implants, we gave little thought to American Sign Language or Deaf Culture. We were a hearing family, following the council of our audiologists, and under enormous pressure, we made the best decision we could with the information we had at the time. Micah received … More 13 Reasons to Sign to Your Hard of Hearing or Cochlear Implanted Child
Welcome to On Deafness, a blog about raising deaf and hard of hearing children in a hearing world. … More Welcome
