Posted on 10/01/2011 6:37:11 AM PDT by TSgt
Since the primary binding force for this cultural group is its shared language, deaf people who do not use ASL (American Sign Language) are not considered part of the Deaf community. Conversely, some hearing people do belong to the Deaf community. The Deaf community now includes perhaps as many as half a million people throughout the United States.
You could say the same thing about other ethnic groups in the United States where their communities are usually capitalized.
If you think that I flaunt my disability, then that is your opinion.
How old are you? I would guess that you are middle aged. What would you do if you were born profoundly deaf? Decades ago, cochlear implants were not even invented and due to deafness, you are mute so you are not able to speak English with other people?
Yes, that's correct. That is why I rarely use my voice to speak other than with my immediate family. Usually, a paper and a pen is sufficient for me to communicate with hearing people.
I am not belittling your physical deficit -- or your admirable success in using a tool (Ameslan -- now known as "ASL") to bypass it. But, consider this: by your own definition, capitalization of "deafness" in the above sentence means
"Perhaps we are a decade or two away from eliminating the use of ASL, but that day is not here yet."
I really don't think that is what you intended...
Identifying yourself as "Deaf" makes perfect sense; capitalizing the affliction does not.
“You flaunt your disability.”
TXnMA,
You flaunt your ignorance and a very shallow and inconsiderate mind.
If you had one scintilla of honor and decency within you, you would immediately apologize for your rude comments and then shut your ignorant pie hole.
Yes, that's correct. That is why I rarely use my voice to speak other than with my immediate family. Usually, a paper and a pen is sufficient for me to communicate with hearing people.
The issue is that when the brain is not capable of hearing what people sound like, those who are deaf won’t be able to understand spoken words instantly (when not reading lips)nor will their voice be able to speak in a manner those of us who can hear are accustomed to. This video shows a woman who not only understands voices without seeing their lips but speaks as if she’s been speaking normally her whole life. Granted, I could be 100% wrong but something just doesn’t seem right with the video which is very short and shows no other context of what she was like prior to turning on the implant. Regardless, if she can now hear, that’s all that matters.
There is the answer. She was not completely deaf.
The story I saw somewhere else was that she had hearing aids most of her life but the hearing aids did not let her hear herself. (feedback noise maybe?) She had heard others but never herself.
I've dealt many people like TXnMA showing an ignorance of Deaf culture and Deaf life. It is nothing new and I've dealt with it all my life. At least, I have a thick hide, lol.
It was quite an experience to have her asking about my children (by name) with her right hand, while she was conversing with my partner about his golf game with her left!
Her smile and manner were so heartwarming, that we always came away from our visits feeling as if we Deacons were the one who had been "ministered to"... :-)
BTW, I note that, in your more recent posts, you do not capitalize "deafness". Please consider my grammatical point as having been raised -- and dropped...
By the way, Keller's autobiography **greatly** influenced how I raised my children. I strove daily to make each day language-rich, to expose them to nature, and help them be sensitive to the richness of even common experiences. The children were also homeschooled and I tried to imagine with each project how Ann Sullivan might have taught the material.
If the nerve to the brain is damaged or destroyed, or if the cochlea were not present or destroyed, would this be a reason for surgery not to be effective?
That would then explain her flawless sounding voice.
While the device can help the recipient better hear and understand sounds in their environment, it is not as good as the quality of sound processed by a natural cochlea. The main problem is with the age of recipient. While cochlear implants restore physical ability to hear, this does not mean the brain can learn to process and distinguish speech if the recipient has passed the critical period of adolescence. As a result, those born profoundly deaf who receive an implant as an adult can only distinguish simple sounds, such as a ringing phone vs. a doorbell, while others who receive implants early or who are late deafened can understand speech.
And yes, you do need to have auditory nerve in order to be eligible for a cochlear implant.
MinorityRepublican,
You have stayed above the fray and have politely, intelligently and sufficiently explained what should have been a nonissue.
Although I refuse to suffer fools as well as you, I applaud you for your character and I thank you for the enlightenment.
Please have a wonderful day....
MinorityRepublican, I do apologize! I apparently misread your intent. I was wrong for mischaracterizing it -- and for stating so -- bluntly and publicly.
Her speech is quite good but is still not normal. She has an accent, if that’s the word. She has clearly learned to speak without hearing herself, or without hearing herself well.
Naturally she understands the lady. She would have understood her even without the hearing device, because she’s a lip reader. Now she can lip read plus hear her.
I don’t see that there’s any amiss in this video.
Apology accepted. Yes, that's correct, the capitalization of the physical condition is not to be used. Only the word Deaf is often capitalized when referring to this group, which I'm a member of.
Hm?....This is very interesting.
I wonder if this has application to adults, who can hear, attempting to learn a foreign language as an adult. I read Spanish on a very advanced level. For instance I read Nobel Prize winning literature in Spanish and Costa Rica's, “La Nacion”, newspaper daily. I speak well, too...**but**... understanding spoken Spanish is still a struggle. It's like listening to a fuzzy radio. I miss words and have trouble make sense of the meaning of the sentence.
For the past 3 years my husband and I have been members of the Spanish congregation of our denomination in our county. ( We asked by church leaders to help out there.) My ability to understand has improved but I doubt that I will ever be truly comfortable understanding spoken Spanish.
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