Megan Malzkuhn is a wonderful advocate for the deaf and a staunch activist in opposing the AB 2072. She has vlogged on this issue several times. I am impressed with how she presented information in her vlogs.
My problem with Megan? I cam across this blog with a link to an article that Megan wrote and was published by a publication which apparently have afflictions with Nazi and Israeli Militancy?? This is not to say her article was under scrutiny... it was great, factual, well written, and informative. Why is it published in such a controversial news media?? Did she knowingly allowed it? Did she submit her article to that news media source? The topic of her article had little to do with Nazis or Israeli militants except they are anti-politicians in which Megan's article included - that Senator Mendoza is a sleazy politician with many special interest groups in his pockets. That much is obvious.
I am hoping she submitted it to that news media outlet in hope of other news medias picking up her article. I just wish it wasn't published in that one which people may come to associate deaf people with extremist groups like Nazi or Israeli militants. I realize some situations such as AB2072 call for dramatic measures but is publishing it in such news media a wise move?
I guess we will see....
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Why Was That Shocking? Moms Exerragate Children's Speaking Skills
Mike McConnell posted that he was bewildered about a mother's refusal to share email or phone contact for her son whose speaking-on-the-phone abilities were bragged to him upon which McConnell wondered whether she exaggerated and wanted to find out for himself. As many of us know, SOME profoundly deaf can speak on the phone that has the volume control feature and most often with familiar people such as family members or people they had spoken with before. This mother insisted her son could "gab" on phone with just anybody....and like McConnell, I also question that claim. But this is not what I am discussing about....
Why is this even surprising? Mothers are always bragging and exaggerating about their deaf children's abilities to speak, especially on the phone, even the deaf parents whose children are deaf. Parents have this tendency to desire to "normalize" and "hearize" their deaf children, and this is as old as time.
I especially liked one commenter who said a CI surgeon was puzzled as to why his patient was upset when he warned her that she may not be able to speak on the phone using CI because he read in her file on her hearing stats and in that range, she wouldn't be able to speak on the phone. He decided to inquire her family and found out she couldn't actually speak or hear on the phone - she only made calls to talk to the person on the other end what she wanted to say and hung up - unquoting this commenter - "like an answering machine." Apparently her parents labeled this as "ability to speak on phone," and gave her that impression.
Hearing parents are often the bane of the deaf's existences. They want so much for us to be like them and will go to lengths to do so. Some commenters said they are profoundly deaf and still could hear and speak on the phone (with volume control, they all emphasized upon) with most people, even strangers. I am still skeptical about that because often the hearing people will not tell truthfully whether they could understand them on the phone. They rather to give the impression they could understand them as to encourage them to continue using the phone. And many deaf also admit not hearing most of the dialogue and filling in the blanks, a skill they developed over time, depriving from life experiences.
The hearing people need to be more truthful as not to give the deaf a false sense of abilities they do not actually have. The ability to speak with family members and some familiar people on phone is already a skill in itself and why isn't that enough? This skill requires dedication and a lot of training. This accomplishment is to be commendable.
Why is this even surprising? Mothers are always bragging and exaggerating about their deaf children's abilities to speak, especially on the phone, even the deaf parents whose children are deaf. Parents have this tendency to desire to "normalize" and "hearize" their deaf children, and this is as old as time.
I especially liked one commenter who said a CI surgeon was puzzled as to why his patient was upset when he warned her that she may not be able to speak on the phone using CI because he read in her file on her hearing stats and in that range, she wouldn't be able to speak on the phone. He decided to inquire her family and found out she couldn't actually speak or hear on the phone - she only made calls to talk to the person on the other end what she wanted to say and hung up - unquoting this commenter - "like an answering machine." Apparently her parents labeled this as "ability to speak on phone," and gave her that impression.
Hearing parents are often the bane of the deaf's existences. They want so much for us to be like them and will go to lengths to do so. Some commenters said they are profoundly deaf and still could hear and speak on the phone (with volume control, they all emphasized upon) with most people, even strangers. I am still skeptical about that because often the hearing people will not tell truthfully whether they could understand them on the phone. They rather to give the impression they could understand them as to encourage them to continue using the phone. And many deaf also admit not hearing most of the dialogue and filling in the blanks, a skill they developed over time, depriving from life experiences.
The hearing people need to be more truthful as not to give the deaf a false sense of abilities they do not actually have. The ability to speak with family members and some familiar people on phone is already a skill in itself and why isn't that enough? This skill requires dedication and a lot of training. This accomplishment is to be commendable.
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