Casper, Thanks for reading, and for your willingn...

2012-06-24T20:32:19.078-04:00

Casper,

Thanks for reading, and for your willingness to learn sign language to communicate with others. Unfortunately it happens far too often that families, for one reason or another, refuse to sign with their deaf children. Sometimes parents are even advised by doctors to stop signing, under the assumption that sign language delays the development of speech. The accusation is, of course, completely unfounded, the contrary actually having been proven by the latest research. You can read more about a mother's perspective on communicating with her deaf daughter in our latest interview with Rachel Coleman: http://www.redeafined.com/2012/06/asl-cochlear-implants-and-importance-of.html

I can't believe the use of sign language for a...

2012-03-29T16:35:17.497-04:00

I can't believe the use of sign language for a deaf child is even being argued. I assumed all parents automatically learned sign language because its an easy door to open and allow in communication. Teaching a deaf child to speak seems like making them adapt to an easier form of understanding for the hearing person. As a parent you teach your child to embrace their differences and be who they are, unless your deaf apparently. Then you need to try to be like hearing people and adapt to normal society. As a hearing person, with no family members that are deaf, I am still choosing to learn sign language because of all the times in my life I have meet a deaf person and been unable to fully communicate with them. I actually enjoy enriching myself with another language. So if a deaf person would like to learn to speak and read lips, as a secondary form of communication, more power to them. Forcing it on a child as their only means of communication doesn't seem right.

Comments on Redeafined: The Travis Syndrome: What Happens when Families Can't Communicate

Casper, Thanks for reading, and for your willingn...

I can't believe the use of sign language for a...