What do you think of the film, Children of a Lesser God? Just curious.
Hi Frannie! Are you having a nice day?
That’s terribly disturbing. Do your parents know why the schools had such a policy? And how were they expected to communicate with teachers and classmates instead, lip reading, notes?
What are some things that could be developed to make the life of deaf people more pleasant? exciting? up-to-date? easier?? My daughter’s working on a project for her class that addresses these things… she’s researching some gaming accessories (kinda like the vibrating PS controls)
For example - we now have text messaging available on cellphones, email correspondence and IM’s… anything you think we should have by now in this day of technology?
My son went through some development classes from 2-5 because he was born a premie and they werent sure what he would need to overcome besides his size. He learned sign language but never continued it because it was not offered in school as an additional language (like Spanish).
My youngest daughter, however, is taking the elective this year in HS 9since they offer it) and she really likes it even though she doesnt really have anyone to practice with that’s fluent.
Your parents sound like wonderful people!
Did you sneak out a lot when you were a kid because your parents couldn’t hear you leaving? Or do anything else as a youngster to try to take advantage of the situation?
I learned from a former employer who’s a CODA that ‘Deaf Club’ is a popular place for deaf people to hang out together here in the States. Is there an equivalent there in the UK (assuming you grew up in the UK), and did you go to it?
/Utopian hijack on/ Are you familiar with Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language and their deaf culture? It seems to me that a society where everyone learns to communicate with each other out of necessity is possible from this small example. /Utopian hijack off/
Hi, Francesca! Welcome back! You mentioned that your mom translated Shakespeare into sign. That made me curious about poetry and sign language in general. Does it employ meter at all? Are some signs considered more visually pleasing, like some words sound better than other words? If so, is there much correlation between the aesthetics of spoken and sign language? When your mom was translating Shakespeare, would she change the text to suit the visual aesthetics of sign language over the aural aesthetics of the spoken word? Is there any poetry written specifically for sign language?
This is Coolest thing I’ve learned all day!
You mentioned that one of your parents (father I think)wanted you to listen to music quite a bit, could you elaborate on that?
-What music did he choose for you to listen to? Did he give you a broad taste at first, or did he have favorites or notions of what you might like, or just what was popular at the time?
-I suppose I’m just asking in a round about way as well- Do your parents “enjoy” music (I’m thinking perhaps by touch- such as a heavy bass for example, or perhaps visually perhaps some other way of enjoying music)?
-How quickly did you learn sign language as baby- in terms of the language skills as a whole, much quicker than human speech, or both at about the same pace?
-Did you ever get any biases from others in the Deaf Culture since you could hear, or were they very accepting of you?
-Could cochlear implants work for your parents, and would they want such a treatment if it was possible?
(Sorry for all the questions, but they just kept coming one after another).
Congratulations and Best Wishes for your future marriage!
How have you been received by others in the “deaf community?”
A year or two ago there was the controversy about the new Gallaudet president being “not deaf enough.” Has being fluent in signing and having deaf parents been enough so you seem to be accepted, or does having the ability to speak make you feel like an outsider?
My parents never insisted that I interpret for them, but I did do it. From the age of about 8 I would make phone calls for them (this was pre SMS, email, etc), and as I grew older I would go with them to important appointments (although I mever missed any school). Nowadays, we have the Disability Discrimination Act, which stipulates that employers have to provide interpreters for job interviews, and businesses have to take reasonable steps to accommodate deaf people. But when I was growing up we didn’t have that. However, my parents were very aware of not using me because I was hearing, and tried not to rely on me.
Nowadays, I don’t interpret for them at all - I don’t live with them, and they’re independant as always. If we go out for a meal, I might translate for them but that’s all. This was a conscious decision on my part - it is possible for hearing children to get trapped in always helping their parents out, but I decided not to. When they got divorced last year, I didn’t help at all and they sold the house and each bought their own places, dealt with estate agents, lawyers, etc with no help from me. They did fine. However, I’m aware that as they grow older it will mean a greater responsibility for me to make sure they’re understood and okay.
It’s mostly hearing people who expect me to interpret - when I’m out with them, hearing people tend to talk to me rather than my parents - “What would they like to order?” in a restaurant, for example. To which my response is almost always “I don’t know, ask them!”
Eh, it’s okay. A bit cliched. It raised awareness of deafness at the time but we’ve moved on. It does perpetuate the myth of the “supercrip” a bit - that someone who has lost a sense but be compensated in other ways. This isn’t ncessarily true. Deaf people are just like everyone else - some are jerks, some are nice.
Yes thanks 
Getting v. excited about the wedding.
Yes, I played my music very loud and swore at them VERY LOUDLY A LOT behind their backs. I had a party downstairs once while my parents were asleep in bed. But really, I was a rather boringly responsible kid, possibly because they trusted me so much.
What types of jobs do your parents have?
Will there be a sign language interpreter at your wedding?
Deaf people here in America are generally known for being very blunt (if it sounds as though I’m painting with a broad brush, let me explain that this is something that I learned from a Deaf woman, in a workshop on Deaf culture). Is it the same in the UK?
Hi! I’m a child of immigrant parents and even though their English was pretty good when I was a child I often had to “translate” for them- call doctors, make airplane reservations, etc. I did this from a small child, and though it taught me many skills, I often felt frustrated.
Did you you have a similar experience growing up?
ETA: I see you’ve answered some of this up thread. Maybe you could elaborate on how you felt about this?
Yes, we went to our local deaf club twice a week - my dad tended the bar! My parents met in a deaf club and it was where I met up with my fellow CODAs. My first boyfriend was a CODA too. It was a very big part of our lives.
Nowadays, deaf clubs are in dramatic decline because young deaf people prefer to just go to the pub or meet up wherever. And this is fair enough. Deaf people are less isolated and thanks to the internet can communicate and keep in touch with other deaf people more easily, eliminating the need for a single designated place to meet every week.
I have heard of Martha’s Vinyard signing, and it sounds like it worked very well. But that’s out of necessity - take away the necessity and most people don’t have the incentive to learn how to communicate because it doesn’t effect their every day lives. Sad but understandable.
My dad was an electronic engineer and my mum was an actress with her own theatre company. Both are now retired.
Yes, there will be an interpreter at the wedding - a family friend. There will be other deaf people there too - family friends, etc.
Yes, there is a phrase called Deaf Direct, which is a decription of how blunt deaf people can be. For example, my dad 's sign name is “Big Fat Belly”. Because he has a big fat belly And my mum’s sign name is similar to “drama” because she was an actress (and is a bit of a drama queen). The bluntness of deaf people is well known and an in-joke for us CODAs.
PS - those questions I’m not answering - I’m not ignoring you, they just need a bit more thought and explanation than I can give on a Sunday night while the cricket is on. I will answer them tomorrow.
Have your parents ever considered cochlear implants? I’ve been reading the LiveJournal of a friend of a friend who had an implant done recently after having grown up hearing and lost that sense as a teenager, and it’s been endlessly fascinating reading.
I did have to interpret, and it wasn’t a big problem because I didn’t know any different, but sometimes it was a hassle. I used to pretend it was always fine, all the time, in defense against people who might criticise my parents for using me. I never felt that they wanted me to interpret for them, and it was always embarressing when people would speak to me, a young child, rather than addressing my parents directly. That used to annoy me very much. They’re not stupid! They can lipread! Write it down!