Disabled Inspiration

Disabled Inspiration

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-03/young-inspiration-porn/4107006

CAN'T YOU TAKE A JOKE?

Can't You Take A Joke?

http://higherunlearning.com/2012/11/11/cant-you-take-a-joke/

HOW TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT PRIVILEGE

HOW TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT PRIVILEGE

http://everydayfeminism.com/2012/12/how-to-talk-to-someone-about-privilege/

ableism

You learn that ableism is oppression, discrimination, and prejudice against the disabled or those presumed disabled.

Ableism is the word that puts a name to every time that journalists, who are supposed to be objective yet committed to compassion and justice, say that people with psychiatric disabilities are inhuman and a problem of society, or that autistics like me are incapable of experiencing or understanding feelings. Or when they say we're a public health crisis. Or when they say we're monsters who need to be locked up for the good of society because we're dangerous. Or when politicians and universities and news producers consult everyone but actually disabled people on disability issues, hold panels on multiple perspectives on disability, and do all of this without any actually disabled people, and say that that's because a we have nothing valuable to say.

Ableism is the word that puts a name to every time that parents and caregivers murder disabled children, or when the media exculpatory them, or when hundreds of non-disabled parents flock to their defense. And when actually disabled people are called heartless, incapable of empathy, and not understanding someone else's perspective when we mourn for the loss of those disabled people.

Because when people can say, "autistics should be killed" with impunity and hardly more than a second glance from the public, that's ableism. And when people can say those are just words and they can't hurt, and they're ignoring the actually real, actually present danger to Autistics who dare to speak up -- death threats, rape threats, actual assaults, and murder -- that's not merely privilege; that's fucking privilege.

And allies -- understand that ableism is not a game. Ableism is not being offended. Ableism is abuse and violence and murder. Ableism is what gets us killed and our killers acquitted in the court of public opinion and often the court of law. These are our lives, and that's exactly what's at stake.

http://www.autistichoya.com/2013/02/autistics-shoulddear-allies.html

Response to audism

Asking Change dot org to avoid endorsing less than optimal language, and even asking people to think about issues of culture and choice, does not equal "demonizing" anybody's parents. The sooner that conclusion-jump goes away, the better off we will all be.

a mother, who gets that when people teach me what it's like for kids who are not white, that is not the same thing as me being attacked/demonized/silenced etc.

Also, I'd like to say that as someone who is disabled, I am very much in a position to judge non-disabled parents for what they do to their disabled children. And it is my RESPONSIBILITY to speak up for the disabled child.

Thing is, when we point any parental decision, motivation or mentality out as being problematic, or even less than an absolute and indisputable truth, we get accused of "judging." And sometimes that, or even actual calling out and judging, needs to happen. Parents aren't universally perfect and benevolent by virtue of being parents.

Also, what someone chooses for themselves making an informed decision and what a person's parents or other relatives want and choose for them are two completely different things, especially when it's stuff that isn't lifesaving or preserving existent functioning.

"parents are not benevolent because they are parents, and parenting decisions are not made in a vacuum separate of oppression. No disabled or Deaf person should be shamed or judged for their decisions, but able-bodied and hearing people can and should be. If you benefit from a system of oppression, the power is on your side, so it is not a 2-way street where everyone is equal. This culture of calling oppressed people "judgmental" for calling out stuff that upholds their own oppression is fucked up. Nondisabled people, even parents, get to be and should be called out on ableism. Also, calling people heroic just for existing as disabled people is hella creepy. Like, cool we don't get to have autonomy (get institutionalized), so being your inspiration is like what? our consolation prize?"

I am not Deaf and I don't think it would be right for me to speculate on what I would do. However, I am disabled, and on that level, I can say that my body is complex and I am more interested in a world that respects that than a cure. Deaf and disabled get to decide what they want for their bodies.

Science and what is pursued under the rubric of science is influenced by social norms and beliefs.

Science also does not exist in a vacuum, and science has been used to hurt and kill marginalized people, such as scientific racism and eugenics. Again, maybe folks should defer to Deaf people on this issue.

A parent telling their child that the child needs to go through surgery to be accepted/acceptable, rather than fighting for their child against an unaccepting society, can hurt like hell.

Instead of empowerment there is the constant need to feel like you have to be fixed.

medical vs social: deaf

There are several important points to consider here that I think you are completely missing. 

1.) Most doctors and most parents are operating within a framework that already medicalizes and pathologizes biological, physical, and mental differences and deviations that do not need to be medicalized and pathologized. While any individual doctors and parents can be perfectly well-intentioned (and I will be quite generous in extending this benefit of the doubt to "most" doctors and parents, as, make no mistake, there ARE abusive parents and doctors), this does not mean that their decisions, ideas, and attitudes are free of social context. For example, a father who is a member of the Ku Klux Klan might not be physically or emotionally abusive to his children, and may in fact be otherwise a very good parent, but if he decides to indoctrinate his children in racist ideas, keep his children in segregated schools or homeschool groups, he most likely believes very strongly that this is in his child's best interests, but his decisions are most certainly informed by his racism. 

Likewise, parents choosing forced medical procedures for their children on the assumption that their quality of life will or must necessarily be better if their bodies or brains functioned in the same was as most people's may very well have the best of intentions and believe that they are doing what is best for their children, but it does not in any way detract from the fundamentally ableist and audist attitudes that are pervasive in U.S. society, which is the context in which these parents are making those decisions. 

2.) The presumption that to be hearing must automatically be better or worthwhile or valuable than to be deaf, hard of hearing, or otherwise "hearing impaired" (a phrase I've heard some people use), is one that is profoundly audist and ableist, because it completely ignores and denies the real, lived experiences of many thousands (millions?) of d/Deaf people around the world. The Deaf people that are in this thread, and those who have written very eloquently on these issues, would argue very much that their lives and experiences are valuable and worthwhile, and certainly not lesser or diminished by virtue of deafness. 

3.) If you were then to argue that those people are simply biased by personal experience, can you then argue that the "doctors and parents" who oppose Deaf rights, disability rights, etc. are not biased by personal experience? This goes to the question of sociological privilege. Those who are privileged by being hearing, temporarily able-bodied, and neurotypical are also privileged in that their opinions and experiences are not merely centered as normative, but presumed to be objective and detached from personal biases. Conversely, those who are marginalized, who are deaf and disabled, are presumed to be utterly subjective (and not even truly capable of holding a "rational" opinion or thought to begin with at worst) and always tied to personal biases that de-legitimize and invalidate those opinions and experiences.-Lydia

Cochlear Implant

" Why would you trust the doctors and the parents over the experience and perspective of people with disabilities? Is it an attachment to the soothing prescriptive nature of the medical institution? These comments endorsing the implant for the child demonstrate a willingness to accept this prescription based on fears of deaf and preference for hearing. Cochlear implants do not restore hearing, they do not always work, there is no guarantee the child will learn speech and language, and these parents are saying they will use an auditory verbal therapy approach- which excludes sign language. 

Also- this child has auditory neuropathy, not cochlea hearing issues. Implanting AN children is experimental at this time. How many of you have consoled friends with failed CIs? Taught students with failed CIs, watched them fearfully be pressured into surgeries? Watch students with failed CIs, side effects, language delays and other issues come into the classroom? 

You can trust the ableist institution of medical treatment- but some of us are cleaning up after it and do not appreciate being disrespected here."-Julia

Letter to National University

Dear Dr. XXXXX, Dr. XXXXX, and Dr. XXXXX,

            The purpose of this letter is to express my frustrations of being enrolled in a program that does not meet my needs as a current teacher of the Deaf, and the lack of response to my professional and personal concerns. I look forward to finishing this program in June and I’m distressed by the fact that my experience so far is not what I was promised when I started the program.

            I am currently a classroom teacher at a bilingual school for the Deaf. When I was hired, I was expected to obtain an Educational Specialist - D/HH credential. I needed to be educated on best practices in bilingualism so that I could excel in my job. After looking for the best teacher preparation program, reviewing the National University catalog, and meeting with the program director, XXXXX, I felt I found the perfect program at National University because of its ASL-English bilingual emphasis.  

            I looked forward to participating in a renowned program where Deaf people are viewed as capable, whole individuals. Most Deaf education programs present Deaf children as deficient and in need of rehabilitation and intervention. I personally was subjected to this deficit model while growing up and had no desire to put myself in this kind of atmosphere. National University promised a progressive learning environment based on cultural and social model of deafness through its catalog, program description, and my meetings with XXXXX.  Consequently, I made a significant investment to pursue this opportunity. 

I was taken aback when I learned about the drastic changes in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program. To my dismay, the new catalog provides a completely different program than the one I was given when I started the program.  More specifically, the philosophy of this program no longer focuses on ASL-English bilingualism, and has shifted to traditional approaches of educating Deaf children. Instead of providing me with the state of the art pedagogical practices, I’ve been subjected to the traditional, pathological view of how Deaf children should be taught. In fact, during my first D/HH course, I was stunned when the emphasis was on the devastating effects of being “hearing-impaired” (which is an outdated term) rather than the best practices of educating Deaf children in a positive and nurturing way. I have been distressed by an environment that is hostile to the wellbeing of myself as a Deaf person, and all Deaf children in the State of California. This is the opposite of what I had aspired for in my graduate program and my life-long career. This is not what I signed up for.

Since last October, I have been requesting clarification and meetings to discuss the ramifications of this shift for my education at National University.  To date, I have not gotten any clear answers as to how National University will address my needs as a bilingual educator and a Deaf person. As an example, I am including the correspondence that I have had with XXXXX, my academic advisor and subsequently the Department chair, Dr. XXXXX. What you will see is a pattern of delay and stalling that have compounded my feelings of frustration and dismay. With such a dramatic shift in the course catalog and syllabi, I expected to obtain clear and prompt communication from everyone involved in my program. Unfortunately, this did not happen, and consequently, I am pushed into a program that does not meet my needs. I am asking for your timely intervention before I take my second D/HH course in March.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

            Leala Holcomb

021837304

ASL vs. English: What the F...?

I don't see why you can't use ASL and then use spoken/written English at separate times?

All ASL-English bilingual schools I know (only 4 or 5 out there in the entire country!) provide instructions in both ASL and English for all subjects (not sim-com). They also provide intensive speech trainings too. Those who had access to ASL from birth are more likely to have better speaking and listening skills than those who were raised orally and joined our school at an older age.

Again, I'm sharing based on my collective knowledge and experiences... I come from 4 generations of Deaf families, and all of my family members were/are educators. My parents both were raised orally in educational settings (all schools banned sign language in the 1950s and 1960s). My grandfather deliberately brought in sign language to classrooms by inventing the total communication philosophy in the 1970s. My grandmother was on the SEE committee, and developed SEE along with other prominent Deaf members. Deaf people throughout the history have always tried and tried different approaches to help Deaf children acquire English. Deaf people never rejected spoken or written languages, and have always valued English in our lives. We only ask hearing people to recognize the importance of ASL. Every time I talk about ASL, people (including my classmates here) are quick to defend English. Where did I say English was not important? Where did I say English should be omitted from our lives? Are people here feeling threatened by the notion that we should value ASL? Why shouldn't we value ASL when it's the ONLY language that is 100%, not 99% or 98%, 100% accessible to Deaf babies.

Deaf people have always tried and tried to come up with the best, natural, and holistic approaches to teach Deaf children English. When we see that the approaches do not work, we simply try different ones. Hearing people always ride off our OLD and OUTDATED ideas and refuse to follow our lead on the NEW, UPDATED, and more effective ones.

In the past twenty years, Deaf educators and intellectuals have found many promising results in the path of ASL-English bilingualism. We are very excited about that because with this approach, ASL actually supports English acquisition in all forms (reading, writing, and speaking). This is actually an all inclusive approach! Yet, we are constantly being framed as the ones who refuse to give parents "choices," who are militants, who are advocating for an "ASL only" route (there was never an ASL-only route, ever), and all the false and ugly labels. In contrast, the oral advocates are framed as the ones who are giving the parents choice while the oral route is nowhere close to being inclusive and is actually a route of taking risks and chances for most Deaf babies.

Anyway, my point here is... I'll say this again and again... be Deaf-centric in all Deaf-related affairs. :) Deaf people in the Deaf community interact with Deaf children, watch them grow into Deaf teenagers, and work with them as adults. We share the same community, attend the same events, have the same friends, co-workers, bosses, and so on. We are constantly exchanging experiences, thoughts, and ideas based on our educational experiences. We explicitly see patterns in what works and what does not. We are always evolving and improving in our best practices with educating Deaf children. However, one thing that remains throughout hundreds of years of documentation in the Deaf community... nobody has ever said, "I wish I didn't learn sign language."

My Response to Assignments on Hearing Loss: Triggers and Traumas

I believe the point of “Deaf” Education is to create an environment where deafness will not be pathologized and medicalized, but rather viewed as an unique characteristic of a whole child. I am extremely uncomfortable when educators discuss Deaf education in terms of loss and repair.

The majority of Deaf people share a collective history of trauma when it comes to language deprivation. For over a hundred years, hearing professionals have dominated the field of Deaf education in the United States using oral methods, and this continues to be true today. It was not until the 1970’s that sign language was finally allowed in Deaf schools and Deaf programs. Deaf people have always fought for autonomy in decision-making processes related to Deaf education, wanting Deaf education to be Deaf-centered. Currently, there are a few Deaf schools run by Deaf people themselves, and those schools are the first to embrace the American Sign Language and English bilingual education.

As a Deaf community member, I grew up hearing many stories where Deaf people were forced to undergo hours and hours of speech therapy, wear uncomfortable hearing aids despite frequent resistances, and miss out on daily instructions and conversations because sign language was perceived as inferior. Deaf people were indoctrinated to believe that the only way to “better” themselves was to become as “hearing” as possible. Deaf people share stories of not feeling accepted, not feeling whole, and not feeling human. Many of them are angry for being cheated out of good education and good life by the misconceptions imposed by anti-ASL advocates.

Although the technology and educational approaches have changed through the years, the trauma remains the same. As a current teacher, I see many Deaf students (labeled as ‘failures’) coming to my school from oral schools severely delayed in their language and cognitive development because they had failed to acquire speaking and listening skills. They share similar traumas as the majority of Deaf community members. Those students did not fail to learn because they are Deaf, but because they weren’t given full access to language. Often, it is left up to Deaf schools to make up for those years of deprivation.

As a Deaf graduate student, I was negatively triggered by this week’s readings and the WebQuest assignment. I had emotional reactions to the task questions and the information presented in the websites because I carry a long and collective history of struggle and resistance toward the pathological view of deafness. Questions such as:

1)    What are the different types of hearing screening for infants?

2)    What is an audiogram?

3)    What are some strategies to getting children use hearing aids on a regular basis?

4)    What are the types of hearing loss?

5)    Can hearing loss be corrected?

6)    What are the degrees of hearing loss?

7)    What are some causes of hearing loss?

…instill deficit thinking in educators of the Deaf toward their Deaf students. Those questions promote the perception that Deaf children “lack” something instead of recognizing them as “whole” children who are perfectly capable of learning and thriving. Unfortunately, the field of special education typically focuses on physiological characteristics rather than language development (in particular, language deprivation) when it comes to Deaf students.

I, like many other Deaf people, reject the medical model of disability. I have been collaborating with other people with disabilities (Blind, Deaf, Little People, Autistic, etc.) in dismantling the ideology of normalcy and normalization. We all embrace our differences, and have no desire of striving to normalize our bodies and lives in an attempt to fit the narrow definition of what it means to be a “normal” human. This only serves to further oppress people with disabilities. Proposed questions for educators of the Deaf:

1)    How do we make our curriculum fully accessible to Deaf children?

2)     How can we prevent Deaf children from language deprivation?

3)    What would an optimal education look like for Deaf children?

4)    What are the best strategies in supporting Deaf children’s language development?

5)    How can we support Deaf children with speaking and listening skills?

6)    How can we support Deaf children who do not have speaking and listening skills?

7)    What can we do to support Deaf students when they arrive to our classroom without language?

As educators of the Deaf, we should not set our attention on Deaf children’s “hearing loss.” Instead, we should focus on providing Deaf children access to the academic curriculum by using languages that are fully accessible to them. For the most part, access to language is missing, and that is where educators with an expertise in the field of Deaf education should come in. I want to emphasize that I am not against teaching Deaf children how to speak and hear. All current Deaf-centric schools that practice ASL-English bilingual philosophy incorporate speech training in their programs. This is not the issue at all. The issue is Deaf people (and all other disabled beings) are constantly being reduced to nothing more than pathological illnesses, diseases, and disorders, especially in the field of special education.

I hope hearing people reading this will keep an open mind and attempt to understand where I come from and why I’m triggered by this week’s readings and assignments. I hope those who designed this program will consider and include Deaf people’s lived experiences and desire to be respected as full human beings. I am tired of being reduced to my hearing and speaking abilities. I hope there will come a day where Deafhood (the social view of deafness) in all its forms will no longer be pathologized and medicalized in educational settings.

If knowing specifics on how our ears are broken is deemed necessary to this program and cannot be eliminated, I’d like to respectfully ask the program organizers to include trigger warnings for any assignments that promote deficit thinking and the medical perspective of Deaf people so I can be mentally and emotionally prepared for the triggers and re-traumas as I work through the assignments.