The child in this video regained his hearing thanks to a cochlear implant
UPDATE: Click here to see the latests news on AB 2072 (June 12, 2010)
The Assembly Health Committee voted yes on AB 2072, sending the bill to the Assembly floor.
AB 2072 will allow medical professionals to tell parents of newborns that are categorized as deaf that they have options besides sign language, such as cochlear implants.
The Health Committee voted as follows:
Ayes (10)
- Fletcher-AYE
- Conway-AYE
- Caballero-AYE
- Emerson-AYE
- Eng-AYE
- Gaines-AYE
- Hayashi-AYE
- Hernandez-AYE
- Lowenthal-AYE
- Nava-AYE
Nays (4)
- Monning-NO
- Salas-NO
- Smith-NO
- Strickland-NO
Not Voting (5)
- Ammiano-not voting
- Carter-not voting
- DeLeon-not voting
- Jones-not voting
- Perez-not voting
The No votes included the Chair of the Committee, Democrat Bill Monning, and two Republicans, Audra Strickland and Cameron Smyth. Imagine that. Republicans against parental choice in education. Unbelievable.
But the bill passed the Committee and is now headed for the full State Assembly. This is an epic fail for the Chair of the Committee, Monning, and his lame Republican allies – not to mention the crazy sign language cultists who don’t want kids to have a chance to hear or to speak without resorting to sign language.
This bill will help the deaf community advance with the rest of our society.
Finally, lets remind the crabbers that deaf babies belong to their parents, not the deaf community.
cultists? How amusing.
R-
Wow, I am disappointed that this went through the Health Committee today. I was at the hearing in opposition to the bill. Cultists??? Wow, why the need to write such a harsh, fire starting statement??? These type of statements won’t help anyone. All they do is create conflict. I know a lot of these people that you call “cultists” and I can tell you they are anything but. This bill is flawed, just plain flawed. A bill that is being proposed should not have such vague language. Who’s paying for it? Who are these other professionals? Who is printing these pamphlets they will pass out? If there will be no cost to the government then will it be a private company? Is that company for ASL or CI/Oralism? How will the government control this information if they are not paying for it?
Deafness is a culture, plain and simple. Deafhood is all about all walks of Deaf. Whether you are oral or pure ASL. Why do the main professionals in this need to be audiologists? Why? If the bill is wanting to provide all the options then the person disseminating the materials needs to be non-biased. I’m sorry, but an audiologist has been trained to view Deafness as a deficiency, something to be fixed. They get there funding from CI companies and oral programs. They are not required to learn how to use or even about ASL. So how can someone who was never schooled in a language provide it as an option? They are not the professionals for this job.
The bill also claims to be neutral. Then why not bring the Deaf stake holders in? Mr. Mendoza did not.
They Deaf community is not trying to steal babies away from parents. Grow up. They are trying to help out society as a whole grow from there mostly collective experiences. They went through it. Why would we not listen to them. They want choice but a choice given in a way that makes sense and actually provides results. For some kids a CI will work. For some it just won’t. For some pure ASL for the first few years is what is needed. Others can flourish in a Oral program. Others will fail horribly. The opponents want Total Communication. Real Total Communication.
By the way… I am Profoundly Hearing
Someone,
I’m a deaf stakeholder. I support the bill. Deafhood is a total joke.
So what if you’re profoundly hearing, you’re likely a member of the big deaf industry complex that only exists to cash in on the special needs of deaf people.
What California needs is a law that mandates insurance coverage for cochlear implants like Wisconsin just got and I’ve published a rationale for that and it’s at http://www.hear-for-life.org/cicoveragerationale.pdf and the rationale is very inclusive of both sides of this initiative.
California needs this law and it’ll work well with AB 2072.
Someone ..
You remind me of a profoundly dense person – I will call him Briley. Briley is actually a hearing person who is also a member of the Deaf Bilingual Coalition. Briley pretends to know what being deaf is like and frequently demands that people listen to him because he feels he knows everything about deaf world after taking a couple classes at Gallaudet, and buying a fake degree in Deafhood from a purple poodle.
These are true facts.
Now, let us discuss “audism” as defined by the Deaf Bilingual Coalition’s leaders, which I’ll reduce to the original definition:
“The notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears.”
Well, you’re a “Profoundly Hearing” person. So, seems to me you have the notion that YOUR hearing gives you the false belief that you are “superior based on” YOUR “ability to hear.”
So, you’re an audist as defined by the DBC. Real smart there, homie.
Lucky for you, I like the word “audism” because it’s really a funny word with a horrible definition. So, for you, I will insert MY definition of “audism.”
Etymology: English word created by a sufferin’ sycophant to describe imaginary yellow birds who peck at facial features such as nose, ears, neck and most notably, eyes.
Pronunciation: audist (OWW!dist); audism (OWW!dism).
Use: “Brian was walkin’ on the sidewalk and tripped – slowly at first, but the longer he stumbled, the further he fell, until finally, he flopped down, bummed a knee and cried out, ‘AUDIST SIDEWALK!'”
“Profoundly Hearing.”
Yah. You are.
@Richard, California needs a lot. Insurance on the whole is really messed up. I have issue with putting CI’s in really young kids but that is besides the point. If it is the parents choice to implant there child with a CI and have done the research on all sides and feel it fits their families needs then I see nothing wrong with that and insurance, from a medical perspective, should fully cover that. Actually one of my friends brothers youngest child couldn’t get a CI because of insurance yet his 3 older siblings were. But, that is not what this bill is about so why bring it up in this conversation?
@Paotie, Dude back off. It was a light hearted joke. Have your not heard that before? All it is a way of saying a support Deaf people as a Hearing person. I am not demanding anyone listen to me. I am expressing a personal opinion in a public forum.
I am not dense and don’t appreciate the personal attack. I in NO WAY consider myself superior to Deaf people. My perspective is entirely hearing. Yes, I have taken classes in Sign Language. Your point? I do not know what it is to be Deaf. I never have been.
Don’t come at me with personal attacks. If your for the bill then come at me with your opinion on it and back it with facts. Don’t be a child and pick out two words from my entire post and call me dense.
Neither of you answered my questions though. Who pays for this thing, huh? How is the government going to control the content? Why have a number of Deaf stakeholders been left out of the process?
Paotie/Someone
take a good look at the article —
http://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2010m4d20-Support-Ca-bill-AB2072-to-inform-parents-of-ALL-options-for-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-babies
Someone ..
I didn’t say you were dense – I said you “reminded me of a profoundly dense person.”
Claims of “audism” are rampant whenever ANY person disagrees with a DBC/CAD/Deafhood political ideal – you will notice there are already claims this blog is “biased against” the ASL community because this blog is a “hearing” blog, which is an implicit accusation that this blog harbors “hatred” against “deaf” people because it is inherently “hearing” (“audist”).
Mostly, I wanted to demonstrate that hearing people can and do have valid arguments, which you agreed when you stated, “My perspective is entirely hearing” and “I am expressing a personal opinion in a public forum.” Very good. We can say the same for the OrangeJuiceBlog and that it is NOT “anti-ASL” or merely a “hearing” blog that hates deaf people. Now we can put “audism” to bed as a silly, stupid definition created as a political tool – nothing more, nothing less.
Thank you for your participation.
(And “cultists” was an appropriate word since after all, some former DBC members have used the same word – along with “bullies” – to describe the DBC leadership.)
Recall your first comment in which you stated, “For some kids a CI will work. For some it just won’t. For some pure ASL for the first few years is what is needed. Others can flourish in a Oral program. Others will fail ..”
THAT is why AB 2072 should be passed.
And finally, your last question: “Why have a number of Deaf stakeholders been left out of the process?”
They haven’t – have you not noticed the number of deaf-related blog postings (as well as the comments at this one) that sprang up from the bill?
You remind me of Briley, dude.
I mean that as a light-hearted joke.
Really.
Paotie,
You have no idea what you’re talking about and have coninued to mention “audism” in most, if not all, your posts. What you have written is both ridiculous and obnoxious.
You have gone against “someone” and have said that they remind you of someone “dense”…pot calling the kettle black?
The point that was made was that they have biased “professionals” that are providing information that should be aiding the families of Deaf children. However, they don’t provide the right information that a Deaf person (or a relative of a Deaf person) can. It should be unbiased and nuetral as the assembly said it would be.
That, along with who’s paying for it, was the MAJOR point of “someones” argument. Not the fact that they mentioned “profoundly hearing” to prove that they’re not saying it from a Deaf perspective, but the perspective of a hearing person. A hearing person that agrees and understands enough about the Deaf culture, and hearing culture, to speak an educated point of view. I completely agree with “someone”.
Please do all of us a favor and think maturely and with a little knowlege to the topic you’re speaking about before you make attacks and state an opinion.
To the person that wrote this article, it would be appreciated if you did the same. Calling them “cultists” is beyond disrespectful and ignorant.
-Annie
Annie,
The ASL extremists who insist on limiting parents’ choices when it comes to educating and raising their deaf infants are most definitely behaving just like a cult.
Being deaf is not a culture nor a way of life. It is a physical impairment. If it can be overcome, all the better.
There are ASL cultists who believe that children should stay deaf, period. That is damn wrong.
Parents deserve to know the truth and they should be able to make these choices without undue influence from ASL cultists.
art pedroza
you’re the version of hilter.. you seem not to accept imperfection. that’s wrong.
let us, deaf people, be! it’s simply beautiful to have a variety of people with their own different cultures.
I am disappointed with the proponents of this bill. Why wouldn’t they work with us to develop a bill everyone can be happy with?
Chairman Monning of the Assembly Health Committee asked Assembly Member Mendoza to work with all of the stakeholders and change his bill to set up a task force to come up with a bill which will provide parents with unbiased information from unbiased professionals. Assembly Member Mendoza refused. That’s Chairman Monning announced during the hearing he opposes this bill the way it is written now but would be willing to work with Assembly Member Mendoza to revise this bill.
You have to understand only one option is really behind this bill and they’re trying to set up the system in their favor– by having audiologists give a “free” brochure which is pushed by one option. There are big bucks in the business of exploiting deaf children. It has nothing to do with religion, cult, or whatever the supporters of this bill are claiming. It’s very sad that people are twisting the truth around for their own benefit.
This is going to be the tipping point for a true Deaf Civil Rights Movement. 2010 will be the year where the truth is going to get out there. Either you’re on the right side of history by supporting the Deaf community, or you’re on the wrong side of history by supporting the one option group of special interests.
Nathan Fletcher, the Vice Chairman of the Assembly Health Committee is a Republican. So are Conway, Emmerson, and Gaines who voted Yes. This blog is so twisted about the truth.
Some colonialized deaf people like Holeism, Paotie and especially Roehm have their own agenda and obviously not happy about their lives.
Just ignore them.
Paotie, and you think you’re smart?
How pitiful.
R-
The Truth, “Why wouldn’t they work with us to develop a bill everyone can be happy with?”
There’s nothing to work with. It’s either CHOICE. Or create an assembly line to manufacture Stepford Babies. We sure don’t want to have deaf children resembling the children of the corn, do we?
Candy,
You have no idea about what you are talking about.
Have you been smoking pot with Paotie?
Someone says, “They went through it. Why would we not listen to them.”
Why? Because the landscape has completely changed from what it used to be like because of newborn hearing screening and technological advances. “They” — the deaf children of 30 years ago — went through something very different from what a child born deaf today is likely to go through.
Parents deserve to hear about all options, and that is what this bill is about. “Bilingual/bicultural” is one option but is by no means the only one with which a deaf child can thrive today.
Someone brought Hobson’s Choice to my attention. What the opponents want is Hobson’s choice. That is why what the opponents want, will never work.
For those who still don’t get it. What the opponents of this bill is saying is: Take it or leave it. It will work if you have nothing to lose. But, they have a lot to lose. They’re already losing big time. More and more parents will opt for other options and not ASL because of what they are witnessing here.
To #15 Someone Else,
I think that everyone agrees that Parents deserve to hear all about options but who feeds the information to the parents is the concern to some that knows how the procedure works with with these people that controls the give away Free Brochures and audiologist will be the main people giving information according to their desire to have the parents to hear and learn.
One question we need to ask ourselves is “How are most of the deaf children in high schools doing with their learning skills?”
One group focus on the education needs(bilingual) for deaf children while the other group focus on the health needs(speech therapy and hearing therapy).
The biggest issue we have with Deaf people in the last hundred years is education and it is time to stop focusing on health too much as if deaf people needs to be fixed around the mouth and ears. The brain needs a language as early as possible and auditory method is the slowest and longest to achieve.
Capice?
Someone: The mandatory cochlear implant coverage would eliminate extra barriers to people getting the implants. It will work well with AB 2072.
Ridor : My ex-wife’s bogus accusations failed to help her win the divorce. It was useless as I won the divorce. I got my wings back and I’m flying real good. Not happy with that? Too bad and go back to your gutter.
Yeah, right, Richard. Actually, you live in the gutter, not me. It was you who was pissed off when GLAD did not hire you — you went ahead to establish a fake agency called OCDAC.
One of its funds came from your masturbation parties which you frequently emailed me repeatedly saying that you usually host masturbation parties twice a month.
And your office is in self-storage unit. So much for your so-called credibility.
Your vlogs are useless with ridiculous accusations.
And from what I learned recently, you accused me of having HIV?
Typical. Nothing surprises me with anything that comes out of your mouth, Roehm. YOu’re full of shit. Why do you think I have more than 775 subscribers and what have you? Less than 25.
Self-explanatory!
R-
http://www.deafvideo.tv/72976
The next goal of Deafhood’s CAD and DBC: hijack EDHI?
Ridor, in case you don’t or dont want to know, I bought real estate 2 years ago and this year we moved the office into it. So were done with the hybrid facility in Irvine. And 775 youtube subscribers mean nothing to me since most deafies have 3 to 5 active youtube accounts.
Hmm, I personally think its perfectly ok for the deaf kids/babies to have C.I., Hearing Aids, speech/hearing therapy, and so forth, as long as their visual needs are met. I mean, it’s really no brainer to compliment with a strong reinforcement of ASL.
Sometimes, those three stooges make the antic embarrassing for -ALL- the deaf people. I mean, how could you even miss the idea/concept in regards to ASL being a strong compliment to all the other options?
It’s like towards the hearing babies; “Ok, the babies are not allowed to talk. they have to learn read and write.”
Truly fked up.
The only solution I could think of is to have every single Deaf/HOH/Hearing people all over the country and world who do not support this bill to gather together in California and START A RIOT! Yes, I’m dead serious. A FUCKING RIOT!
What many hearing people don’t realize is Deaf adults were deaf babies once. Dismissing our experience and wealth of expertise in favor of their ideals hurts a lot. I hope in time we can tear down this wall of ignorance.
You know how the trolls are “dumb” creatures, mythologically speaking?
That’s what those trolls are. (i.e. Barry, R.R., etc)
Those who are opposed to AB2072 are not trying to force ASL on anyone but would like to see that the person distributing the options is someone who knows about ASL and it’s impact, not just medical professionals. People whose funding comes from CI companies and Oral school are going to push those options. Why not add a Deaf organization to people supplying information rather than an Audiologist and Early Start Program only?
I am an profoundly deaf individual from mixed educational background in Oral, Total Communication, and ASL programs at mainstreamed and deaf schools. I’ve worn hearing aids before and I disagree with the statement above, “AB-2072 will allow medical professionals to tell parents of newborns that are categorized as deaf that they have options besides sign language, such as cochlear implants.” Once the AB-2072 is passed into law, the medical professionals will not be allowed to tell parents of newborns that are categorized as deaf on which option is best for the newborns. They have to be on the neutral side when they present the platform of ALL options in Oral, Total Communication, and ASL Programs to the parents of the deaf newborns as according to Mendoza’s AB-2072 bill. In order to clarify this, they can not just say “besides sign language, cochlear implant is an option”. You may refer my vlog at the website address above. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. I’d be happy to answer to the questions you may have. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
One more thing – cochlear implant is not the only option that may be the best for the deaf newborns. May I refer your vlog above, which the cochlear implant applies for the hearing child with hearing problems, not for the deaf child. Please be careful on how the deaf newborns are applied and how the medical professionals practice on them. Thank you!
AS for you all above, you are all attacking each other on this bill.
As for the children who are born deaf, they are DEAF period no matter what if CI , hearing aid, or other kind of sorts that would help a deaf child hear.. Their privileges are being taken away from them because the law says they can not have any… This reminds me of the 1800’s where parents force their children into marriages that they don’t want to be in.
For one… the parents should think about how their child would feel when they have that in their head, seeing other deaf people who don’t have any CI in their heads using ASL.. They lose their privilege to be proud of themselves growing in either deaf or hearing families.
Thinking the child would be able to hear with all these things still is labeled DEAF because they have to take them off at night to go sleep in their own beds. What is the point of putting these things on a child when you parents KNOW they are deaf at night… It is nice to be able to hear with these technology like hearing aids, CI whatever they may be but STILLL STILLLLL deaf at night.. you don’t go to bed with all these instruments or they fall off and be hidden wherever they may go when a child moves so much sleeping.
TWO – Where all the FUNDS come from??? Why can’t the TEACHERS have these FUNDINGS.. we are dang short on education and what you all squabbling about this bill.. I can’t believe you are doing this!!!!!
The deafies are more prouder to be who they are regardless if they have any aids to help them hear or not… IF the deaf children wants to have CI, that is fine.. I don’t see any problem with that but having parents making the decision bothers me knowing they think their child would be able to hear but forget what happens at night…
THREE – I don’t think anybody is qualified in making this kind of decision because they think the DEAF would be able to be better persons when they can hear… NO it is not true… It is how you raise your child whether they are hearing or deaf… You pay more attention to deaf child more than a hearing child but think worse off them thinking they cannot do anything like a hearing child..
EXCUSE ME.. WE are ABLE-BODIED people with NO hearing so it doesn’t make us any different than hearing child.. We can do a lot more than you think.. IT is just the support we need from you to accept who we are… We are proud to be deaf people so please allow us to be who we are.. WE have respect for hearing but don’t have any from hearing people because the hearing people have thought we are DUMB for years and years.. WE have to fight and show that we are not dumb.. We are underprivileged people who have no chance of showing how we can do things..
Treat us as equals..We are here to help each other, not go against each other..
California Assembly passed AB2072 with 47 to 7 votes 20 abstained.
It goes to the Senate.
Is this a celebration? No. Basically its crabs getting out of the bucket. Deaf babies will finally be raised by their parents, not special interest organizations.
Now what California needs is Mandatory Cochlear Implant to end the final barrier to lifting deaf children out of the claws of deaf culture
New story here:
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2010/04/ab-2072-passed-by-the-state-assembly-by-a-57-7-vote/
Hello, I am deaf. Called us as deaf community- cult? Oh please. By the way, I do not agree with “deafhood” philosophy. It sounds like “Deaf Only”, or Deaf power.
Every individual include parents have their options. America is a freedom country. And we have free to speach with rights.
But, this law really concerning me. Because, California just become first state of U.S. to passed law. This will prcoess spreading over all states in the next sevral months from now.
Yes, all hospitals do provide all progams with options to parents. But, I am sure that many hearing parents would ask doctors, “What the best option for my child?” I am sure that most of doctors would tell them, child should be implant with cochlear implant. For sure, no doubt. Because I am sure that in doctors’ mind, they rather to have parents choice the option on cochlear implant over another options. Because of their greedy. That’s wrong. All doctors better NOT tell to parents, on the best choice for cochlear implant. What doctors or nurses could do is, “I am not the authority to make the option for you, you have the responsiblity to make choice, I cannot tell you which is the best option.”
I bet that most doctors would tell to parents, “I highly recommend you, best for your child to have cochlear implant.” That fear me the mostly.
This law will cause worse over deaf communities in U.S. I am sure, no doubt.
All voters are hearing people and decided for us? this is bull… hearing people always always do this to us over and over again for years, it gotta to stop, we gotta to fight back alot harder. This could led to just like civil war. hmm well maybe it time to war with WORDS… WE Deaf have suffer enough already… GEEZ at Ag Bell
http://candysweetblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/what-it-is-all-about-the-truth-behind-opposing-ab2072/
Selfish deaf people. They don’t want deaf children to hear and speak, but to stay deaf. They aren’t interested in the welfare of the deaf children.
I am raised an oral deaf child. I thank my parents very much for giving me opportunities to listen and talk. I have a right to hear and speak. The deaf children have rights to hear, too.
what are you talking about? did you read comments above?
of course, we, signers, would accept if anyone of deaf children wants to get a cochlear implant because that’s the decision she/he makes. got it? thank you.
you can’t call us selfish. here’s my favorite quote for you “assumption is the mother of fuckups.”
You may have read my previous comments above and I would like to leave just one more comment here:
In regards to the AB-2072, I am neutral about this bill, but I still think it is a very good legislative bill. I’ve read the beautiful brochure with the sharp images and neat designs with the recommendation for the adjustments to some of the categories.
AB2072 is just reinventing the already existing program, Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening, Tracking, and Intervention Act, that requires every general acute care hospital with licensed perinatal services to offer every newborn a hearing screening test for the identification of hearing loss, as specified, and provide written information on the availability of community resources and services for children with hearing loss to the parents of those who are diagnosed with a hearing loss. Who profits from AB2072? Sponsors of this very bill give too much power using their OWN literature to audiologists who could give parents misleading and false hope with quick fixes as they are tied together through medical intervention of deaf newborns.
I would like to re-emphasize that the cochlear implants are not considered as the part of communication options, which are listed in the AB-2072 bill. According to the AB-2072 bill, the communication options are American Sign Language, Total Communication, and Oral: Cued Speech and Spoken Language. I happen to have some notations as to whether some of Jenny’s comments above regarding the community resources and the tie through medical intervention of deaf newborns are accurate. The community resources consist a wide variety of information, and they could not be used for the services under the AB-2072 bill. If this bill passes by the governor, the separate communication resources might be handled within the state agencies, which will follow the AB-2072 bill; and the resources under the AB-2072 bill will be based on ALL communication options only. We will not discuss about how the audiologists handle the communication resources since it is not their job, and they might not be responsible for the resources on communication options. The audiologists’ job is to test the hearing; provide the results from the audiogram; and discuss the hearing technology device options with their clients.
I also would like to re-emphasize that the cochlear implants and hearing aids are not considered as the communication options because they are the hearing technology device options. They belong to the medical field, where the audiologists work on providing services that help with the hearing screening process. Historically, the both of the first legislative bills were passed to enforce laws for the hearing screening process, which are AB-2087 and AB-2056. The selective hearing technology devices including the cochlear implants and hearing aids are mainly focused in those areas under both legislative bills.
Regarding AB 2072
Dear Members of the California State Senate,
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and consider the historic opportunity for parents to play a role in charting the life journeys of their deaf babies.
This historic opportunity is known as Assembly Bill 2072 by Assemblymember Tony Mendoza that changes the way deaf babies are handled once they’re determined through the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs.
As civilization evolves and advances, the communities within advances as well. Not all communities are willing to advance with civilization. The sign language based deaf community is one of them. They may seem to advance with technology, but they remain in a medieval state of mind that still believe in staying dependent on taxpayers and living in a closed society.
The costs of maintaining a dependency based deaf community is enormous. Theresa Bugler wrote in the lifestyles magazine that it costs $800,000 to teach a deaf child sign language. The costs go beyond the $800,000 when taxpayers has to pay for their interpreters in their schools, pay for their videophones in their homes, and finally pay for their living expenses for the rest of their lives because they usually end up not working. Modern Deaf Communication has determined that deaf people who routinely use videophones have a lower job occurrence in the deaf society.
Given these times when California is strained financially, it pays more to create a new deaf community that does not end up as dependants on society as we’ve seen they have become and does not end up as a drain on the taxpayers.
It pays more to give the parents the options on how their deaf babies are to be raised. Lets return the deaf babies back to the soft warm loving arms of their parents instead shipping them off to the hard cold crab claws of a closed deaf society.
It has been proven many times over through deaf video blogging websites such as deafvideo.tv, justdeaf.com, aslrocks.net, jdeaf.com, deafcube.com, and also seen in facebook.com, tokbox.com, and many other video sharing websites that the closed deaf society do not care about their members. There is never ending infighting over picky issues, misconceptions, and misunderstandings. Speaking of which, a well known deaf entrepreneur recently recruited a deaf college professor to preach hatred under the misunderstood guise of combating hate crimes against deaf people. Many deaf members oftentimes have to go through painstaking gauntlets of litmus testing because most members of the dependent deaf society seek “the purity within” by weeding out those that are determined not deaf enough physically and literally. Should we as a responsible society be sending the deaf babies out this way? NO!
Do parents need to sacrifice their deaf babies to the dependent deaf society as it is? NO! Parents need to have a strong say on how their deaf babies are to be raised and lets give them that opportunity by supporting and passing AB 2072.
Lets return the deaf babies back to the soft warm loving arms of their parents.
Signed
Richard Roehm
Modern Deaf Communication
The late Modern Deaf Communication founder Morton Warnow discovered that the deaf community has a very high illiteracy rate. Perhaps the inability of the large deaf organizations to understand the AB2072 bill, based on their opposition, reflects the deepness of the illiteracy problem in the deaf community. All they have to do is read the bill and they will read that ASL is included. The shameful opposition we’re seeing to AB2072 is becoming a major embarrassment to the whole class of people with hearing loss.
I wrote in my Facebook regarding the vlog at http://www.youtube.com/user/BeachMDavis33#p/a/u/0/Hv8cnaoH4IY as follows:
“Let’s not oppose AB-2072 after all?! Because you saw the evidence in this vlog that the practice, which was conducted by their audiologists, is perhaps “illegal” when it comes to oral only. I am glad that the other related professional delivered the information on ASL to the parents. Please let me remind you that the practice was held right before the AB-2072 bill reaches to the Governor’s desk. Assemblyman Mendoza still did a fine job on this bill. Also, please remember that if not for this bill, the one-sided option (oral) would be the only thing for the parents to choose from. I am neutral and this AB-2072 bill looks great to me. Thank you for reading my comments.”
Let’s not oppose AB-2072 after all?! Because you saw the evidence in this vlog that the practice, which was conducted by their audiologists, is perhaps “illegal” when it comes to oral only. I am glad that the other related professional delivered the information on ASL to the parents. Please let me remind you that the practice was held right before the AB-2072 bill reaches to the Governor’s desk. Assemblyman Mendoza still did a fine job on this bill. Also, please remember that if not for this bill, the one-sided option (oral) would be the only thing for the parents to choose from. I am neutral and this AB-2072 bill looks great to me. Thank you for reading my comments.
this is stupid. they may have options but those were always there. ASL is a great option for deaf babies. they need both ASL and their native language. not just one language itself. it makes a huge difference in the development of the deaf/hard of hearing child. i would know since i was raised orally in my youth when my hearing deteriorated from mild deafness down to profound deafness. regardless, i was taught to speak both russian and english fluently and went to a mainstream school. i’m thankful for being able to learn two oral languages in my life but whenever i feel left out of a hearing group’s conversation, i like to turn to my deaf friends who always use ASL and i cannot speak ASL fluently since my parents never taught me how to speak ASL. my sister who is also profound deaf learned ASL in 8th grade through her middle school and continued to learn it in high school as a foreign language requirement. she knows all three languages: russian, english, and ASL fluently and speaks all of them very well. her only gripe is that my parents never taught us or encouraged us to learn ASL, which should be one of the main languages for deaf children to learn. it is necessary and it is also very accessible during a child’s early years from 0 to 8 since those are when language skills develop the most. a deaf child should be able to learn both ASL and english at the same time. it is more work but it is worth it so that the child could get the best of all worlds. to say that it’s either ASL OR cochlear implants is wrong and messed up. why should it only be one or the other? why not both at the same time? doctors should learn more about this and other disabilities so that they could prepare what to say to the parents better.
NO TO THE BILL — IT ADVOCATES ORALISM ONLY!
oh i’ve read several other comments and noticed that ASL is included in the bill. Disregard the last sentence that I posted. I have been misinformed by other posts and other angry comments in the opposition.
There are people RIGHT NOW at the capitol protesting this bill and while passing the group of idiots they called for a momen of silence for people who were victims of eugenics. WTF
That Bill is not needed>>> Deaf already has a cure, what is cure we discover long time ago?… ASL. Yes, that is right -ASL-
CI Plant cost alot alot of money while ASL cost alot less. Do your math!!!!
THANK YOU, Mr. Roehm, for pointing out the obvious evolutionary stage of deaf education.
As you say, let us give the babies a chance to thrive within their families, whatever the mode of communication that the families may choose. This is about having information. IT is not a direct attack on any mode of communication, rather, a resource for families to decide. Choices are important, people should be allowed to choose whatever mode of communication they feel comfortable with. If a family is reluctant to learn a mode of communication, do you honestly believe that they will attempt to communicate and bond with their child than if they had a CHOICE?
I see this all too often. Families have rights, this is about educating, not segregating!
A child’s birthright is that of communication….without it, they have no education. What a shame it wold be if a family does not choose an option at all until they are kindergarten age…AND THIS DOES HAPPEN FOLKS! What a shame it would be for the child to be academically delayed due to this fact! Again, I see this happen too. You fight about a child’s right to use ASL, but you forget that it is a child’s right to obtain FAPE, if the child has no mode by which to communicate, how will they ever catch up? Is Special Education your only answer to all this?
DO we impose English as the only language to all aliens that arrive to our country-legal or not? NO, we don’t…why? Because this is a country of choices. Likewise, should this country impose mode of communication to all parents of deaf children? I find it a shame that we have lost touch with reality. What happens to freedoms? Freedom of choice? Let us educate our families so that they make the appropriate choices that fit their needs. Let us RESPECT each other for the choices that have been made. Let us respect change of choices if that happens. ALL choices are good, we make the choices that work for the time as we see it fit and have the right to change choices if necessary, should the situation arises. The worst thing to do is to NOT make a choice, and wait too long.
Ah, one more thing….A cochlear implant is not a fix-all, it is a life investment, you are right, it is costly: In order for CI’s to work effectively, families MUST invest their dedication, time and work with a team of professionals as well: Audiologists, Doctors, AVT’s, Educational system. Families have to constantly educate those around their children until the child is old enough to advocate for him/herself. ASL/TC/SEE have their own costs: interpreters, educational systems and parents who are committed to mode of education. WHatever the option, you will have to invest in it, emotionally, financially and physically: There is no FREE ride, either for oneself or for the state, whichever ends up footing that bill.
AB 2072 is not about benefitting Oral Schools, it is about informing families to carefully choose their options. These are, after all, life-time commitments! There is an investment made for ALL involved, if we want the children to thrive. Please stop the bashing and respect the families!
Imperfect girl,
Hitler killed people. No one wants to kill the ASL cultists.
What parents want is to be informed of all their choices. Telling them only about ASL is unfair and fascistic.
Choice is freedom. Being against choice – and trying to tell parents how to raise their children is un-American.
Right ON! Mr. Pedroza!