Anne Thompson, the audistic hearing "Supervising Teacher" of the West Virginia School for the Deaf (WVSD) in Romney, WV from the 1973 to 1981, turned the school into the phonic ear experiment with direct connection to the Alexander Graham Bell Association of the Deaf (AGBell).
Before Thompsons came to the WVSD, the school progressively engaged in
One of the deaf grandparents recently were very upset with their hearing son's decision for getting their only four-old months deaf grandson the cochlear implant (CI). The hearing son defied and dismissed their own parents' logical arguments about the false miracles and dangers of CI surgery and device. Of course, the deaf grandparents were very emotionally devastated of seeing their own son chose to shortchange the deaf grandson's own language development and emotional intelligence and cultural and linguistic heritage into the productive, well-educated and emotionally balanced citizen.
The deaf grandparents bought the costly airfare to fly down from the coast to coast to talk with the hearing son in person into reconsidering the option for CI surgery on the four-months old deaf grandson. Both deaf grandparents had the unsuccessful relay conversation thru the third-party (VRS). So the concerned grandparents willingly coughed up their air fares to do something about their deaf grandson.
The deaf grandparents deeply care about the well-beings and welfare of their deaf grandson from the lifetime mistake which will be not possibly reversed without additional surgery to remove the CI device. Many health insurance companies refuse to pay the cost of removing the CI device whether the device and surgery cause the life-threatening health problems.
The name of deaf grandparents and deaf grandson and exact location area to be temporarily withdraw for the full privacy of involved family members and let those involved parties to resolve their own family matters without any interference(s) from any audistic proponents, organizations and corporations.
Sadly, the deaf grandparents' legitimate concerns tossed out the window without appreciating the wisdom and love from our multi-generational family, especially the elders. Such types of Children of Deaf Children known as CODAs like the hearing son whose only fingerspell and reject the proud cultural and linguistic hertiage of their own parents and siblings and relatives. Another son fluently sign and proudly embrace deaf people as true human beings very well.
What's matter with the increasingly superior "digital hearing aids" much effective and reliable and removable than the forced cochlear implant surgery without the consent of deaf babies and youngsters?
Keep tune in the future blog posting for latest development on the deaf grandparents' strives to resolve the family matter without resorting to the legal injunction against the hearing son's family.
ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM), RLMDEAF blog
