Yes, Virginia, Deaf People Congregate!
This may seem like a small thing, but recently someone shared with me what happened during the NAD conference now taking place in Philadelphia, and it bothers me. Two Deaf people who have a Deaf child have made the choice to put the child in a very small educational program where s/he doesn't see many other Deaf people... even though they live pretty close to one of the top schools for the Deaf in the nation. It's their right to make that choice and I'm not criticizing that choice here.
And my point is...? Glad you asked. Apparently during the NAD conference, the child said something to the effect of "Gosh, so many Deaf people!!!" That just strikes me as indescribably sad. Clearly the parents are not taking their child to large Deaf events, such as DeafNation Expo, sporting events, or "X"SD events. Most Deaf children of Deaf parents wouldn't be surprised by how many Deaf people are at a NAD conference at this child's age. Again, it's the parents' choice. True. But that doesn't stop me from being sad for the child.
And my point is...? Glad you asked. Apparently during the NAD conference, the child said something to the effect of "Gosh, so many Deaf people!!!" That just strikes me as indescribably sad. Clearly the parents are not taking their child to large Deaf events, such as DeafNation Expo, sporting events, or "X"SD events. Most Deaf children of Deaf parents wouldn't be surprised by how many Deaf people are at a NAD conference at this child's age. Again, it's the parents' choice. True. But that doesn't stop me from being sad for the child.
posted by moi @ 7/09/2010 08:47:00 PM
2 Comments:
At 10:56,
Jt said…
First, please get your facts right. This child now attends a Deaf school. I know, because I work there. I have personally seen this child at various Deaf events throughout the state. My own child was astounded at the number of people signing. There's a thousand people here at this conference. It is extremely difficult to bring a child to large events like these. So, there's no way of you knowing which events the child has/has not attended, and even then, would you really understand the full rationale behind each decision (on whether to attend)? Please be careful before criticizing. It's very hard on parents when their innocent child is being criticized in public, even if you withhold identifying details.. the community is small for me to instantly know who you are referring to.
At 11:55,
moi said…
Hello,
Thank you for being honest and sharing your concerns. I would never want to point fingers in a blatant way in public. Please know that.
You raise some valid points, I concede. But I'm not convinced that it's obvious who this post refers to. If there are one thousand people at NAD, then it stands to reason that more than one set of parents smiled at their child's amazement and shared that anecdote with friends. You say your own child was surprised as well, and we don't know each other. So I didn't hear this about your child, which illustrates that this is not the only case that happened this week in Philadelphia. I would never have posted this if it were obvious whom this refers to. I, like you, do not want to point fingers and openly criticize.
Again, thank you for being honest and raising valid points about decisions parents make. I appreciate it!
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