What is it like to be a parent of a child who is deaf? “In the beginning, parenting a child who is born deaf is extremely difficult but as weeks, months, and years goes on everything begins to feel as normal as having a hearing child.” Stated Marie, my neighbor of fifteen years. Marie was completely blindsided when she went in for her 6 months checkup and the doctor revealed to her that her baby boy was going to be born without his sense of hearing. She had no idea what she was going to do, how she was going to live, parent, and communicate with her child. The perfect world she had dreamed of for her son seemed to have been snatched before her eyes. Just like many of the mothers mentioned in the story, Far from the Tree, she began researching
…show more content…
She started teaching her baby how to sign at four months. Marie mentioned how picking up a foreign language was the hardest thing she had to in her life. What motivated her to follow through with becoming fluent in signing is her strong love for her child. As the years went on and the toddler years began, her son continued to struggle with his speech even after sitting with an audiologist day in and day out. He managed to pick up on a few words but really struggled. This led him to not have many friends, that were outside his deaf community, growing up. He always wanted to fit in with everyone but his disability always got in the way. Marie spoke about the challenges she endured while searching for a school that was a perfect for him to exceed in. After a few months of looking she finally found a program. It was this special program that allowed her son to witness a breakthrough in his communication barrier. To her surprise, he was able to communicate more words than before and mastered the art of lip-reading. This new fond skill allowed for him to have more friends outside of his deaf community. It gave him a higher self-esteem because he finally felt like he was normal. He was able to learn objectives, though at a slower pace, and master them such as reading and writing. He is currently at a community college where he has plans of becoming a counselor for people who struggle with
She started teaching her baby how to sign at four months. Marie mentioned how picking up a foreign language was the hardest thing she had to in her life. What motivated her to follow through with becoming fluent in signing is her strong love for her child. As the years went on and the toddler years began, her son continued to struggle with his speech even after sitting with an audiologist day in and day out. He managed to pick up on a few words but really struggled. This led him to not have many friends, that were outside his deaf community, growing up. He always wanted to fit in with everyone but his disability always got in the way. Marie spoke about the challenges she endured while searching for a school that was a perfect for him to exceed in. After a few months of looking she finally found a program. It was this special program that allowed her son to witness a breakthrough in his communication barrier. To her surprise, he was able to communicate more words than before and mastered the art of lip-reading. This new fond skill allowed for him to have more friends outside of his deaf community. It gave him a higher self-esteem because he finally felt like he was normal. He was able to learn objectives, though at a slower pace, and master them such as reading and writing. He is currently at a community college where he has plans of becoming a counselor for people who struggle with