Well, I have been blasted twice for my "When does a deaf child stop being deaf?" Apparently people have a total misconception of my point, or miss it entirely.
For instance, I posted the above phrase in a place as a title to a post and people came back to let me know that their deaf child is always deaf. Yep, I know it, mine is too. However, in some things in life, I have found that decisions need to be made not because of his deafness, regarding his deafness or anything at all to do with deafness but based on the fact that he is a child. He is also a person and has thoughts and feelings like any other person and I need to respect his thoughts and feelings. He is still an almost 4 year old child so there are times when I feel that his deafness and his catching up in language and whatsoever take a back seat to him being a child and person first and foremost. I never want to forget that his deafness is not all there is about him. He has other qualities, perks, traits, and a personality that make up who he is. His being deaf is only 1 part of his whole makeup, of who he is.
I'm not willing to base everything on him being deaf and his cochlear implant. Nope, not going to happen. I base all decisions in his life regarding all factors in his life, not just that one aspect. I don't want to limit him in anyway, due to his hearing loss and I'm certainly not willing to damage other parts (psyche, personality, self-esteem, etc.) due to his hearing loss either. What's the point? What do we gain? How could he be better off if every single thing or decision is based on that fact alone? It's not who he is.......his deafness is not who he is. Don't get me wrong, I'm not shirking my duty when it comes to him using his implant to the best of his abilites, I'm not being lazy and sitting back. I drive him 76 miles one-way to school Monday through Friday. He gets pulled out for speech one-on-one 3 times a week. I bug his audiologist every 3 mos to check his maps. I sneak in AVT and language opportunities at every chance. But sometimes, he's just a boy who wants to play his Wii, and I let him.
So in my house, with my child, there are times when I base my decisions without any regard to him being deaf. They are based on his personality, age, and circumstance. Those times and those instances are when my son is not deaf, he's just a boy whom I love alot. Can you hear me?
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