Our family has been watching the movie "Sound and Fury" this week. I also watched the follow up, but we couldn't get a hold of it to show the rest of the family.
I liked the movie, but I thought it showed the two most extreme viewpoints. I felt like no one was in the middle ground. I hated that they kept throwing around the word "abuse" and "not accepting". And the hearing grandmother just drove me crazy. She was pushing so hard, and just attacking all the time. I felt like she really believed that a child can not succeed with out a CI. I don't believe that. I believe that a CI gives a child more opportunities, but it is not necessary.
My mother was on the other side. She thought the grandmother had really good points. She thought that the parents were not thinking about their children's future. She thought that they were not implanting out of fear, and that they moved to Maryland to get away from the whole issue. I thought that the school was wonderful, it reminded me of Miss Kat's school. My mother and I have always argued about the idea of "birth defect" versus "culture". I explained that I hate the idea of people believing that a CI is a cure, and so many people in the movie viewed it that way, especially the hearing parents.
I also didn't like that the parents said that their child is now hearing, that simply wasn't true. I argued with my mother about that. She said that not everyone views it the same way as we do. She said that they found out their child had a handicap and corrected it. She compared it to a club foot. She said they found it, had surgery to correct it, and then gave their child therapy to help them learn to walk appropriately. But, I pointed out that the child doesn't continue to have to wear the device, and that when they take it off they don't still have the "issue". I compared it to an amputee. You can give your child prosthetics, but then you don't tell them "You are able-bodied now, just like everyone else." It just isn't true.
I also had a epiphany about the whole "ASL is a crutch for deaf children". I think that if my child had a limp, I would give them a crutch! I wouldn't force them to hobble around in pain. Maybe that makes me a bad mother...oh well!
3 comments:
I feel the same way. It is so frustrating that the middle ground get's so little representation. People have told me "So now that he's getting a CI, he'll have to sit on his hands..." NO! He's still deaf and Signing is the most effective way for us to communicate with him. The vocal people on either side make it so hard to get a CI and Sign. One group says the CI is an abomination, the other says Signing is a crutch. I'm glad to know your journey. Good luck tomorrow.pa
I agree, the video shows the extremes. But I enjoyed watching the video. The first one that is. I got a copy of the second one, and that's a disapointment. Just a recollection of the first one, with some follow-up, but nothing about the little boy that was implanted. That family decided it would not participate...
I have some contact with the mother of the boy. He is doing great.
What struck me most is the difference between the two families that were visited. The difference between a child implanted early (hearing family) and a child implanted late (deaf family) was huge.
And I recall the reaction of the grandmother of the little boy, when the surgeon said the operation went well... (Hav a look at that yourself..)
Here's a follow up interview with the families from Sound and Fury:
http://deafmomworld.com/sound-and-fury/
I think the most important lesson from the film is simply for families to make decisions that are right for them.
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