Introduction
Individuals with hearing disabilities face challenges with which able people do not have to deal on a daily basis. One may readily imagine how deafness can put a strain on a person’s communication skills and ability to solve issues. Even though deaf people may attest to having similar struggles, their experiences may vary greatly depending on what kind of family they grew up in. This paper will provide a comparison between the experiences of growing up in an all-deaf family and being raised by non-deaf parents.
The Case of De’Angelo Brown
De’Angelo Brown is a young African-American with a hearing disability who was adopted by a non-deaf family in his early childhood. According to him, his adoptive family was loving and supportive; however, what was lacking was awareness of his special needs. For instance, growing up, De’Angelo was quite fond of watching TV but could not enjoy that activity since his family did not understand that he needed captions to follow the plot.
Thus, when the entire family was watching a movie, he felt excluded as he could not feel the same emotions or laugh at the same jokes. Because of that lack of understanding, he felt betrayed: as opposed to the real world where one does not expect compassion from strangers, his family was supposed to be his safe haven. What was even more baffling is that his peers, coaches, and personnel at the dorm where he was staying during athletic contests were more eager to help him. De’Angelo concludes that his family was not bonding with him enough, and he was hurt by such negligence.
The Case of an All-Deaf Family
The second video showcases two deaf parents of four children, two of whom are deaf and two are hearing. From the first minutes, one may observe a striking contrast between the experiences of children in this family and what De’Angelo had to deal with. The parents, Leslie and Bridgetta, do not think that a hearing disability is a tragedy. On the contrary, they see deafness as a gift that can be a huge part of a person’s identity and account for genuinely unique experiences.
They pass this worldview to their two deaf children and accommodate them in every way possible as opposed to De’Angelo’s parents, who made him feel strange and isolated. Leslie tells about his childhood and teenage years: he grew up with hearing parents who were not always sure how to help him handle daily challenges. Thus, his struggles growing up made him knowledgeable of the best conditions for other deaf people, in his case, his children. De’Angelo’s parents grew up hearing, and that explains why they could not take measures to make the boy’s life easier based on their own experiences.
Conclusion
The world is not accommodating people with hearing disabilities: apart from professionals, barely anyone knows and understands sign language. On top of that, many are merely unaware of the fact that they might be hurting and making a deaf person feel disrespected. The lack of awareness is especially tragic when it comes from a deaf person’s hearing family. For example, in the case of De’Angelo, he was deprived of many bonding experiences. An all-deaf family, on the other hand, is more likely to be compassionate and make an effort to accommodate their children based on the struggles they had growing up.