RE: Raychelle, Proactive or Reactive – ASL/CI
by webmaster on Mar.22, 2008, under ASL
In response of Raychelle’s commenters on ASL/CI, I have recognized that her argument is clear and well informed. It does not mean that I agree with her 100%. The most important of all is that Raychelle has mentioned that she supports and values ASL. I think ASL is her native language! I am sorry I misspelled her name in my vlog, Raycliffe, it should be Raychelle. My biggest question is for you all is that do we know that we can stop or cannot stop Deaf children from being cochlearized. If we know we cannot stop that, then why do we waste our time complaining about that!  Our precious ASL has been mostly left out because of that.
A huge number of us has agreed that ASL is the first language for Deaf children. Let us grab that opportunity! We can go out and set up ASL Families Program for many new parents and their Deaf children to learn and use ASL. That would be a great employment opportunity! We can promote our ASL to anyone including audiologists, speech pathologists, Hearing Aids companies and even Cochlear companies to support ASL for all Deaf children rather than attacking them. They may have considered to support ASL. WHO KNOWS World is full of surprises. We should take advantage of them.
Should we continue to attack and criticize on cochlear OR should we promote and market ASL? Which one is more important to you? You need to ponder about that. In my opinion, we should focus on ASL markets and promotions in proactive approach.
Deafchip
22 Comments for this entry
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Canada
March 22nd, 2008 on 10:05 pm
Hi David,
I love your new vlog design! It is so awesome showing the beam of sunshine shining through that leaves me to interpret the meaning behind it. Hey, isn’t there a chipmunk hiding? Ha-ha!
Yes, we are not getting anywhere if we are to continue to battle and criticize about CIs as we will win a lot more if we are to use our time and energy to focus on marketing ASL.
However, I cannot ignore the truth about the risks of CIs although it is minimal and how some Deaf children with CI feel negatively about it. I have witnessed how a Deaf elementary aged student having this misconception that she would know all of the words in the dictionary after getting a CI. Like Raychelle said, ignorance is our enemy but I question those who are responsible for carrying out information that may not be accurate. We cannot simply brush away the problems (i.e. risks, psychological impact, etc.) under the rug and say that everything is ok. I still feel it is important for the parents who consider CI for their Deaf children to have the opportunity to know the both sides of the coin. It is disturbing that I have seen that they are not getting full facts about the potential risks so this has led me to do some researching to dig out the statistical facts from reliable medical research documents and not only that I have learned so much from it but became alarmed. It made me wonder if many know about these facts so I feel it is important to include this balanced view as well. It is all about presenting hard cold facts not that we need to look at it logistically regarding the social, emotional and mental impact on Deaf children with CIs. We still have a lot of work to do by proving that ASL in their early lives actually does make a positive impact. In closing, I am all for balanced views and bilingual approach.
March 22nd, 2008 on 10:06 pm
It is all about presenting hard cold facts not that we need to look at it logistically regarding the social, emotional and mental impact on Deaf children with CIs.
Correction: It is all about presenting hard cold facts that we need to look at it logistically regarding the social, emotional and mental impact on Deaf children with CIs.
March 23rd, 2008 on 5:58 am
You are right and I find that Raychelle is being very condescending when she tried to imply that we deaf people are ignorant and need to be educated by her. we are already educated everyday about CIs. hearing people are around us everyday trying to stuff all positives about having CIs down our throats.
i do not know why raychelle thinks we do not embrace deaf people with cis. embracing them doesnt mean we have to agree.
I am a bit surprised that racyehelle’s view is very pathological. it is not what i expect of someone educated like her. she went discussing how CI is similar to laser surgery and root canal. They are poor analogies. deaf people do not view being deaf as something that needs to be fixed medically. we are fine the way we are. i wish raychelle would view being deaf people as a cultural group of people. it would be odd watching a black person making a vlog telling black people that bleaching their skin is the most wonderful thing in the world or telling an asian person that he will function better in the world if he gets contact lenses that will make his eyes blue and bleach his hair blonde so he can get jobs easily BECAUSE the society prefers white people!
her last vlog said that we responded prematurely to some of her vlogs. her vlogs should be able to stand ALONE or she should put up her vlogs together. good vlogs are always able to stand alone.
March 23rd, 2008 on 7:46 am
All I can say that Deaf adults who have CI are the most selfish, self centered and egostic people on this planet. They do not care about deaf children rights. Also for Deaf adults who proclaimed in front of the whole wide world that they support deaf children using ASL for communication and learning and yet telling us to leave parents alone with their decision if they want their deaf children to have CI. Those kind of Deaf adults live in double life and are a pure evil liar! They are using masks and fool us because they really do not care for Deaf children’s rights. Zero! None! It is appalling that deaf community elected leaders with CI. How can they carry their conscience? I have no slightest clue!
March 23rd, 2008 on 8:09 am
Good Morning and Happy Easter!
From my view on your vlog, my priority is ASL. Indeed, it beatifies our lives to blossom. I know the great controversy erupts everywhere about the feud between ASL, CI, and AVT. ASL is too precious for our lives to preserve the language and I don’t want to see the extinction of this language.
I agreed with Barb DiGi’s pointing of facts that we need to prove the hard facts to the general community including hearing families, public and private schools, colleges/universities, medical, law firms, etc. Same example of Sicard, Clerc, and Massieau, those people conferred the public to educate with FSL and support of school for the deaf. In the same manner, we can have “ASL CONVENTION” to everyone through media outlets to allow them to join our community to aware of our language, culture, performance and visual arts. That way the hearing people have more aware of our community.
You may aware or not, the news just published in national newspapers or local newspaper including internets with great controversial issues in Philadelphia, PA at Geno’s (Philly cheesesteak fast food) where the latino and asian community located in their neighborhood. At this restaurant, they are demanding for customers to speak ENGLISH only in America. To my ponder with devil’s advocate, if I use ASL to speak with the employees at Geno’s by ordering foods, will they have rights to refuse to serve me with ASL and using voice or discrimate me as different person?
I am glad you brought it up your perspective on Raychelle’s informative and controvesial issues.
Enjoy your day!
Nick Vera
March 23rd, 2008 on 8:47 am
I watch your vlog which is very neat!!! Just like abortion and ci will not stop arguing because they are involved with morale ground! Your arguement is very point. I agree with BarbDi’s statement about cold hard facts. This is not easy for general parents because they still resist the idea of having ASL program for Deaf child’s sake. That is not going to happen overnight!!! A big challenge!
March 23rd, 2008 on 9:07 am
I agree with you David. I know deaf/Deaf are battle against CI for many years. I grew up in oral/ASL school. I am supported ASL because ASL are history for many years. My ASL/Oral school are closed down in 2002 because the president, principle, teachers, and deaf students with oral or ASL whatever are NOT accepted CI to welcome to our school because CI is disgusted, bad tools, etc. you know what I am talking about. We are AGAINST CI PERIOD. We are working so hard to fight to destroy CI Company in the future. Do we think we will WIN?? Very hard good questions????…we will see what happen next 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 years.
March 23rd, 2008 on 10:02 am
excellent point about the need to redirect our energy to ASL program expansion
way to go !
March 23rd, 2008 on 10:25 am
Hi Barb,
Yes of course, we must have provided parents hard facts about cochlear implant incidents. Every parent has every right to get all facts before they make decision. No parent on earth deserves any disinformation or misinformation. Professionals who do disinformation and/or misinformation should face consequence/punishment. Other than that we all have shared the same common goal is to encourage parents to accept ASL for their Deaf children as a first language and then parents can decide. That is why we need to expand ASL Family programs that can be set up near Sick Children Hospitals, health centres, children centre etc etc so that parents can see ASL Family Centre with professional ASL consultants.
Yes Deafchip is in one of the trees and will go out sometime when time is right such as collect nuts (information). Thanks for your nice comment about my new design.
Deafchip
March 23rd, 2008 on 10:41 am
Hi JD and Penny,
In my view, Raychelle has been trying to provide awareness about CI issues for us all. She wants us to understand how the system work. I commend her for doing that. I know some people feel very offended about that and others feel acceptable. Most important of all is that she is in favour of ASL. We can work with her. We need to remember that NOT one person on earth have shared all of same opinions. I do not want us to be divide becuase of different views on CI. We need to be united because of our mostly same view on ASL. We should focus on positive approach of ASL. It would make us much stronger and assertive group. We can always agree to disagree but still work together for the sake of ASL and Deaf community.
March 23rd, 2008 on 11:03 am
Hi Nick,
Your arguement is very good. I like the idea ASL Convention or should we call that DBC Convention to welcome everyone.
Yes Raychelle’s comments help us to look into ourselves and we need to do something differently by focusing our energy on ASL program including BiBi approach.
March 23rd, 2008 on 11:07 am
Hi DeafLinda,
I understand your position very well. You have shown your strong belief in ASL program and your strong oppostion to CI program. We already have lost so many Deaf children to anti ASL programs such as strict AVT programs. We need to recruit them to our ASL and BIBI program while they can keep AVT program. My personal goal is to get all Deaf children to learn and use ASL whether they are CI or not.
Deafchip
March 23rd, 2008 on 11:09 am
Hi Platonic’s Eye,
Yes you are right, CI issues will be always “ongoing” issues for us all. You have made a good example about aborton. So best way for us to do is to focus on ASL and expand it with some good valid information about CIs.
Deafchip
March 23rd, 2008 on 11:10 am
Hi Coyroy,
Right on! Thanks
Deafchip
March 23rd, 2008 on 11:16 am
please see susan’s vlog (auslan resources). she presented good and educated arguments! please know I am not against Raychelle as a person, but I am against WHAT she is doing to our deaf community. her actions are very dangerous and cause division within the deaf community more than she realizes. she talks about ignorance without realizing that it is her ignorance that is causing problems.
March 23rd, 2008 on 11:25 am
The most interesting part is not Raychelle’s Vlog but the responses to it.
March 23rd, 2008 on 11:28 am
Yes, I think our energy invested in ASL will thrive in an amazing way. If we focus on developing ASL outreach services, promoting positive media about ASL, and creating national programs where the parents can get information about how their children with CI benefit more from ASL, debunking the myths about ASL by showing research evidence and antedotes about how ASL greatly benefit all babies for strong langauge development. Incorporate the power of media access and network access within the medical and education systems on national and internation systematic level. I am so impressed with how the protest in the bay area had over 100 peaceful protestors and only 40 AGB participants. Both sides interacted and ingnited signs of hope! Happy Easter to y’all
March 23rd, 2008 on 11:39 am
Hi JD,
Yes I watched Susan’s vlog. Her discussion is very good and I just gave her my comment recently. I like her open disucssion while we all respect Raychelle as a person and Raychelle has her view that we need to look at and learn and make some rational arguements or responses to Raychelle’s views. I understand clearly you are not against Raychelle as a person. I am glad you brought it up.
Deafchip
March 23rd, 2008 on 11:41 am
Hi Julie Rems-Smario,
Yes you share my view about investing our ASL energy that will make our ASL community a great society. I am very excited to learn that DBC in the bay area in California very successful and I look forward to more of that like taht. I am very impressed with planners and participants. Hands waving to them!
Deafchip
March 24th, 2008 on 12:21 am
I don’t agree with many parts of Raychelle’s entries. Here’s what I posted at Susan’s Auslan Resources and on Raychelle’s Epilogue entry just now.
Susan,
Wonderful entry! Thank you! Raychelle’s vlogs made me completely sick to my stomach for several reasons, even though I agree that we need to push for natural signed languages for every Deaf child and that we shouldn’t reject people with implants:
1. Very unbalanced – no information about the risks, etc.
2. Scolding us for questioning the need for implants
3. Assuming that we reject people with implants when we question implants in general
There’s more, but I’ll stop here.
I believe her entries were irresponsible, period. The fact that she seems to keep clarifying and reclarifying is very telling, as is her repeated insistence her and elsewhere to view all of her entries. That should be a red flag to her and everyone else that her entries weren’t well-thought-out. A need to continually clarify indicates a failure to communicate clearly and effectively.
Again, thank you for your entry.
March 30th, 2008 on 4:06 am
Hi Deafchip,
I like the idea of Deaf people setting up business teaching hearing families ASL.
The problem is that the families (most of them) won’t be able to afford it.
We need to think of a way how to get around this.
August 17th, 2008 on 9:14 am
Hello. You made some excellent point! Thank you for sharing your perspective.
My daughter is deaf and has a CI. She signs well and speaks well. We value both her languages equally, and we want to give her the opportunity to be able to use her languages in all modes including spoken English. ASL is fabulous for her in the Deaf Community (deaf school, deaf events, etc.), and spoken English helps her so much in the hearing world (relatives, neighbors, etc.). Giving her both has always made the most sense to us.
I agree that I’d love to see the Deaf Community focus on preserving ASL by sharing the importance of ASL with hearing parents and offering ASL classes and camps for families with deaf kids. We actually go to Cued Speech camps for the social time because there are not enough deaf ASL family camps. Please set up ASL Family Camps. : ) We recently took our daughter to the local fair. I realized that I can’t describe the exciting rides in ASL using classifiers like a Deaf person, so I can’t expose my daughter to all beautiful and descriptive aspects of ASL. I wish we could find deaf people to help us with that more. Reach out to hearing families, so their deaf kids can learn ASL fluently.
Please don’t fight against hearing families like ours who embrace ASL for our deaf kids. Yes, we value CIs and spoken English, too, but we don’t want to have to pick one over the other. Don’t push us and our daughter out of the Deaf Community. Please welcome families like ours and ASL/oral CI kids like our daughter. We can work together.