Notes from a Helicopter Dad
My son is three. Keep this in mind. So I walk into his pre-school classroom last week, right? This room has two teachers: Mr. Rogers* and his assistant—let’s call her Vladmilla. Mr. Rogers is a young guy. Professional, mindful of the children as human beings with feelings… yes, even at the tender age of [...]
Don’t Blame Yourself: How We Flew Under the Radar for 15 Months
If you’re the parent of a deaf child, especially one that manages to avoid early detection from newborn hearing screenings, you might find yourself with a lot of guilt. Though my son did fail his newborn hearing screening, he later somehow passed an otoacoustic emission test (OAE) and was declared hearing until 15 months [...]
My Two Cents: Cochlear Implants
I used to feel sorry for children who had cochlear implants. I did. When I saw them it broke my heart because I really believed that their parents just didn’t understand deafness. I judged those parents. I assumed that the parents were looking for a quick fix to something that in my opinion didn’t [...]
ABC Family’s Switched at Birth Returns Jan. 3!
ABC Family’s Switched at Birth, starring Katie Leclerc and Sean Berdy, returns for its Winter Premiere on Tuesday, January 3rd at 8/7c! Various video clips of the show are now available! Please visit the show’s official site! Switched at Birth, a one-hour scripted drama, tells the story of two teenage girls who discover [...]
AG Bell is in the past
Many in the signing community feel strongly that the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) philosophy of focusing on auditory and oral approaches when teaching deaf and hard of children is wrong. The auditory and oral approaches use the weakest point of a deaf or hard of hearing [...]
Frontrunners in Ghana
Not too long ago I was backpacking in Central America, exploring the nomad’s life through three different countries. Having said this, I recall meeting a deaf dude at a cafe in Costa Rica. He expounded to me about a leadership program in Denmark infused with leaders. He said the leadership program consisted of an [...]
ASL Literature, Reborn on the iPad
In addition to being a first-grade teacher, I’m also the geekminister for 15 brand-new iPad 2s at P.S. 347 The ASL and English Lower School in Manhattan. This is the first in what I hope will be a regular series on how my students and I are using the iPad to learn, read, create, and [...]
i was a deaf child
i was a deaf child. It was me Stumbling, Somewhat confounded By the towering blocks of An invisible maze that i Physically slammed into With your every determination It was my young, blank-slate life That you painted bitter, Folded into neat perfection And tucked away on a dusty shelf In a cabinet that you [...]
Could you close those hatches?
(Photo by Mr. T in DC) I’m working at an essay on an early Greyhound about to depart Washington for New York City. All of a sudden, the driver stands up. “Close those hatches, folks. That stuff is going to jump out on you,” he says. Despite the groggy hour, passengers pop up to stuff [...]
An Open Letter to Deafblind People Out There
Life is created by you only. People, objects, events, and education come into your life and they leave with some kind of mark, but only you as a human being remain. So it’s important to live your life the way you want to. If you find purpose in your life, then you have found [...]