Gideon's Crossing

January 29, 2001

Did anyone else watch tonight's episode concerning a 14 year old girl who

wanted to receive a cochlear implant? I thought that they did well except for

one early argument when the girl's mom asks Dr. Gideon if he thinks his life

would be easier if he was white. I don't consider my daughter's hearing loss

in the same category as her race. Maybe that's because she wasn't born with

it. I guess if one is born deaf or hard of hearing it could be considered

like being born African American, or Anglo, or Hispanic, etc. I'm just

excited about seeing the whole argument on a popular sitcom. I think it will

raise awareness. By the way Martha had a guest on her show, I think

on Friday, who wears a cochlear implant. I don't know how old he was, maybe

11 years old, but he had very good language skills. He was only on for a

short while but she asked lots of questions and it was really kind of cool to

see that on her show. It seems like the deaf/hard of hearing community is

getting lots of publicity this weekend.

Suzette

January 29, 2001

I did watch it, and that part bothered me. My son WAS born HOH, and I

still don't consider that in the same category as his race. Perhaps

that's because my husband and I are NOT HOH; if we were, then perhaps

I would feel differently. But I consider hearing to be a body part,

like an arm, and TO ME that means that his not being born with it

means he is missing something he should have. IMHO.

Stefanie

>Did anyone else watch tonight's episode concerning a 14 year old girl who

>wanted to receive a cochlear implant? I thought that they did well except for

>one early argument when the girl's mom asks Dr. Gideon if he thinks his life

>would be easier if he was white. I don't consider my daughter's hearing loss

>in the same category as her race. Maybe that's because she wasn't born with

>it. I guess if one is born deaf or hard of hearing it could be considered

>like being born African American, or Anglo, or Hispanic, etc. I'm just

>excited about seeing the whole argument on a popular sitcom. I think it will

>raise awareness. By the way Martha had a guest on her show, I think

>on Friday, who wears a cochlear implant. I don't know how old he was, maybe

>11 years old, but he had very good language skills. He was only on for a

>short while but she asked lots of questions and it was really kind of cool to

>see that on her show. It seems like the deaf/hard of hearing community is

>getting lots of publicity this weekend.

>

>Suzette

January 30, 2001

<< I don't consider my daughter's hearing loss

in the same category as her race. >>

Some Deaf families do. Not " the same, " but similar. I have Deaf friends, one

of whom recently said something interesting to me... " Deaf used to be a

heritage, but the cochlear implant has made it a religion. " The point she was

trying to make was that there's this choice involved now.

So I was thinking, if I had a 14-year old child who wanted to choose his/her

own religion, something other than my own, what would I do? How would I feel?

I'm sure for every parent who would be open to that idea, there'd be another

who would have none of it.

FWIW.

--kerri

January 30, 2001

In a message dated 1/30/01 8:37:55 AM Eastern Standard Time,

dfisher57@... writes:

> On a

> cartoon (I think its called little mermaid) with Arial (I don't know how to

> spell her name) the mermaid met up with another mermaid who was deaf.

That is soooo great! Is that on the Disney channel?

January 30, 2001

My daughter(who is hearing) loves that Little

Mermaid episode!! My son(severe-profound loss) enjoyed

the brief glimpses of the interpreter signing the

National Anthem at the Super Bowl.

& nbsp; Fish

& lt;dfisher57@... & gt; wrote:

<BLOCKQUOTE style= " PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT:

5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px

solid " ><TT>Suzette, The deaf community sure is

getting a lot of attention this week. & nbsp; On

a cartoon (I think its called little mermaid) with

Arial (I don't know how to spell her name) the

mermaid met up with another mermaid who was

deaf. & nbsp; The other mermaid was signing. & nbsp; I

thought it was great. & nbsp; I would still like

to see more cartoons and movies signing. & nbsp; That

would be great!! Donna ----- Original

Message ----- From: " Stefanie Cloutier "

& lt;scaruso3@... & gt; To:

& lt;Listen-Up & gt; Sent: Monday,

January 29, 2001 9:29 PM Subject: Re:

Gideon's Crossing & gt; I did watch it, and

that part bothered me. My son WAS born HOH, and

I & gt; still don't consider that in the same

category as his race. Perhaps & gt; that's because

my husband and I are NOT HOH; if we were, then

perhaps & gt; I would feel differently. But I

consider hearing to be a body part, & gt; like an

arm, and TO ME that means that his not being born with

it & gt; means he is missing something he should

have. IMHO. & gt; & gt; Stefanie & gt; & gt;

& gt;Did anyone else watch tonight's episode concerning

a 14 year old girl who & gt; & gt;wanted to receive a

cochlear implant? I thought that they did well

except for & gt; & gt;one early argument when the

girl's mom asks Dr. Gideon if he thinks

his life & gt; & gt;would be easier if he was

white. I don't consider my daughter's

hearing loss & gt; & gt;in the same category as

her race. Maybe that's because she wasn't

born with & gt; & gt;it. I guess if one is born

deaf or hard of hearing it could be considered & gt;

& gt;like being born African American, or Anglo, or

Hispanic, etc. I'm just & gt; & gt;excited about

seeing the whole argument on a popular sitcom. I think

it will & gt; & gt;raise awareness. By the way

Martha had a guest on her show,

I think & gt; & gt;on Friday, who wears a cochlear

implant. I don't know how old he was, maybe & gt;

& gt;11 years old, but he had very good language

skills. He was only on for a & gt; & gt;short while

but she asked lots of questions and it was really kind

of cool to & gt; & gt;see that on her show. It

seems like the deaf/hard of hearing community

is & gt; & gt;getting lots of publicity this

weekend. & gt; & gt; & gt;

& gt;Suzette & gt; & gt; & gt; & gt; All

messages posted to this list are private and

confidential. & nbsp; Each post is the intellectual

property of the author and therefore subject

to copyright

restrictions. & gt; </TT> <!-- |**|begin

egp html banner|**| -->

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January 30, 2001

In a message dated 1/30/01 12:52:14 PM Eastern Standard Time,

@... writes:

> Hi,

> I forgot all about that cartoon until you mentioned it. We have it on a

> Disney VCR tape. It is part of their Princess Collection series, and its

> called " Wish Upon a Starfish, Ariel's Songs & Stories " . Our copy is at

> least 3 years old, but you can probably get it at a Disney Store.

>

Thank you, I'll have to look for it.

Suzette

January 30, 2001

Our daughter is deaf, black, and adopted. I guess I have always thought she

will have 3 times the struggle in life. Not that she makes those struggles,

but our society does. Please don't start a debate over this, it's simply my

thoughts. (Incidentally, we have 7 adopted children, Hispanic, Asian, and

African American.)

Re: Gideon's Crossing

> I did watch it, and that part bothered me. My son WAS born HOH, and I

> still don't consider that in the same category as his race. Perhaps

> that's because my husband and I are NOT HOH; if we were, then perhaps

> I would feel differently. But I consider hearing to be a body part,

> like an arm, and TO ME that means that his not being born with it

> means he is missing something he should have. IMHO.

>

> Stefanie

>

> >Did anyone else watch tonight's episode concerning a 14 year old girl who

> >wanted to receive a cochlear implant? I thought that they did well except

for

> >one early argument when the girl's mom asks Dr. Gideon if he thinks his

life

> >would be easier if he was white. I don't consider my daughter's hearing

loss

> >in the same category as her race. Maybe that's because she wasn't born

with

> >it. I guess if one is born deaf or hard of hearing it could be considered

> >like being born African American, or Anglo, or Hispanic, etc. I'm just

> >excited about seeing the whole argument on a popular sitcom. I think it

will

> >raise awareness. By the way Martha had a guest on her show, I

think

> >on Friday, who wears a cochlear implant. I don't know how old he was,

maybe

> >11 years old, but he had very good language skills. He was only on for a

> >short while but she asked lots of questions and it was really kind of

cool to

> >see that on her show. It seems like the deaf/hard of hearing community is

> >getting lots of publicity this weekend.

> >

> >Suzette

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

January 30, 2001

This discussion has the potential to quickly degenerate into something none of

us wants to

see here on the list. I urge extreme caution. Please remember that there are

those on this

list who identify with the parents in this episode.

Kay

kay@...

Listen Up Web

http://www.listen-up.org/

January 30, 2001

Did anyone catch the pretty big signing mistake in the episode? I taped it

(because you never know what will happen with a 5 month old) and had to re-watch

it 3

times...it was funny (but kind of sad that they didn't have someone check it

over for correct signing.) I'm not going to tell you though:) Actually since I

am new to

this- I am pretty sure the sign was wrong....and the only reason I caught it was

because I made the same mistake in class.

Amy

mom to - 5 month profound

Fish wrote:

> Suzette,

> The deaf community sure is getting a lot of attention this week. On a

> cartoon (I think its called little mermaid) with Arial (I don't know how to

> spell her name) the mermaid met up with another mermaid who was deaf. The

> other mermaid was signing. I thought it was great. I would still like to

> see more cartoons and movies signing. That would be great!!

>

> Donna

> Re: Gideon's Crossing

>

> > I did watch it, and that part bothered me. My son WAS born HOH, and I

> > still don't consider that in the same category as his race. Perhaps

> > that's because my husband and I are NOT HOH; if we were, then perhaps

> > I would feel differently. But I consider hearing to be a body part,

> > like an arm, and TO ME that means that his not being born with it

> > means he is missing something he should have. IMHO.

> >

> > Stefanie

> >

> > >Did anyone else watch tonight's episode concerning a 14 year old girl who

> > >wanted to receive a cochlear implant? I thought that they did well except

> for

> > >one early argument when the girl's mom asks Dr. Gideon if he thinks his

> life

> > >would be easier if he was white. I don't consider my daughter's hearing

> loss

> > >in the same category as her race. Maybe that's because she wasn't born

> with

> > >it. I guess if one is born deaf or hard of hearing it could be considered

> > >like being born African American, or Anglo, or Hispanic, etc. I'm just

> > >excited about seeing the whole argument on a popular sitcom. I think it

> will

> > >raise awareness. By the way Martha had a guest on her show, I

> think

> > >on Friday, who wears a cochlear implant. I don't know how old he was,

> maybe

> > >11 years old, but he had very good language skills. He was only on for a

> > >short while but she asked lots of questions and it was really kind of

> cool to

> > >see that on her show. It seems like the deaf/hard of hearing community is

> > >getting lots of publicity this weekend.

> > >

> > >Suzette

> >

> > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

> is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

> copyright restrictions.

> >

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

restrictions.

January 30, 2001

Suzette,

The deaf community sure is getting a lot of attention this week. On a

cartoon (I think its called little mermaid) with Arial (I don't know how to

spell her name) the mermaid met up with another mermaid who was deaf. The

other mermaid was signing. I thought it was great. I would still like to

see more cartoons and movies signing. That would be great!!

Donna

Re: Gideon's Crossing

> I did watch it, and that part bothered me. My son WAS born HOH, and I

> still don't consider that in the same category as his race. Perhaps

> that's because my husband and I are NOT HOH; if we were, then perhaps

> I would feel differently. But I consider hearing to be a body part,

> like an arm, and TO ME that means that his not being born with it

> means he is missing something he should have. IMHO.

>

> Stefanie

>

> >Did anyone else watch tonight's episode concerning a 14 year old girl who

> >wanted to receive a cochlear implant? I thought that they did well except

for

> >one early argument when the girl's mom asks Dr. Gideon if he thinks his

life

> >would be easier if he was white. I don't consider my daughter's hearing

loss

> >in the same category as her race. Maybe that's because she wasn't born

with

> >it. I guess if one is born deaf or hard of hearing it could be considered

> >like being born African American, or Anglo, or Hispanic, etc. I'm just

> >excited about seeing the whole argument on a popular sitcom. I think it

will

> >raise awareness. By the way Martha had a guest on her show, I

think

> >on Friday, who wears a cochlear implant. I don't know how old he was,

maybe

> >11 years old, but he had very good language skills. He was only on for a

> >short while but she asked lots of questions and it was really kind of

cool to

> >see that on her show. It seems like the deaf/hard of hearing community is

> >getting lots of publicity this weekend.

> >

> >Suzette

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

>

January 30, 2001

Hi,

I forgot all about that cartoon until you mentioned it. We have it on a

Disney VCR tape. It is part of their Princess Collection series, and its

called " Wish Upon a Starfish, Ariel's Songs & Stories " . Our copy is at

least 3 years old, but you can probably get it at a Disney Store.

Re: Gideon's Crossing

In a message dated 1/30/01 8:37:55 AM Eastern Standard Time,

dfisher57@... writes:

> On a

> cartoon (I think its called little mermaid) with Arial (I don't know how

to

> spell her name) the mermaid met up with another mermaid who was deaf.

That is soooo great! Is that on the Disney channel?

January 30, 2001

> I forgot all about that cartoon until you mentioned it. We have it on a

> Disney VCR tape. It is part of their Princess Collection series, and its

> called " Wish Upon a Starfish, Ariel's Songs & Stories " . Our copy is at

> least 3 years old, but you can probably get it at a Disney Store.

It's also available in our bookstore:

http://lonestar.texas.net/~listenup/books/videos.htm

Wish Upon a Starfish - ASIN: 6303316379. Ariel adds a music box to her

collection and

wishes she could dance like a ballerina. Her friend la, who speaks in

sign

language, dreams of singing like Ariel. Though the Great Starfish can't grant

their

wishes, they soon discover amazing talents they never knew they had!

Kay

January 30, 2001

Kay,

You and your website never cease to amaze me! I give out your website

address all the time.

Re: Gideon's Crossing

> I forgot all about that cartoon until you mentioned it. We have it on a

> Disney VCR tape. It is part of their Princess Collection series, and

its

> called " Wish Upon a Starfish, Ariel's Songs & Stories " . Our copy is at

> least 3 years old, but you can probably get it at a Disney Store.

It's also available in our bookstore:

http://lonestar.texas.net/~listenup/books/videos.htm

Wish Upon a Starfish - ASIN: 6303316379. Ariel adds a music box to her

collection and

wishes she could dance like a ballerina. Her friend la, who speaks

in sign

language, dreams of singing like Ariel. Though the Great Starfish can't

grant their

wishes, they soon discover amazing talents they never knew they had!

Kay

January 30, 2001

My kids also have a variety of challenges: 8 adopted kids, no two alike. I

started to list their ethnicity, health and hearing issues, etc. and then I

thought, why? Each day we have something new to deal with. I see that they

have struggles in life, not always the ones I expect. Hearing is just one

part of it. I'm always embarrassed when people say, " They're so lucky to

have you. " I feel like I'm so lucky to have them. They deserve to have

loving, capable families; it shouldn't be considered something special they

should be grateful for. Their lives will never be " normal " (which seems to

me to be a good things, overall) and they'll always have to explain our

complicated family, but I hope that what we do increases the overall

positive balance in the world, if just in a small way.

Floyd and Tish, I'd love to have my kids meet your kids. Feel free to email

me off-list.

Judith Longman

jlongman@...

Re: Gideon's Crossing

Our daughter is deaf, black, and adopted. I guess I have always thought

she

will have 3 times the struggle in life. Not that she makes those

struggles,

but our society does. Please don't start a debate over this, it's simply

my

thoughts. (Incidentally, we have 7 adopted children, Hispanic, Asian, and

African American.)

Re: Gideon's Crossing

> I did watch it, and that part bothered me. My son WAS born HOH, and I

> still don't consider that in the same category as his race. Perhaps

> that's because my husband and I are NOT HOH; if we were, then perhaps

> I would feel differently. But I consider hearing to be a body part,

> like an arm, and TO ME that means that his not being born with it

> means he is missing something he should have. IMHO.

>

> Stefanie

>

> >Did anyone else watch tonight's episode concerning a 14 year old girl

who

> >wanted to receive a cochlear implant? I thought that they did well

except

for

> >one early argument when the girl's mom asks Dr. Gideon if he thinks his

life

> >would be easier if he was white. I don't consider my daughter's hearing

loss

> >in the same category as her race. Maybe that's because she wasn't born

with

> >it. I guess if one is born deaf or hard of hearing it could be

considered

> >like being born African American, or Anglo, or Hispanic, etc. I'm just

> >excited about seeing the whole argument on a popular sitcom. I think it

will

> >raise awareness. By the way Martha had a guest on her show, I

think

> >on Friday, who wears a cochlear implant. I don't know how old he was,

maybe

> >11 years old, but he had very good language skills. He was only on for

a

> >short while but she asked lots of questions and it was really kind of

cool to

> >see that on her show. It seems like the deaf/hard of hearing community

is

> >getting lots of publicity this weekend.

> >

> >Suzette

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each

post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

January 30, 2001

In a message dated 1/30/2001 8:42:01 PM Eastern Standard Time,

DGIORDANO@... writes:

> I also never saw an

> implant like the one she had.

>

She had the new Clarion headpiece on. I assume she is a deaf child because I

got this from the company ...Look for the scene of an 8-year-old girl singing

a song during her CLARION programming session. >>>>>>>> But you never know in

TV land.

Elaine

Cueing Mom to Jake/Auditory Neuropathy/Clarion S-Series 2-99

January 30, 2001

Yes Suzette,

The little mermaid was on the Disney Channel. It was so neat that they

would take the time to do the cartoon with the mermaid signing. I'm sure

that took a lot of work. It's great and I hope they continue to put more

signing cartoons.

Donna

Re: Gideon's Crossing

> In a message dated 1/30/01 8:37:55 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> dfisher57@... writes:

>

> > On a

> > cartoon (I think its called little mermaid) with Arial (I don't know how

to

> > spell her name) the mermaid met up with another mermaid who was deaf.

>

> That is soooo great! Is that on the Disney channel?

>

January 30, 2001

I don't post too often, but have been enjoying the ongoing discussion. I'm

another adoptive mom-we have 24 special kids, 2 are deaf. Our oldest daughter

is deaf and

visually impaired, she's 32 now and works at Mcs. She is also mentally

challenged. We have a precious little girl who is 6 years old from Haiti, she

is also deaf

and attends an oral school program. It's nice to meet other adoptive families

on this list. Jan McMom in Michigan

Judith Longman wrote:

> My kids also have a variety of challenges: 8 adopted kids, no two alike. I

> started to list their ethnicity, health and hearing issues, etc. and then I

> thought, why? Each day we have something new to deal with. I see that they

> have struggles in life, not always the ones I expect. Hearing is just one

> part of it. I'm always embarrassed when people say, " They're so lucky to

> have you. " I feel like I'm so lucky to have them. They deserve to have

> loving, capable families; it shouldn't be considered something special they

> should be grateful for. Their lives will never be " normal " (which seems to

> me to be a good things, overall) and they'll always have to explain our

> complicated family, but I hope that what we do increases the overall

> positive balance in the world, if just in a small way.

>

> Floyd and Tish, I'd love to have my kids meet your kids. Feel free to email

> me off-list.

>

> Judith Longman

> jlongman@...

> Re: Gideon's Crossing

>

> Our daughter is deaf, black, and adopted. I guess I have always thought

> she

> will have 3 times the struggle in life. Not that she makes those

> struggles,

> but our society does. Please don't start a debate over this, it's simply

> my

> thoughts. (Incidentally, we have 7 adopted children, Hispanic, Asian, and

> African American.)

>

> Re: Gideon's Crossing

>

> > I did watch it, and that part bothered me. My son WAS born HOH, and I

> > still don't consider that in the same category as his race. Perhaps

> > that's because my husband and I are NOT HOH; if we were, then perhaps

> > I would feel differently. But I consider hearing to be a body part,

> > like an arm, and TO ME that means that his not being born with it

> > means he is missing something he should have. IMHO.

> >

> > Stefanie

> >

> > >Did anyone else watch tonight's episode concerning a 14 year old girl

> who

> > >wanted to receive a cochlear implant? I thought that they did well

> except

> for

> > >one early argument when the girl's mom asks Dr. Gideon if he thinks his

> life

> > >would be easier if he was white. I don't consider my daughter's hearing

> loss

> > >in the same category as her race. Maybe that's because she wasn't born

> with

> > >it. I guess if one is born deaf or hard of hearing it could be

> considered

> > >like being born African American, or Anglo, or Hispanic, etc. I'm just

> > >excited about seeing the whole argument on a popular sitcom. I think it

> will

> > >raise awareness. By the way Martha had a guest on her show, I

> think

> > >on Friday, who wears a cochlear implant. I don't know how old he was,

> maybe

> > >11 years old, but he had very good language skills. He was only on for

> a

> > >short while but she asked lots of questions and it was really kind of

> cool to

> > >see that on her show. It seems like the deaf/hard of hearing community

> is

> > >getting lots of publicity this weekend.

> > >

> > >Suzette

> >

> > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each

> post

> is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

> copyright restrictions.

>

January 30, 2001

I watched the Gideon's Crossing show last night, in fact I was really

looking foward to it, since we are now in the process of thinking of an

implant for Kara. I was a little disappointed in the story. I guess I was

expecting a little more science to inform the viewing public. Also there

was a scene where an audiologist was testing a little girl of about 4 who

had an implant. I don't think that the child was deaf. I also never saw an

implant like the one she had.

The story line drifted to the 14 year old candidate being promiscuous and

the parents, and us, doubting her maturity level.

The girl spoke well. One of the reasons her mother gave for her wanting the

implant was because her boyfriend wanted her not to sound deaf. I don't

think that by age 14 that her tonal quality would change that much. This

fact was not mentioned.

There was not one ENT in the show and the audiologist was played by the same

actress that plays the gynocologist on ER. Talk about type casting!

I think I will leave my science viewing to the discovery channel from now

on.

Diane, kara's mom

January 30, 2001

Jan,

God bless you and the other adoptive parents. You are truly special people.

McCubbin wrote: