I’m enjoying the coverage of CIs and deaf children on @1a this morning and thrilled that @wyattehall is there to speak to his professional expertise and personal experience. And this is key: centering the adults that deaf children grow into is key

One of the first things discussed at the top of the show was the role of “professionals” in parents’ lives. And this is such a key issue. In my book, Made to Hear, I outline how prof knowledge is presented as “objective” and deaf knowledge as “just cultural”

In my book I also stress that no divide is needed here!! There is no reason why CIs need to erase ASL. This is a choice professionals repeatedly make. And as @wyattehall pointed out, it’s harmful to continue peddling this.

And unfortunately it’s so entrenched that resources-from the government to private funding and so on-are uneven. Parents can readily get services for CIs but I have interviewed parents of kids with CIs who begged for ASL and the state only offered a few hours a YEAR! A year!

Thanks to @1a for covering this important issue and for centering Deaf people in these discussions.