7 ms·

Denying their child an entire sense because the idea of the child having a full human experience makes the parent feel lonely, is straight up child abuse. Good

Denying their child an entire sense because the idea of the child having a full human experience makes the parent feel lonely, is straight up child abuse. Good parents want what’s best for their child, not themselves.

richbell 3y ago
A popular belief in the Deaf community is that having hearing children is undesirable. Some people argue that things like cochlear implants are "genocide."
- KingMob 3y ago
  Reminds me of the rabbis accusing Jewish people of marrying non-Jews as participating in a "Silent Holocaust". Way to drive people away, my dude. In some ways, it's a moot point, since iiuc, most deaf children are born to hearing adults, and not within the Deaf community. Genetic treatments will almost certainly be preferred by those parents, and the Deaf community will slowly age up and die out in a few generations for lack of replenishment.
  - kelnos 3y ago
    Well, a few generations after all types of congenital deafness are treatable. The gene therapy in the article so far only treats one, fairly uncommon, genetic cause.
IAmNotACellist 3y ago
>makes the parent feel lonely You misunderstood. It says some of them celebrate that their child will have the opportunity to be a part of their community and culture. From what they've experienced, they can see it'd be a profound shame if their child isn't able to participate in something they've had so much positive experience from. Though that's not universally true. Also a child growing up hearing with deaf parents will have a whole set of problems that they would find challenging to meet, and could fear not being able to help. On top of that, cochlear implants are not miracle devices, and as I understand it, deaf children who get it will still have significant hearing and speech issues and may end up isolated from both sides.
- kelnos 3y ago
  Regardless of the deaf community potentially being a place of rich, positive culture, deafness is still a disadvantage and a burden in everyday life. I get that people need to accept things like deafness or blindness, and adopting a community and sharing the support that provides is a big part of that. But denying your child treatment that would allow them to have all their senses, because you want them to be a part of your community and culture, is a selfish act, full stop. If parents are expected to try to give their child the best life possible, a treatment to restore a deaf infant's hearing is a no-brainer. It's table stakes. I agree that denying a child that is abuse.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Tor3 3y ago
  But many children grow up with deaf parents - one or sometimes both of them. And they learn sign language to perfection, as any child can learn languages to perfection. It's hard to see that the ability to also hear will make them not able to participate in anything.
  - didntcheck 3y ago
    Yep. If the "community" is excluding them for being able to hear, that sounds like their problem
    - IAmNotACellist 3y ago
      The hearing community excluding deaf people is about a million times more common
  - IAmNotACellist 3y ago
    >It's hard to see that the ability to also hear will make them not able to participate in anything. If they're hearing they won't understand the deaf community, nor need it, and will miss out on what their parents and other community members valued so much

richbell 3y ago

A popular belief in the Deaf community is that having hearing children is undesirable. Some people argue that things like cochlear implants are "genocide."

KingMob 3y ago
Reminds me of the rabbis accusing Jewish people of marrying non-Jews as participating in a "Silent Holocaust". Way to drive people away, my dude. In some ways, it's a moot point, since iiuc, most deaf children are born to hearing adults, and not within the Deaf community. Genetic treatments will almost certainly be preferred by those parents, and the Deaf community will slowly age up and die out in a few generations for lack of replenishment.
- kelnos 3y ago
  Well, a few generations after all types of congenital deafness are treatable. The gene therapy in the article so far only treats one, fairly uncommon, genetic cause.

IAmNotACellist 3y ago

>makes the parent feel lonely You misunderstood. It says some of them celebrate that their child will have the opportunity to be a part of their community and culture. From what they've experienced, they can see it'd be a profound shame if their child isn't able to participate in something they've had so much positive experience from. Though that's not universally true. Also a child growing up hearing with deaf parents will have a whole set of problems that they would find challenging to meet, and could fear not being able to help. On top of that, cochlear implants are not miracle devices, and as I understand it, deaf children who get it will still have significant hearing and speech issues and may end up isolated from both sides.

kelnos 3y ago
Regardless of the deaf community potentially being a place of rich, positive culture, deafness is still a disadvantage and a burden in everyday life. I get that people need to accept things like deafness or blindness, and adopting a community and sharing the support that provides is a big part of that. But denying your child treatment that would allow them to have all their senses, because you want them to be a part of your community and culture, is a selfish act, full stop. If parents are expected to try to give their child the best life possible, a treatment to restore a deaf infant's hearing is a no-brainer. It's table stakes. I agree that denying a child that is abuse.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Tor3 3y ago
But many children grow up with deaf parents - one or sometimes both of them. And they learn sign language to perfection, as any child can learn languages to perfection. It's hard to see that the ability to also hear will make them not able to participate in anything.
- didntcheck 3y ago
  Yep. If the "community" is excluding them for being able to hear, that sounds like their problem
  - IAmNotACellist 3y ago
    The hearing community excluding deaf people is about a million times more common
- IAmNotACellist 3y ago
  >It's hard to see that the ability to also hear will make them not able to participate in anything. If they're hearing they won't understand the deaf community, nor need it, and will miss out on what their parents and other community members valued so much