YESS THANK YOU. I've been thinking abt this since it was mention, even with lip reading and little notes the amount of communication is MINIMAL and so disconnected. Like HOW in the 19 years of her life you didn't bother to learn anything, a random kid from the neighbor did it so how are you uninterested in your own daughter to never try and have a fluid conversation with her
I was yelling about this elsewhere and someone brought up that the author might have included it to show the lack of disability accessibility for some in Japan. Either way tho, they are trash parents and literally say “having her lip read and communicate via whiteboard made US happy” like CAN YOU BE ANYMORE SELFISH!??? TRASH
little thing haven't finished reading lol
the getting accustomed to lip reading is often recommended by professionals, idk if it still is nowadays but i assume that must be part of it since the author takes from real life experiences
i still wish her family had done more, glad they give her support in whatever but proper communication is so important especially in family
it’s common for most families with hard of hearing people to not pick up on sign. please do your research before assuming this makes a family inconsiderate or despicable. idk what background you have on sign language and families with deaf children so i am assuming, but making ableist assumptions for a family’s decision is harmful
many factors contribute to not learning sign. brains change as we get older, resources aren’t available, disability accommodations are expensive, and so on. we have a harder time learning as we age. think of it this way: parents of older generations don’t know how to use tech and even struggle with simple social media stuff. apply this to parents having to gain new muscle memory with their hands and learn complex language skills/grammer/context/culture. of course it’s possible but there are more hurdles than opportunities. think of the work environment in japan as well. sign classes weren’t (and still aren’t widely) available as they are now and are expensive! same with accommodations such as hearing aids, vocational deaf schooling, and not to mention other forms of aid within the household
sorry this got long, but i think its important to give you and others social context, because it’s bad to demonize families who don’t know sign language in a deaf household. disabilities are expensive in both time and money, and understanding that is important. learning sign is a privilege with taller walls than you think. have grace for people :)
Also, I gotta say, I DESPISE her parents. HOW CAN YOU NOT LEARN SIGN LANGUAGE FOR YOUR DEAF CHILD!??? And using the excuse of “oh we wanted to help her get acclimated to reading lips” is just code for “we didn’t want to inconvenience ourselves more than how we already see ourselves being inconvenienced by having a child with a disability”
Whenever I think about it, it just makes me so ungodly angry. Like you’re her FAMILY. She’s supposed to be able to come home and feel safe and comfortable. Not come home and have to continuously work to communicate because you’re too lazy to do the MOST BASIC THING to help make your child feel seen and heard. Shit pisses me off SO GODDAMN MUCH