[My Deaf Child 1] The four-year-old open-brain deaf school refused to accept the book and was forced to listen to the mother to discuss the absurdity of parenting

Three hearing mothers who gave birth to deaf children

Ye Zhiwei, eight years old, almost deaf.
Lin Zhichang, 8 years old, has severe hearing impairment in both ears​.
Zhong Zhongxuan, ten years old, has no ear in his left ear and moderate hearing impairment in his right ear.

"As a parent of a special child, the first thing is not to feel hard or difficult." Zhichang's mother said indifferently. Three mothers learned the day after their babies were born that they were deaf. "I don't have time to cry anymore. At that moment, I just wanted to find a way to help her so that she can grow up more normally," said Zhiwei's mother.

Wearing a hearing aid ≠ hearing

Many people think that hearing aids are equivalent to glasses for short-sightedness, and that deaf people will be no different from ordinary people after wearing them. However, hearing aids simply amplify all sound, including air conditioning, human voice, noise, etc. "When she was eight months old, Zhiwei had a hearing aid, but it didn't help much." Zhiwei's mother pointed out that when a deaf child was born, the government would provide a six-band hearing aid - the higher the frequency, the better the sound insulation and sound reception, and technology has long been developed to twenty frequencies. "Because the earphones are obtained by the government through bidding, and the one with the lowest price will get the earphones. The government will buy them for you at the lowest price." Zhongxuan's mother admitted that the six-band hearing aids only amplify the noise infinitely. earphones.

For deaf children with severe hearing impairment, earphones are useless, and brain surgery has to be done. "The first cochlear implant was performed for four hours, and the second brainstem implant was performed for eight hours," said Zhiwei's mother. In addition to high risks, because the surgery is not a government-funded project, parents have to pay or raise more than 100,000 surgical fees at their own expense. "It's really not easy, save food and clothing. If successful, some children will recover their hearing and speak very well. But not every child is the same. My daughter is unsuccessful." Zhiwei said that she could hear voices after the operation, but said There was no sound, so my mother felt that it was of little use.

Can't hear, how to learn?

"When you go to school, you daydream, [the school] knows you can't hear it, but forces you to listen." Zhichang's mother pointed out that even kindergartens in special schools do not teach sign language, and deaf children can only read lips. "The mouth shape of 'father and mother' can only be distinguished by hearing people who hear it, but it is very difficult for you to ask a deaf child to look at the mouth shape." The original intention of reading is to give them equal learning opportunities, but the government provides schools with 13,000 yuan of subsidy for each deaf child every year, which is simply not enough to hire a sign language teacher.

Why not go to school for the deaf and learn sign language?

"As a parent, I don't mind that my child goes to a special school. But the school for the deaf told you with the hearing report that the child is only severely hearing impaired in one ear and has not yet reached the standard for admission." Zhong Xuan's mother said helplessly. The Education Bureau stipulates that the only deaf school in Hong Kong, the Lutheran Kai Deaf School, can only admit deaf children with profound hearing impairment in both ears. Zhong Xuan had to get into the worst mainstream school, but when he encountered the general education, lip reading became even more difficult. No matter how hard a deaf child tries, he will fail the test.

"Ordinary people think that speaking is a very common thing, but for deaf children, they will not know that they pronounce it wrong." Zhong Xuan's mother pointed out that the golden age of children's language development is from zero to three years old, but the government's speech therapy The service is scheduled for a year to a year and a half. Zhiwei's mother once spent RMB 2,000 to 3,000 per month for her daughter to take a private speech therapy class, but she returned without success. "The teachers thought she couldn't hear them, and they kept training her with 'Mom and Dad'. Why not let her learn sign language? Sign language is not common, but at least she can express it." Zhiwei's mother finally decided to enroll with her daughter. Sign language class.

Discrimination in sign language has always existed

"Others looked at her like a monster [芷wei]." When Zhiwei and her mother signed on the street, they often drew strange glances from passers-by. “What can we do as parents? Do deaf people have to have low education? Are deaf people unable to receive equal treatment?” the three mothers asked​.

"This group of parents, like the parents of deaf children decades ago, relied heavily on their will to bring happiness to deaf children. The role of the government can be said to be simply giving money and providing earphones on the list. Is there any room for further review? ?” Mr. Yau Daren of the Hong Kong Association for the Advancement of the Deaf pointed out that despite the advancement of medicine and the efforts of community groups to advocate reforms, the government’s support policy for deaf children will not advance but retreat. "One-sided elimination of [sign language], but on the other hand [integrated education] cannot be done well. The road ahead for deaf children in Hong Kong is much more difficult than any deaf child in the world." Mr. Yau sighed.

The government fails to effectively support deaf children, how can parents and community organizations find another way? With three episodes in a row, the [My Deaf Child] series will take readers to see the silent childhood of deaf children in Hong Kong.

Originally published at hk.news.appledaily.com on 5 November, 2017.