Eventually Public Law 94-142 came into place which was a part of the Disabilities education act that made sure students were provided with the least restrictive environment (LRE) and were given an education plan. Students had to learn a new way of signing and had to continue fighting for a proper education. While this was a step forward for deaf education, teachers started singing in manually coded english, where they were singing individual letters for each word instead of actual signs. It was around the 20th century where education for the deaf started to change as children weren’t getting the education they needed and hearing people found out that they were visual learners. For many, this was the first time they were being exposed to ASL, for if they were caught singing in school they would be punished in a number of ways, including physically. Because of the lack of ASL education in school, this student went and asked his mother to show students the correct signs for certain words and phrases. While secretly signing with students (of those who had hearing parents) they realized that the signs were different and started debating with their peers over what was right. The story of one individual was how he attended a deaf school and had deaf parents. Not only was this discriminatory, but the children at these schools weren’t being taught academics as much as they were being taught speech and how to communicate. The teachers and education boards, who were mostly hearing, decided that ASL was inferior so it was forbidden These educators thought that if they taught deaf children speech, they would be able to be normal. This documentary had many people who were able to describe their experience in schools when ASL was banned. Deaf education used to be rooted with medicine and education, trying to ‘cure’ children as well as be vocal by teaching them orally. When looking at the history of deaf children and the use of ASL in school, the teaching practices have changed a lot dramatically over the years. The problem is that some hearing people are just not educated enough on the needs of deaf children and that needs to change. While there are many stories of deaf individuals living with hearing families who don’t understand their needs of language and education, there are many families who take it upon themselves to supply their deaf child(ren) with everything they need to be successful. According to the article “Deaf ‘let down by GPs’, the article states that “.a high percentage of deaf and hard of hearing people feel isolated because of their deafness” (BBC News). This left those individuals feeling isolated and left out of their own family. They were often told “I’ll tell you later” or that what they were talking about “wasn’t important” or they “wouldn’t understand”. Many stories included deaf people struggling to be involved in conversations with their hearing relatives, seeing them laugh and smile, but not being able to keep up or understand. For those hearing families who don’t change their ways and learn ASL to communicate with their child, this could lead to days, months, or even years of a family struggling to communicate and bond with each other. As the family is the first community a deaf individual belongs to, being born into a hearing family that doesn’t sign can significantly affect how a deaf individual will be shaped. A quote from the movie that stuck out to me was, “Language and tongues have become synonymous, so what happens when a group of people use hands not tongue? They aren’t seen as human and are different” (Audism Unveiled). Oppression can be seen in a number of environments, but the hardest might be in one's own home. They often felt left out or disconnected. This documentary was packed full with stories of deaf individuals who struggled to communicate and establish relationships with their hearing family members. At the time of this documentary, 69% of deaf children live in a home where parents don’t sign. Deaf people have made strides with discrimination in their own families, education, and laws.įor many deaf individuals, they were born to hearing families who were part of another culture and spoke a different language. The personal accounts of those involved in this documentary are emotionally charged with frustration, sadness, anger, and hopefulness for future generations to be more understanding and educated. Audism Unveiled tells the stories of different families and the struggles with discrimination that deaf people have been facing for years.
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