Anna shares her powerful life story, beginning with her childhood in Detroit and her family’s roots on the Greek island of Samos. She recalls her father’s difficult journey to the United States, her mother’s immigration with her priest father, and the challenges she faced growing up deaf in a hearing family. Anna describes how a deaf friend introduced her to...
Mainstreamed but Not Silent: Bill’s Journey Through Language and Culture
Bill Ramsey recounts his unexpected journey into deafness — from the moment he first realized he could no longer hear his favorite nighttime record, to the challenges and successes of being mainstreamed in a public school system that prioritized speech over sign. He shares his mother’s difficult choice between a School for the Deaf and an oral program, his academic...
Kenya’s Dreams for Deaf Children of Hearing Parents
Kenya shares her hopes for deaf children of hearing parents. She tells an interesting story related to cochlear implants and describes the expectations her father had for her that helped shape her view of the world. Originally published in 2010....
Cochlear Implant at 43, Videophone and Early Technology
Bill explains why he had a cochlear implant at age 43 and why he later stopped using it. “I was born hearing but became deaf at the age of seven. Grew up oral but in my 20s learned ASL and began to become familiar with the deaf world. Now fairly fluent in ASL and feel am a member of deaf...
