Deaf Like Me Essay

Meghan Denny

ASL 2750

4/26/2023

Deaf Like Me: Reading Reflection When given this book to read for class, I was very excited to get the chance to read it. I have previously taken the Deaf Culture class here at Harding and I was excited to read about it from a new perspective. The book Deaf Like Me is written by Thomas S. Spradley and James P. Spradley. It was written in 1978 and published by Gallaudet University Press. Deaf Like Me is a book about a little girl Lynn Spradley and how she grows up with the diagnosis of deafness. It is a very touching book about how her parents come to terms with her deafness and how they try to help her in different ways to grow up. They eventually begin teaching her sign language which she then begins to blossom

The book discussed many different ways that were given to the Spradley family, but they were given with some bias. The book talked about oralism with speech therapy, hearing aids, lip reading, and sign language. Everyone determines their personal preference in how to help people who become or are born deaf, but there needs to be a consensus that every way available be told to them truthfully. Both pros and cons of each way need to be addressed to give them the full ability to choose which way they want to take. For example, the professional in the book mentioned American Sign Language but told Tom and Louise Spradley that Lynn would never learn to speak with the usage of sign language. They grew up hearing and so the thought of her not being able to communicate with them scared them. Tom and Louise later found out that sign language was a way Lynn could talk and communicate with her family, they saw it as an actual

From taking my first-ever ASL class to a Deaf culture class, I have learned a lot about a community that is right under my nose. Reading this book has also changed my outlook for the better on the Deaf culture. Many people stereotype Deaf culture, to be weird or not useful. As a hearing person who has never had to daily communicate within the community, I find myself learning more and more every day about customs and the way of living by the Deaf. I think of the saying some people use “Deaf and Dumb” and I think to myself how this even came to be. I see how their culture has changed and evolved into what it is today. There is so much more support for Deaf education and culture than there was 100 years ago. Their community has overcome so much in the past years and continues to make big strides into new developments for generations to come. They also have their language that is not as easy as it looks. I have learned that firsthand. Their language has many differences from English that amaze me. Society tends to put pressure on them to morph themselves into our society when we should be more open to finding common ground in communicating with them. If you learn their language, it could help unify the division there is between the two societies. This can set a great precedent for years and generations to