-
6. Joe
- Gallaudet University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
93 6 Joe When Marilyn and I arrived at Joe’s home, his mother answered the door and introduced us to a friend of hers who was visiting . She called upstairs for Joe, who she said was working on his computer. When Joe didn’t come downstairs, she went up to find him. A few moments later, Joe came down the stairs, wearing a warm smile on his face. He was a tall, ten-year-old boy who initially seemed slightly shy. Joe was nicely dressed, well behaved, friendly, and mature. He stayed a bit behind his mom, not making eye contact until I began signing. He quickly warmed and opened up his heart in our interview. Joe was mainstreamed in his local school district at a total communication program. His previous educational programs were a combination of oral and total communication. Joe has a severe hearing loss and considers himself hard of hearing. He became deaf at approximately five months of age from an unknown cause. Joe’s parents are divorced. He lives with his mother and visits his father. All of Joe’s family members are hearing. He has no additional disabilities . He and his family communicate primarily through speech, but some of them also know sign language. He is African American and had the most residual hearing of the seven children in this study. We chatted a bit as Joe’s mom showed us to the family room. Joe communicated with me through speech and sign. He seemed to be more comfortable if he could just talk without also signing. Looking back on my initial meeting with Joe, I see that my own realities framed the way in which I explained the purpose of our meetings and asked him questions. When I told him I was writing a book about deaf children, I did not mention hard of hearing children. When I asked if he considers himself deaf or hard of hearing, he told 94 Inner Lives of Deaf Children me he is hard of hearing but also later referred to himself as deaf. For example, he talked about a friend who is “deaf like me, he talks.” Although I erred in this omission, it became clear in these interviews with Joe that he sees that there are similarities and differences among deaf and hard of hearing children. Joe was so open about his feelings, so articulate and willing to relate, that I didn’t need to ask him to draw many pictures to help facilitate our interview. He was very inquisitive and was able to directly share much of what was on his mind. When Joe, seems ready to begin, I ask him to draw a picture for me. He draws a picture of a boy wearing a Dallas Cowboys football uniform and says that the Cowboys are his favorite team. He confides that he has many drawings hanging on the walls in his room. I ask him to tell me a story about the deaf boy in the picture. It becomes apparent that Joe sees himself as a boy who has “trouble hearing.” He tells me about the difficulties he encounters with hearing children who tease him at school and in his neighborhood. He explains that he hasn’t been able to get the support he and his deaf friends need from school personnel to put a stop to the teasing . He is angry about the situation and fearful that he or other children will get hurt. “I think maybe,” he looks at the picture for a moment and then back at me, “he has trouble with hearing and people tease him. You know, um, he, um, he doesn’t hear. He hears less.” “Who teases him?” “Brian.” “Brian? Is that somebody from school?” “Yeah.” “Is that a hearing person or a deaf person?” “A hearing . . . no, um, hearing . . . he talks, but he’s always teasing and . . .” Joe’s stories about the teasing he experiences with hearing children are much more painful than anything the other children in this study expressed. The children typically have both comfortable and uncomfortable experiences with hearing peers, but Joe’s distress over the negative experiences stands out from all the others. He seems to need to talk about this situation. [3.141.8.247] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 23:07 GMT) Joe 95 “Do hearing people give you trouble and tease you?” “Mmhmm. And then, um, I ask them to stop it. But they still tease and call...