Deaf, Dumb or Blind

Originally posted 1/13/06
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Am getting over a cold that left with pretty much no voice for close to 4 days. It completely sucked. It prompted discussions with the kids, though, regarding sign language. When our middle boy (Alex) was a baby we taught him sign, not because he had any impairment but based on the belief (and the Berkley study) that babies have the cognitive ability to communicate long before they develop the verbal skills to do so. Well, he took to it quite well and we were "talking" with him regularly by the time he was only a few months old. He was stubborn, though, and refused to speak for real until he was almost 3.

Anyway, I wouldn't say that we were ever fluent in sign but we did OK and I found myself falling back into wanting to use it more while I had no voice. Made me think, though...if you had to be one - deaf, dumb or blind - having had all the abilities before, which would you choose and why?

I think I would choose to lose my hearing. I don't know if I could stand to not see. It would break my heart to not see the faces of my children. Watching their faces when they are learning new things is amazing. I think we communicate a lot more with our faces and bodies than with our voices. Watching deaf people talk to each other is lyrical. It's fluid and mesmerizing to me. More people should learn sign in my opinion.

So, I've got my voice back now, though, and the signing thing has kind of passed at our house. Nothing beats a reminder of what you've got, though.