Title: Melissa Corcoran Melissa Henry Nehal Kothari TingFen Lin Shanna Massaro Virginia ONeal Samantha Seft
1Melissa CorcoranMelissa HenryNehal
KothariTing-Fen Lin Shanna MassaroVirginia
ONealSamantha Sefton
Harlan Lane
2Who is Harlan Lane?
- Dr. Lane is a professor at Northwestern
University who specializes in deaf culture and
sign language. - He studied at Harvard University under B.F.
Skinner and received a Doctorate of Psychology
there. He also earned a Ph.D. in linguistics
from the University of Paris. - He is ranked Commandeur de l'Ordre des Palmes
Académiques, which is the highest level of
academic achievement from the French government. - In 1991 he received the genius award from the
McArthur Foundation. - Dr. Lane is infamous for his criticism of
cochlear implants, and is a spokesman for the
Deaf community.
3Deaf Agenda
- Dr. Lane promotes the Deaf agenda, which is
focused on the topics of bilingualism and
biculturalism. - The Deaf agenda has four central themes
- 1.) Winning the fundamental human rights that
are guaranteed under international covenant, such
as the right to use one's minority language. - 2.) Securing education for Deaf children that
uses their primary signed language, but also
teaches them the majority language. - 3.) Improving the Deaf's access to information
through both the signed language and the majority
language. - 4.) Enhancing Deaf culture and social life.
- (Lane, Hoffmeister, Bahan, 1996, p.414)
4HR 2005_114
- Whereas, The optimal health care system should be
sensitive (and fair) to all cultural groups, and - Whereas, Two important components of culture are
natural enculturation of the values and knowledge
of that culture and the natural language of that
culture, and - Whereas, The majority of individuals in this
society are hearing and may not be knowledgeable
about Deaf Culture and, actually, may be biased
against Deaf Culture (including its language
American Sign Language), and - Whereas, The inability to use the natural
language of a culture may produce a severe
disadvantage to an individual trying to operate
within that culture, and - Whereas, The ability to use any particular
language is maximized only when children learn it
as a first language, and - Whereas, Interactions with deaf individuals for
whom ASL is a native language at an early age
will provide children with necessary experience
to learn ASL with native competence, - Be it resolved that Deaf children must have, as
one of their primary caregivers, a deaf parent or
guardian who uses ASL or, if no caregiver is deaf
(or the deaf caregiver does not use ASL), the
child must be enrolled in a deaf educational
program, from pre-school through middle school,
that provides instruction in ASL and aspects of
the Deaf Culture. Funds to come from the State or
from the Federal Department of Education
5Views on HR 2005_114 ?
- Whereas, The optimal health care system should be
sensitive (and fair) to all cultural groups, and - Whereas, Two important components of culture are
natural enculturation of the values and knowledge
of that culture and the natural language of that
culture, and - Whereas, The majority of individuals in this
society are hearing and may not be knowledgeable
about Deaf Culture and, actually, may be biased
against Deaf Culture (including its language
American Sign Language),
6Disability (medical) vs. cultural definition
- The Deaf should not be regarded as a disability,
but a cultural group because - It has all the properties of a cultural ethnic
group. - Most Deaf people do not view themselves as having
a disability. - The disability view brings with it needless and
risky medical procedures to be performed on Deaf
children. - These procedures are also harmful towards the
existence of the Deaf World. - The disability view also brings bad solutions to
real problems because it is built upon
misunderstanding.
7Deafness as a Disability
- Some who are born deaf chose not to join the Deaf
culture and community. - They are supporters of cochlear implants, which
places them in the hearing world. - Those who have this view think of themselves as
hearing people with the disability of deafness.
8What is Deaf Culture?
- Small group of visual people who use a natural
visual-gestural language and who are often
confused with the larger group who view
themselves as hearing impaired and use a spoken
language in its spoken or written form. (Lane,
2005, p.1) - The philosophy for Deaf Culture is that they are
considered an ethnic group with their own values,
belief system, and language. It is inappropriate
to view them as a disabled group of individuals.
9Internal properties of Deaf culture
- Collective Name the Deaf world has a name for
itself in its own language - Feeling of Community Deaf culture is a very
tight-knit group. They gain a sense of identity
and family from their community. They have the
highest rate of endogamous marriage at 90. - Norms of behavior are present in their culture.
- Customs especially in language, they have their
own way of taking turns in conversation and
speaking. - Social Structure the Deaf world has many
subcultures including athletic, social,
political, literary, religious, and fraternal.
10Internal properties of Deaf culture (cont.)
- Language Language is the surest way for
individuals to safeguard or recover the
authenticity they inherited from their ancestors
as well as to hand it on to generations yet
unborn (Fishman,1989 as cited in Lane, 2005, p.
293). - In America and other North American countries
American Sign Language is a central theme of Deaf
ethnicity. - The Arts ASL is used in language arts like
narratives, tall tales, world play, storytelling
and poetry. These visual art performances are
often based on Deaf culture. - History Deaf culture has a rich history
documented by books, films, and stories. - Kinship The members of the Deaf ethnicity group
are very close. Although different groups are
scattered around the world, when two members from
different groups meet they immediately share a
common bond in their visual language.
11Support for Deaf Culture
- In societies in which sign language use is
mostly restricted to Deaf people, hearing people
commonly see being Deaf as a serious problem
requiring professional intervention but in
societies in which sign language use is
widespread because of a substantial Deaf
population on Marthas Vineyard and Bali, for
example being Deaf is simply seen as a trait,
not a disability (Lane, 2005, p. 295)
12Views on HR 2005_114 ?
- Whereas, The inability to use the natural
language of a culture may produce a severe
disadvantage to an individual trying to operate
within that culture, and - Whereas, The ability to use any particular
language is maximized only when children learn it
as a first language, and - Whereas, Interactions with deaf individuals for
whom ASL is a native language at an early age
will provide children with necessary experience
to learn ASL with native competence
13Language
- The Deaf community should communicate through a
manual language which makes use of their
heightened senses. - Individuals who are Deaf often feel that not
being able to use a manual language is just
another form of mental and physical abuse. - On average, the older the Deaf child is when
learning manual language, the harder the skill
will be to attain. It is easier for hearing
children to learn the use of manual language than
late learning deaf children, because they have
the advantage of learning the mainstream oral
language from birth.
14Views on HR 2005_114 ?
- Be it resolved that Deaf children must have, as
one of their primary caregivers, a Deaf parent or
guardian who uses ASL or, if no caregiver is deaf
(or the deaf caregiver does not use ASL), the
child must be enrolled in a deaf educational
program, from pre-school through middle school,
that provides instruction in ASL and aspects of
the Deaf Culture. Funds to come from the State or
from the Federal Department of Education.
15Schooling for the Deaf
- From The Mask of Benevolence "The tragedy is not
that America's deaf children cannot speak or
lip-read English the tragedy is that their
education is conducted exclusively in this
English they do not know. (Lane, 1993, p.238) - The average 16 year old Deaf student reads at the
level of an 8 year old hearing child. At math,
they are still 4 grades behind. - Due to these statistics, parents of Deaf children
should look at these three criteria when deciding
how their child should be educated - The language used for instruction
- The quality of the school academically
- The degree of social interaction
16Types of Schools
- Separate schools for the Deaf (residential and
day schools) - They provide the key to socialization, many
believe they are where enculturation takes place. - The greatest advantage is that the staff are Deaf
as well, which provides the students positive
role models. - Mainstreaming (ranges from self-contained to full
inclusion) - Self contained is when the Deaf child is in a
separate classroom of a hearing public school,
receiving different curriculum. Interaction with
hearing students happens at lunch and between
class, but after school activities generally
cater to hearing students only. - Full inclusion is when the Deaf child is in the
classroom with hearing children. The Deaf
student often feels socially isolated in this
model of education and creates feelings of
loneliness.
17Support for a Deaf mentor
- Most Deaf children are born to hearing parents.
Because the parents are largely ignorant about
Deaf culture, and want their child to be
normal. They will opt to turn to social
institutions for help medically and academically.
The children themselves are too young to refuse
treatment or to dispute the infirmity model of
their difference. - Since the parents are hearing and can not relate
to the Deaf world, the child needs a Deaf mentor
in order to gain a Deaf identity, and to learn
language and culture.
18HR 2005_113
- Whereas, The optimal health care system should
utilize the most efficacious, and appropriate
treatment in addressing disordersincluding
communication disorders, and - Whereas, The majority of individuals in this
society are hearing and that most social
interactions and job-related duties require the
ability to use spoken language, and - Whereas, The inability to use spoken language may
produce a severe disadvantage to an individual,
may have a negative impact on educational
opportunities, and may lead to fewer career
opportunities and advancements, and - Whereas, The ability to use spoken language is
maximized only when children learn it as a first
language, and - Whereas, The cochlear implant device (and related
speech processors) when implanted in young
children will provide them with a means to learn
and use spoken language at an early age, then - Be it resolved that All health plans, HMOs, and
Federal and State Funds directed at health care
benefits, must provide support for the
implantation of cochlear implants in adults and
in children as young as two years of age who have
been diagnosed as being profoundly deaf
binaurally, and that the cochlear implant device
is to be viewed as the preferred treatment
approach to profound deafness in children and
adults.
19Views on HR 2005_113 x
- Whereas, The optimal health care system should
utilize the most efficacious, and appropriate
treatment in addressing disordersincluding
communication disorders,
20Deafness Is Not a Disorder
- Scholarship does not provide clear-cut guidelines
between valuable diversity and treatable
deviance. It is up to us to realize that Deafness
is not a disorder. - By learning ASL at an early age, Deaf individuals
do not have a language disorder nor is their
health compromised in any way!
21Views on HR 2005_113 x
- Whereas, The majority of individuals in this
society are hearing and that most social
interactions and job-related duties require the
ability to use spoken language, and - Whereas, The inability to use spoken language may
produce a severe disadvantage to an individual,
may have a negative impact on educational
opportunities, and may lead to fewer career
opportunities and advancements,
22Social and Occupational Interactions Experiences
- Social
- Inclusion causes a lack of social interaction for
the Deaf student (when being placed in classes
with hearing peers). The Deaf student often feels
excluded and lonely. - The use of oral language, when inappropriate,
creates isolation instead of social interactions. - Rather, being in the Deaf community, the young
deaf child has many social interactions and
opportunities.
23Social and Occupational Interactions Experiences
- People who do not believe in cochlear implants
argue that the implant and the following therapy
often lead the deaf child to a negative identity
and unease communicating in sign language - In this model, hearing and speech play an
important role in the childs success. As
implants do not produce normal hearing, this
definition of success often lead to a poor
self-image as disabled. - Children with implants are also often isolated
from other deaf kids and from sign language,
instead are married to the professionals.
24Social and Occupational Interactions Experiences
- Career
- The issue we should be discussing is Why are
there few job opportunities for the Deaf?
Workplaces are supposed to be race, religion,
disability, discrimination, etc. free. - Lack of majority education ASL is not the same
as English, so the Deaf face writing skills
problems. We shouldnt expect their abilities to
mirror that of a native English speaker!
25Social and Occupational Interactions Experiences
- As we are gradually educated about AAE and other
spoken dialects why not ASL? - Further job issues
- Cochlear implants are not a cure implants do not
produce normal hearing. - Stigma associated with having a CI visible on the
head.
26Views on HR 2005_113 x
- Whereas, The ability to use spoken language is
maximized only when children learn it as a first
language,
27Language
- FDA has approved cochlear implantation for
children above 1 year of age however, hearing
children have massive exposure to language
starting in utero, and are already on their way
to producing their first words by this age. - Shouldn't we discuss giving children a first
language, not necessitating a first spoken
language?
28General Information about Cochlear Implants (CI)
- A surgically implanted electronic device
- Often referred to as a bionic ear
- Does not amplify sound
- Directly stimulating any functioning auditory
nerves inside the cochlea with electrical
impulses - Components speech processor, microphone, and
transmitter
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImageCochlear_implan
t.jpg
29General Information about Cochlear Implants (CI)
- A prime CI candidate is described as
- Having severe to profound sensorineural hearing
impairment in both ears - Having a functioning auditory nerve
- Having lived a short amount of time without
hearing - Having good speech, language and communication
skills - Having a family willing to work toward infants
and young childrens speech and language skills
with therapy - Not being benefited by other kinds of hearing
aids - Having no medical reason to avoid surgery
- Living in or desiring to live in the hearing
world - Having the support of family and friends
30General Information about Cochlear Implants (CI)
- The operation usually takes from 1½ to 5 hours
and is done under general anesthetic. - First a small area of the scalp directly behind
the ear is shaved and cleaned. Then a small
incision is made in the skin just behind the ear
and the surgeon drills into the mastoid bone and
the inner ear where the electrode array is
inserted into the cochlea. - Children patients normally remain in hospital for
1-2 days adult patients one day. - After 3-4 weeks of healing, the implant is turned
on or activated. Results may not be immediate,
and post-implantation therapy may be required as
well as time for the brain to adapt to hearing
new sounds.
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant
31Views on HR 2005_113 x
- Whereas, The cochlear implant device (and related
speech processors) when implanted in young
children will provide them with a means to learn
and use spoken language at an early age, then - Be it resolved that All health plans, HMOs, and
Federal and State Funds directed at health care
benefits, must provide support for the
implantation of cochlear implants in adults and
in children as young as two years of age who have
been diagnosed as being profoundly deaf
binaurally, and that the cochlear implant device
is to be viewed as the preferred treatment
approach to profound deafness in children and
adults.
32Conflicts of Interest / Other Problems with CIs
- The speech therapists and teachers biases can
creep into the scoring of tests because they want
the best outcome for the implant patient. - Testing children reliably and validly is
difficult, especially when the experimenter and
the child do not have a common language. - Very few standardized language tests include deaf
children (oral and signing) in their normative
sample so how can we really determine language
impairment?
33Conflicts of Interest / Other Problems
- Part of the description of a prime candidate
includes desiring to live in the hearing world.
How can a two year old state what they desire? It
is imposing the parents wishes on the child! - Additionally, true consent can only occur after
describing the alternative of acquiring language
via acquisition of ASL. If parents are hearing
where can they get this information from? Arent
audiologists and ENT surgeons biased in this
regard?
34Conflicts of Interest / Other Problems
- The bill states that cochlear implants should be
implanted in kids as young two years of age. - By this age, normally hearing children are
speaking in two word utterances, about to
experience a word growth spurt, have an
expressive vocabulary of roughly 50 words, and
have a huge receptive vocabulary. - How do you overcome a two-year delay, especially
when the hearing impaired child still isnt
normally hearing even after the CI?
35The Risks and Limitations of Childhood CIs
- The device is surgically implanted under a
general anesthetic. Therefore there is a risk. - One report says about 1 child in 30 who is
implanted develops complications such as pain,
infection, drainage, or slow healing of his
wound displacement or misplacement of the
electrode and damage to his facial nerve or
vestibular system during the surgery. (Lane,
1999, p. 217) - In 2003, the CDC and FDA announced that children
with cochlear implants are at a slightly
increased risk of bacterial meningitis this risk
is 30 times that of the general population. This
can result in death. (e.g. Wikipedia FDA)
36The Risks and Limitations of Childhood CIs
- Another study reports complications as often as
one patient in seven implanted with the standard
nucleus-22 device. - The FDAs Summary of Safety and Effectiveness
Data cites the alarming figure of one child in
six with adverse reactions and complications. - The deeply inserted wire electrodes that the FDA
has approved may be difficult to remove without
serious structural damage. Furthermore, the
effects of damaging the ear through insertion, as
well as the effects of long-term electrical
stimulation, are unknown.
37The Risks and Limitations of Childhood CIs
- Usually the surgeon can resolve these problems -
frequently at the cost of more surgical
intervention. - Even if there are no complications associated
with the initial implantation,the child may have
surgery again one day, since the internal parts
of the implant could break down and since
improvements in the design of implants over the
next 60 or 70 years of his life could require
changing the internal coil or electrodes.
38The Risks and Limitations of Childhood CIs
- Ethical issue
- Critics question the ethics of such invasive
elective surgery on healthy children. They point
out that manufacturers and specialists have
exaggerated the efficacy and downplayed the risks
of a procedure that they stand to gain from.
39Medical Solutions are not the Preferred
Treatment
- Several difficulties faced by the medicalization
of cultural deafness - Adults with this putative medical problem insist
they do not have a medical problem. - History provides many examples of more dominant
cultural groups labeling less dominant cultural
groups as defective, but no example of an entire
linguistic and cultural minority that is truly
infirm. - There is no medical treatment that will improve
the quality of life of the putatively infirm
population as a whole.
40Medical Solutions are not the Preferred
Treatment
- The otologists and audiologists who apply the
infirmity model to culturally deaf people are
often unaware of the language and mores of those
whose way of being and behaving they consider
infirm. - Some of the professions collaboration in the
medicalization of this population have a
financial and social stake in designating
cultural deafness as a medical/handicap problem. - (Lane, 1999, p. 207)
41Medical Solutions are not the Preferred
Treatment
- Although these considerations weigh against the
infirmity model of cultural deafness, many
hearing professional people hold tenaciously to
that model. - Why are growing numbers of culturally deaf
children receiving implants? - Active agent is the aural/oral establishment
- The medicalization makes sense to uninformed
hearing parents - Holds out false hope that their children will not
embrace a minority language and culture
42Medical Solutions are not the Preferred
Treatment
- According to Johnston (2004), cochlear implants
are the technological and social factors
implicated in the decline of sign languages in
the developed world. Some of the more extreme
responses from deaf activists have labeled the
widespread implantation of children as cultural
genocide. (as cited in Lane, 1999, p. 208)
43CIs A Threat to Deaf Culture
- The proponents of Deaf culture regard measures
such as CI surgery as a possible way to control
and eliminate or reduce the birth of deaf
children because they regard them as abnormal,
disabled or inferior - Programs that substantially diminish minority
cultures are engaged in ethnocide and may
constitute as crimes against humanity. (Lane,
2005, p. 303) - We dont endorse surgery on a black child in
order to help the child pass as a member of the
majority!
44Conclusion
- So medical intervention is inappropriate, even
if a device was perfect. The invasive surgery on
healthy children is wrong. The interests of the
deaf child and his parents may be best met by
accepting that he is a deaf person. The child has
access to an elaborate cultural and linguistic
heritage that can enrich both the childs and the
parents lives. (Lane 1999, p. 238)
45Conclusion
- Clearly Harlan Lane, although a hearing
individual, is representing the views of the Deaf
community - When I. King Jordan was asked if he would like
his hearing back, he replied - Thats almost like asking a black person if he
would rather be white I dont think of myself as
missing something or as incomplete Its a common
fallacy if you dont know Deaf people or Deaf
issues. You think its a limitation. (Lane,
2005, p. 298)
46- It is illegitimate to ask, What does our
society gain by having a Deaf culture and
community? if the implication is that a minority
must pass a value-added test or otherwise face
extinction or attempts to force its assimilation.
Cultural diversity is central to our
understanding of what it means to be a human
being each culture lost, each language allowed
to die out, reduces the scope of every persons
humanity. Intolerance is also almost laughable
shortsightedness. Intolerance always contains
within it the seeds of self-destruction. (Lane,
1999, p.237-238)
47References
- Cohen, L. (1994) Train Go Sorry. New York
Vintage Books - Food and Drug Administration (2003). FDA Public
Health Web Notification1 Risk of Bacterial
Meningitis in Children with Cochlear Implants.
Retrieved from http//www.fda.gov/cdrh/
safety/cochlear.html January 27, 2007. - Lane H. (1992). The Mask of Benevolence
Disabling the Deaf Community. New York Alfred
Knopf. - Lane H. (1999). The Mask of Benevolence
Disabling the Deaf Community (2nd ed.). San
Diego, CA DawnSign Press. - Lane, H., Hoffmeister, R., Bahan, B. (1996) A
Journey into the Deaf-World. San Diego, CA
DawnSign Press. - Lane, H. (2005). Ethnicity, ethics, and the
Deaf-World. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf
Education, 10 (3), 291-310. - Wikipedia (2007a). Cochlear Implant. Retrieved
from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant
, January 27, 2007. - Wikipedia (2007b) Harlan Lane. Retrieved from
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_Lane, January
27, 2007.
48Suggested Additional Reading
- Lane, H. (1979) The Wild Boy of Aveyron. Boston
Harvard University Press. - Lane, H. (1989). When the Mind Hears. New York
Vintage. - Lane H. (1992). The Mask of Benevolence
Disabling the Deaf Community. New York Alfred
Knopf. - Lane H. (1999). The Mask of Benevolence
Disabling the Deaf Community (2nd ed.). San
Diego, CA DawnSign Press. - Lane, H. (2005). Ethnicity, ethics, and the
Deaf-World. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf
Education, 10 (3), 291-310. - Lane, H., Hoffmeister, R., Bahan, B. (1996) A
Journey into the Deaf-World. San Diego, CA
DawnSign Press. - Lane, H. (2006). The Deaf Experience Classics in
Language and Education. Boston Harvard
University Press. - Indicates suggested reading provided by Harlan
Lane about the cochlear implant debate. - To contact Harlan Lane email lane_at_neu.edu