Deaf Like Me

“DEAF LIKE ME”

By: Thomas Spradley & James Spradley

My first reaction to this book was not good. I had barely gotten into it and the parents were contemplating aborting this precious little child just because it might turn out to be abnormal. It wasn’t even a sure thing that the child might be different; just a possibility. Still, they wanted to abort this tiny life on the mere possibility and would have if the mother had not already been too far along. The fact that they could even consider snuffing out this life still irks me. It makes me wonder if they’ve ever been grateful that they weren’t able to carry out the abortion. I also wonder how Lynn feels knowing that her parents didn’t want her. My heart goes out to her.

The rest of the book was good. I did not know that many so-called “hearing impaired experts” felt like the deaf would be better off not learning sign language. I cannot imagine trying to teach a child anything without being able to communicate in some way. It seems quite cruel to me the methods the “experts” suggested. I give the parents all kudos and prompts in their attempt to follow the “experts” advise. I have to say they had far more patience than I ever would have had. I am glad that they finally realized the “experts” may not be right at all.

The saddest part of this book is when Lynn had meningitis. The poor little girl had no idea what was happening and was probably scared to death that her parents were deserting her. They had no way to tell her what was going on and I know that was difficult not only for Lynn but also for the parents.

The funniest part of this book would have to be, by far, Lynn standing outside waiting for the school bus