Thursday, September 23, 2010

Deaf Can Dance

Owen is Deaf. 

Without his hearing aids he hears very little. With them, he hears enough to get by in ideal conditions.

Chances are, he will lose all of his hearing.  Chances are, hearing aids won't always be an option for him.

He may not be a candidate for a cochlear implant.  Surgeons not being fond of cutting into a kid's head when that kid has previously suffered brain bleeds.  Mommies not being fond of prospect either.

So.  Someday, he may be all the way Deaf.

I expect this. I am ready for this.  He is ready for this.

He is fluent in ASL.  He speaks English, though funkily.

He has Deaf friends.  And Hearing friends.

His Deafness will slam some doors in his face.  And open others.

But,

I don't peek too far into his future.  Too many variables.  I'm fine with the unknown staying unknown.

Right now?   He is happy with who he is.  He can read.  And write.  He pretends to be, no, he IS a superhero; Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man, The Hulk.

He loves TV and movies.  More so now that I've finally figured out how to get the captions to work.

He loves music.  LOUD.  And dancing.  Deaf kid has some moves.

I showed him this video on the computer.  I didn't turn the volume up loud enough for him to hear the music.  On purpose.



He was mesmerized.

I didn't need to point out the beauty, or grace, or precision of the dancers.

He noticed their hands.  Of course he would.  And he signed "pretty", perhaps he shares my opinion that the Far East produces the prettiest faces.

I did however,  tell him that all of the dancers in the video, every one of them;

 is Deaf.

Like him.

25 comments:

  1. Fab video - thanks!

    I suspect that you already know this but YouTube also has a hooooge number of signed songs on there - bet Owen would/does like that stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  2. goddamn, your kid is amazing. apple didn't fall far from the tree, did it?

    can't wait to meet that little bootay shaker.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that video more no matter how many times I see it...have been wondering what Owen thinks of it... Xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. is your post title a dead can dance nod? if so, I love you more than ever.

    ReplyDelete
  5. such a cool video! the timing is amazing. your kiddo is amazing! You are too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You have taught me so much and I thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have seen that video before and it is amazing. And your Owen sounds like an amazing kid. Good job!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was mesmerized. thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. that was AMAZING!

    I watched it with Claire and she too loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. amazing! We can teach our kids to be and do anything they want no matter their differences.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Aww- This post warms my heart-

    I should start showing my monkeys more 'inspirational' stuff online- Since they go to a Jewish school and it's SUKKOT- they had yesterday and today off- Like all good Jews they have been watching 'WHO LET THE JEWS OUT' on UTUBE.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Can you imagine what it must be like to work with that dance troupe? Every day getting to see them dance? Wow.

    What did Owen think of the fact that they were deaf?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Did you hear the guy on NPR this morning who is a CODA (child of Deaf Adult) who has a radio show for deaf people (didn't get to finish listening to hear about that - I think it is done online with interpreters and subtitles) and he does stand-up aimed at the hearing impaired community - all signing. Thought of you. And Owen, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is the best thing I've seen all week long. Bar none.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow...those Asians do precision something crazy. I had to watch this Owen style so as not to wake up Audrey...it's better without the music.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I was completely mesmerized! Beautiful! I turned off the music for the second go around and then got a true sense for how difficult it really is. Amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very cool video. Yes, the deaf can do anything the hearing can, including dance.

    My son will probably lose the remainder of his hearing, too.

    I love that you have such a great attitude about Deafness. Too many people see it as a tragedy (including one of my son's former ear doctors).

    ReplyDelete
  18. "Mesmerized" is THE word.

    You're a good mama. A mama.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love your boy. And I love his mom.

    I truly do.

    ReplyDelete
  20. My cousin thought she was completely deaf until she got an iPod with tiny earpieces deep into her ears and now she can hear a little bit of music again. She's aware this will probably ruin the last of her hearing, but she's loving it just now. She used to play music herself. Anyway I get carried away. Just wanted to tell you that that worked for her.

    ReplyDelete

Use Your Words.