Mishka Zena

In my last post, I challenged AGBell Association regarding its letter of protest to Pepsi Cola Corporation for ‘implying that Deaf people only communicating using sign language.”  How does AGBell Association know the Deaf people don’t speak orally, too?  They may be wearing hearing aids and can lipread, too. I rest my case: Darren Therriault, the [...]

It has come to my attention that some parents of kids with cochlear implant are objecting to my use of the word, fix, in reference to cochlear implants.   What’s wrong with the word fix?   Fix: a: repair, mend <fix the clock>  b: restore, cure <the doctor fixed him up>  fix – Definition from [...]

This is so heartbreaking. To be abandoned by the biological family.. perhaps due to one’s deafness, then to be adopted by an American couple and immersed in a new life. Only to be dumped like garbage one year later once the couple found out that the child’s deafness cannot be fixed. That poor poor child. My heart aches for [...]

How did you feel when the c.i. blogs started appearing in DeafRead?  What are your concerns? Hopes?  Comments: In my opinion, I think its good that CI blogs appear in DeafRead.   ############### Freedom of speech and we have to have both sides “pro” and “con”  I know it is hard but keep DeafRead in [...]

The recent invasion of C.I. blogs came as a surprise. The timing was coincidental, as I was planning to release my own series regarding cochlear implants.  In the past, C.I. blogs were few, so DeafRead was viewed as too ASL-centric by a minority. Now the pendulum appears to have swung to the other extreme, with [...]

1997  So, I decided to have the implant…  I went to see the doctor. Did the usual psychological evaluation, and passed with flying colors. I was a perfect candidate for a cochlear implant- despite the fact that I had been Deaf since birth. The doctor remarked  “with intelligence such as yours, you could help me [...]

“Mishka, I think it’s possibly beneficial for the deaf community for you to post these blogs. But it may be entirely detrimental to parents who come across them in the early stages if they even consider choosing against a CI for an infant. That is my personal opinion. I am not neutral, I am speaking [...]

How does it feel to see the future generation of our Deaf Community being ‘fixed’ and channeled to the hearing culture? It has to feel terrible for culturally deaf people, after many generations of deaf individuals, to see deafness being tackled and systematically cured, or as they see it, destroyed.   It is a wonderful [...]

A little long, but worthy reading the whole post:  When Rachel’s deafness was first diagnosed in 1989, she was only two months old.  Fortunately, or so we thought at the time, the hospital that did Rachel’s ABR testing  sent us to another audiologist and social worker immediately following her 2½ hours of hearing testing.  However, [...]

A Year After Protests, Gallaudet Sees Progress, but Key Dispute Remains. The Chronicle of Higher Education Quotes of Dr. Jane Fernandes:   “The protesters objected to my vision that Gallaudet needed to become an inclusive deaf university, where all kinds of deaf people are valued and respected,” Ms. Fernandes told The Chronicle in an e-mail message [...]