Let them Choose!

In 1977, Tom Humphries, a deaf scholar, introduced the term “Audism” to describe “The notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears” (Humphries, 1977). 
Janet DesGeorges, mother of a deaf child and co-founder of Hands and Voices, supports deaf children choosing what works best for them, oralism or signing. Kim Kurz, of the National Techinal Institute for the Deaf, who herself couldn't learn to speak, says, “I think that some deaf individuals use oralism and they speak well and it works for them. So I think it’s fine.” [Kurz, 2023]. Cheri Dowling, executive director of the American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) said, "We give our kids everything that we can. We don't pick and choose what we think is necessarily best for a child, but we give them everything and then eventually the child is gonna pick what is going to be appropriate for them"  [Dowling, 2023].