Mom of a Pushy Deaf Child

 Mom of a Pushy Deaf Child

Mom of a Pushy Deaf Child

I didn't fully understand the significance of Mother's second response until much later. However, I was aware of her affection for me. I frequently disliked the seating restriction, but I was never seen sitting at a front desk.

Some things are beyond our control as individuals who were born on this planet. In that scenario, our own birth abnormalities are incorporated. I do not subscribe to the notion that, before we are even born on earth, we choose the challenges we must confront and overcome in this life. It was not something I chose to be born deaf.

Whatever the case, I was born with a 70% hearing loss in both ears. My mother quickly realized I had a hearing impairment. She was also deaf from birth. My mother made the decision that her son would not conceal his disability, as she had been permitted to do.

Mom grew up in a large family. Her clothes were hand-me-downs because most of her sisters were older than she was. She was poor, virtually deaf, and had sat in the back of the class to avoid drawing attention to herself and her perceived shortcomings. Mother would always respond, "I don't know," when a teacher would ask her a question. The other response would have been far more embarrassing; I didn't hear, as she later informed me.

I would never be permitted to make such a foolish choice. Every year on the first day of grammar school, my mother led me in front of the instructors and sternly warned them, "This son cannot hear." I don't want him moved about the room; I want him at the front desk!

I detested it, as any other kid would. Why do you have to make such a big deal out of this? I questioned her. I reaffirmed, "I hear okay."

"Of course you do," she retorted. "Because I love you, I want you to pay attention to what your teachers are saying and not struggle with proper word formation like I did.

I didn't fully understand the significance of Mother's second response until much later. However, I was aware of her affection for me. I frequently disliked the seating restriction, but I was never seen sitting at a front desk.

My "Pushy Mother's Intervention" ensured that I was not sidetracked by classroom discussions that were not related to the lesson plan. Nothing I did could go unnoticed because the teachers would always find me. And because I "heard" them, I was able to learn how to pronounce most words correctly. Mother had spent countless hours as a child looking up words she thought she'd need in a dictionary, paying close attention to pronunciation.As a result, her vocabulary was outstanding and her voice was crystal clear. I wasn't given that task in elementary school because I wouldn't have accepted it on my own.

I didn't learn to make poor seating decisions until I was in high school. I never even considered that the difficulty of my struggles might have something to do with the fact that I frequently misunderstood assignments or failed to pay attention to what instructors truly said.

Later, I saw what would have happened to me if my "Pushy Mom" hadn't been there. The same kind of hearing loss that I was born with was passed down to a cousin. His mother didn't bother to press the matter too hard. He was treated as a student with a learning disability and pushed through school. It makes sense because he spoke in a retarded manner.

As an adult, I used to sell hearing aids. I compared my cousin's hearing, and it was almost exactly like mine. I didn't fully understand and appreciate my mother's beautiful gift to me by being "pushy" until after that.

Consider becoming a "pushy parent" if your child struggles with hearing, even just for this one issue. While he or she is too little to understand it, leveling the playing field is one thing you can do for your child on this earth.