Seeing Voices

On the flight from SF to LA I was able to listen to Seeing Voices by Dr. Oliver Saks.  It is, as the second half of the title indicates, a journey into the world of the deaf.  Saks goes deeply into the history of the American Deaf community and understanding the how/why people are deaf.  As a neurologist, Saks goes into detail about the medical aspects of why a person is deaf, going into the neuroscience (the brain functions) and also the differences of hearing people and deaf.  He shares information related to how deaf people communicate and the beginnings of sign language.  I was not aware that deaf people around the world can communicate better than through differing languages across the world.  He provides numerous interviews, delineating his various data points on deaf youth and how they can best thrive in communication when families approach the teaching process in certain ways.  Saks provides a range of challenges and social issues that exist in the deaf community.  The final chapter chronicles one of the highlights in the deaf community, which occurred at Galluadet University In 1988, when I was only 4 miles away working at Catholic University, when the students closed the institution when they demonstrated the election of a new President (a hearing person) rather than one of the other two candidates, both deaf people.  This was a historic moment for the deaf community world-wide as the students were able to make the point that they needed representation to best lead their college.  They succeeded as Dr. I. King Jordan, dean of the Liberal Arts College, was selected after the President resigned.  A huge groundswell of activity and protests led to this change.  It was a historic moment and brought national attention to the plight of the deaf community.  A final note by Dr. Saks at the end of the book notes how the deaf population will continue to evolve as the cochlear implants are getting more sophisticated and may change how deaf people improve their hearing abilities.  For those who are interested in the deaf culture and history in the US, you will benefit from the read (I would venture to say, even those who don’t will appreciate it.)  I was aware of much of the books information based on my eldest sister being a teacher of the deaf for over 35 years.