This is the true story of what happened when I was born Deaf to my Deaf parents. Funny yet sad at the same time, and it is STILL happening today, many years later!
I shared this story with @momthatsigns for her feature during Deaf Awareness and felt this should be shared on my platform too!
Transcript - Hello! I’m Melissa Elmira Yingst (shows sign name). Maybe you know me as the host of Melmira. I want to mention something that is funny and somewhat sad. I was born Deaf to Deaf parents. I’m a lot older than many of you may realize, so this happened many years ago! When I was born and the doctor found out that I was deaf, they told my parents, “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, but your baby is deaf.” My parents looked at each other with excitement! "Yeah!" They were thrilled! They didn’t expect to have a Deaf baby. So they were thrilled, of course! The doctor was confused. That's the part that was funny, really. But the sobering part is when you imagine a doctor telling two grown Deaf adults, "Sorry, your baby is deaf"… ummm… ok. Secondly, the even more unfortunate part is this happened many years ago. In the years and years that have passed, it’s still happening! To this day! Many doctors out there are still telling parents, “I’m so sorry your baby is deaf.” That needs to stop. That is why so many parents are shocked, unsure of what to do. They’re scared because the first impression from the doctor is the negative, “I’m sorry” comment. We have to change this narrative. I know many of you out there are working to try to change this and we must continue this work and elevate each other, elevate this community so that the many hearing parents out there can experience, “Oh, my baby is deaf? That’s fine! Great! They will have many opportunities to succeed.” Are you all with me??