Aaliyah Bryant

ASL 202-01
Cultural Reaction #5
In the book, For Hearing People Only, I read chapters 199, 208, and 212. The chapters

explain the qualifications of becoming an interpreter as well as Deaf parenting to Deaf children

and hearing children. These three chapters help me learn a little bit more on each of these

subjects.

Chapter 199 introduces the question “If I take one or two sign-language classes, will that

make me a qualified interpreter?” Now, I knew from common sense that 2 classes of anything

won’t make you qualified. However, I did learn that to become an interpreter, you must take a

written and performance test. To become qualified, you’ll have to go through an interpreting

training program (ITP). In chapter 208, “Why do most deaf parents raise a hearing child better

than hearing parents a deaf child?”, I have never heard of that statement before. However, I

learned that Deaf parents are aware that their hearing child may have trouble with speech due to

ASL being their first language and would take action to help them with their speech. Chapter

212, “If Deaf parents only want to have Deaf kids, what happens if they end up having hearing

kids?”, some of the things I read I was not surprised as I have already learned them in previous

chapters such as the views against cochlear implants and how most Deaf people will accept their

hearing child.

Learning from these chapters, I can apply that to my own experience if I ever have a Deaf

child. I would definitely have to learn more because it’s definitely not enough from just 4

semesters of ASL but I’ll learn and educate myself. As Deaf parents take action to help their

hearing child, hearing parents should do the same with their Deaf child.