Late-deafened Redditor frustrated with family who refuses to learn ASL
A late-deafened woman is getting a lot of attention and support for a post on Reddit, a popular website, that described how she warned her parents on Christmas that if they did not begin to learn ASL, she would not visit again for a long time.
The 26-year-old woman said she was in an auto accident when she was 18 that caused her to have a traumatic brain injury (TBI) which led to her losing most of her hearing in both ears. She did not qualify for cochlear implants. She said she became depressed but later found the deaf community, learned ASL, and now feel content with life.
The woman said her parents said they do not want to learn ASL because they don’t have the time to learn. They communicate by using voice-to-text on phones, which doesn’t always go smoothly. The woman said her parents refuses to turn on the captions when she visits because they find it annoying.
The woman said she sat down her parents and told them that if they did not begin to learn ASL, she would not be visiting them again for a long time. She said she only needed to see some kind of effort in learning. The woman said the parents became angry and accused her of wanting to cut them off.
The posting had over 16,000 upvotes and was highlighted in a Newsweek.com article.
Some of the top online comments said the deaf woman was not in the wrong, pointing out that the parents are being unfair. Many said they were astounded that the parents wouldn’t turn on the captions at least. Others said it is the parents who are cutting off the woman because of their refusal to learn sign language.
You can read the Reddit post at the link in the transcript.
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