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Proud to be Deaf ISBN: 9781526302182
Beese, Ava, Beese, Lilli and Beese, Nick
Published by Wayland, 2017
Ava is 7, and she is deaf, as are her parents, Lilli and Nick. They see their deafness as a strength and are proud of their deaf community and all they achieve. Ava's parents are both high achievers, her mother has a psychology degree and does TV signing work, her dad is a designer and a sportsman who once captained a GB football team to the Deaflympics where they won a gold medal. We learn about their coping strategies at home, at school and with friends and about Ava's hobbies. Most of all, we learn about British Sign Language (BSL) and that different countries have different languages. Ava and her parents use BSL and are very proficient in it. Ava also has hearing aids, which are of limited use to her, and new ear molds have to be fitted every month as her ears grow. There is a short section on Cochlear Implants, but Ava and her parents prefer not trying them. They 'like being deaf just the way we are'. Ava has lessons with a speech therapist, but finds 'vocalising' hard and prefers to sign. There is a chapter of tips on 'being a good hearing friend', and there is a long, detailed section on BSL giving the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, colours, animals, feelings and lots of other useful words and phrases. A glossary, a list of websites, and an index add to the usefulness of the book, as do interspersed boxes about different 'deaf achievers'. Great for schools and in homes where there is someone with a hearing loss.
Age: 7+