MovieChat Forums > Sound and Fury (2000) Discussion > Heather Artinian update 2009

Heather Artinian update 2009

posted 14 years ago by Flora_Poste
5 replies | jump to latest

http://www.nvrc.org/contentdad7.html?page=31870&section=8

Heather Artinian has a lot to say. She speaks candidly and with the confidence not usually found in a high school sophomore. She's making up for lost time. For the first nine years of her life, she didn't hear and didn't talk.

Artinian, a 15-year-old at Glen Cove High School, is a star basketball, lacrosse and volleyball player who is legally deaf. The trait runs in her family. Her father, Peter, and mother, Nita, are legally deaf, as are her two brothers Timmy and C.J.

In 2002, she had surgery for a cochlear implant and today, though she says there are still hundreds of words and sounds she hasn't heard, she speaks fluidly and coherently.

....

She was the family's trailblazer. Her mother, brothers, an aunt and four cousins have followed her lead and gotten the implant; her father has not. Heather says her mother and brothers wanted the hearing experience but her father said he was happy with what he had.

And she hasn't lost her ties to her deaf upbringing. She succeeds in the hearing world, and at home she lives the deaf culture because her father chose not to get the implant.

...

[–] MsJDoe 13 years ago

Just watched the movie and loved it! Glad to hear Heather did eventually get the implant.

IMO, a parent should want to give their child the best opportunities in life. Hearing loss in an obstacle; if someone can use an implant to help overcome this….why not? If a child were born blind or crippled their parents would try to get a surgery to ensure their child could see or walk. The implant doesn't "cure" them of deafness, they are still deaf but able to interact within the hearing world.

My least favorite scene was after Peter got the surgery and his deaf Grandmother was only concerned that he would make fun of her when he got older. Talk about self-centered!

[–] disquieter6 13 years ago

Thats a unfair judgement. From the Grandmothers point of view, her grandchild isn't gaining anything from the surgery but a loss of identity which she herself obviously values. She is not simply saying she worries about being made fun of. But the idea that she may not be able to have a real relationship with the child now. You can't understand what that feels like. In order for a deaf woman to want to look at something like a cochlear implant as a cure would also be saying that there is something wrong with herself. No one can judge the deaf for wanting to keep thier culture. If this was a perfect world where we could wait until a child was old enough to make the decision for themselves without suffering the consequences of lost time in language development, then the problem would be solved. Unfortunately the cochlear implant dilemma has no solution. But we still shouldn't judge the people who are embattled with making this choice because we don't understand the details.

[–] Firefly69 11 years ago

disquieter6: " She is not simply saying she worries about being made fun of. But the idea that she may not be able to have a real relationship with the child now."

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Old comment but I have to reply. Why not? Why wouldn't she have a relationship with her grandchild if he got the implant? What about her hearing grandchild? Is she worried about a relationship with him?

The parents are both hearing and fluent in sign language. I have a feeling that their children -- both of them- will be fluent as well.

[–] DBDianna 11 years ago

I think it's self centered to judge the grandmother and her emotions. This family put themselves out there to help other people with the same questions and struggles. She has every right to have fears and questions!

[–] Firefly69 11 years ago

I don't think the grandmother was self-centered for having fears and questions. Not at all.

But I was disturbed that she was so vehemently against the implant. I think she felt like it was a rejection of her and the deaf culture, even though it wasn't a rejection at all.

I also had concerns that g'ma and g'pa loved their deaf g'child more then their hearing g'child. Remember- they were twins. All the while they are accusing their daughter of rejecting them and deaf culture- at the same time, I felt that they were rejecting their hearing g'child over their deaf g'child. Now I'm sure they would say they were not and they probably weren't-- but how is that accusation any different then the one they are making?!

There wasn't just fear and questions from the deaf culture about implants-- there was outright hostility and rejection from them. They seemed to me like they would be the ones casting out anyone who got the implants-- like it was a betrayal to them. You can't complain about feeling left out and rejected from the hearing world and then do the exact same thing. And to do it intentionally.

I think most hearing people do not intentionally try to reject or hurt deaf people (maybe some children do- but children are cruel for many other reasons as well...). I think theres just a feeling of not knowing how to properly handle it. People are very sensitive to offending others in this day and age- to the point that it can actually make them seem like they don't care. Instead of risking offense- they just don't do anything. That makes it seem like a rejection.