Alandra's Lilacs: The Story of a Mother and Her Deaf Daughter.

1 Dr. Kathleen Paoly's Culture and Heritage Alandra's Clove Correspondence Report What do you think your child is tagged as hearing impaired? For parents, this is very overwhelming. Many negative thoughts and emotions may pass through it, especially with regard to communication barriers. You must face the fact that they may not be able to communicate with the children, especially if they do not learn at least one form of Sign Language. At the hearing, the life of deaf children and their parents was difficult. Their children are classified as disabled people and may be difficult to accept by friends and family members. Despite the difficulties, parents and their nephews may face a useful journey through deaf and hearing communities. When her daughter Alandra was born, Tressa Bowers soon discovered this informative and difficult journey. When Tresa gave birth to Arandola, she thought she was a child of her dream. On this day, she decided to take a daughter to meet an expert.

In 1968, when 19-year-old Teresa Bowers took her daughter to a nephew's expert, he declared that Alandra was "scorpion" and that she probably could not speak. Communication restrictions, education Theresa refused to accept this critical assessment of Alandra's prospects. Instead, she began a difficult process of starting her daughter's education. Due to economic necessity Tressa was moved many times, her and Arandola experienced various learning environments. A purely ques- tive way, not signing, full communication, signing at the same time as the teacher speaks, a hearing-impaired children's school, a mainstream public school that engages in signing English and relies on interpreters. Changes at home added more demands from Tresa's divorce to her remarriage, her long working hours, and the constant challenge of full communication within the family.