Season 2, Episode 3 Amplified Podcast

Maria shares her experience raising kids with multiple communication modalities and her own language journey. Guest Tatum Frtiz, aural rehabilitation therapist, discusses the benefits of therapy and how the field has evolved regarding culturally and linguistically diverse patients.
Episode Transcript
Katie Colella [00:00:00] You're listening to Amplified presented by Lurie Children's. Transcripts of this and all episodes can be found at Lurie Children's.org/Amplified.
Katie Farnsworth [00:00:12] Over the season, Maria has openly shared her journey of parenting her two sons with hearing loss, Eduardo Jr. and Esteban. Raising any child in a healthy and loving environment requires some level of selflessness and stepping out of one's comfort zone. But Maria and her husband, Eduardo Senior, arguably made one of the hardest sacrifices when they chose to focus the boy's therapy and spoken English and not spoken Spanish, which was their first and home language.
Katie Colella [00:00:37] This episode sheds light on how the field of treating children with hearing loss used to recommend children commit to only learning one language to maximize success. That, unfortunately resulted in non-English speaking families being counseled on only speaking English to their children, even if it wasn't the home language. Today we know better. Research shows all in any natural language is important. Even if a child attend school in a language different than their home language. Even if that child has a hearing loss.
Maria Venalonzo [00:01:11] Maybe its most because of the language and then my husband don't speak the same language. He speak more Spanish. And then he understand English, so. But, you know, like, he's really good in sign language, let me tell you, because he's, he was like, more interesting in signing than the surgery. And I was more in the surgery then sign language. But and he became really well and that I think part of that because he's he has hearing loss and then he's working on making appointments for the specialists. When they always play baseball since they were so little. So one of the coaches came to me and then he told me, "Your son is not listen to me now." Really? What? "Yeah, I. I give it. I tell him what to do and he don't follow direction." I was like, "Oh." And then I look and I guess if you're not following directions to the coach, I say, "Yes, Mom." I like what he's saying you not follow direction. He say, "He speaks Spanish to me and I don't understand what he's saying.”
Katie Farnsworth [00:02:21] Oh.
Maria  Venalonzo [00:02:21] And he look at me like, "He speaks Spanish?" I was like, “No." Oh, like "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. He was apologized to so many times." There was, they thought because we're Hispanic. My kids speak Spanish.
Katie Farnsworth [00:02:36] Did he speak Spanish to all the kids?
Maria  Venalonzo [00:02:38] Yeah.
Katie Farnsworth [00:02:39] Okay.
Maria  Venalonzo [00:02:40] I was like, oh, but, you know, like, most of our community is speak Spanish. So they assume my kids. When they see me, like, "Oh, well, your kids speak Spanish." And my other kids, they speak Spanish, but they never address the probably about the situation. Because even in my family, when I send my kids to Mexico, I have to explain them really well about like why they don't speak Spanish. Why is the reason? And then at that time, I don't I don't know to you. But they told me they I had to choose one language. And I were like, oh, I had to learn English, of course, because my first language is Spanish. So I went to school, I had to learn English. So I had to explain to my family why like why they only speak English and still like Spanish. Well, I mean, they speak some English too, but they don't know, you know. And then so I told them so. And then he say they told me, like, but you speak Spanish, why your kids don't speak Spanish? And then I explained it. They don't understand it. So they meet them and they th