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Transcription: [00:19:00]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
The reason why I said I am a freak, is because these people here, everyone on the panel, has had a deaf family.

[00:19:09]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
I came from a hearing family. And, uhh, I remember very well, during my childhood years, my father was a doctor.

[00:19:19]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
He could give expert advice to his patients. But when it comes to his own deaf child, he was really at a loss, because he had no previous experience with deafness.

[00:19:33]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
And he had read so many books, and he took me to so many different doctors trying to get, in quote, my hearing restored, end quote.


[00:19:43]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Took me to famous hospitals, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. I'm from Baltimore. And then one day, he realized, hey, that's enough. Our child is deaf. It's about time that we accept her deafness.

[00:20:00]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
But, I must tell you one other thing. They gave me so much love, and attention. And every time when we have relatives, friends, people visiting our house, my mother would come up and say: "now sit near me, and I will tell you what they are talking about."


[00:20:21]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
My mother always made me feel included. That's the most important gift that my parents gave to me.


[00:20:31]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Thank you very much. [[clapping]].


[00:20:37]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Barbara, do you want to add to that? [[silence]]


[00:20:43]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
When I was-- When I was born, my sister was already born 4 years before me. I remember that at that time, it was around 1935 or so. And that day and time, the experience of deafness was very negative.