"They're Doing Well for a Deaf Kid" - And Why That's Problematic

Man, I hear this one a lot 🙄

And although it’s often delivered with good intention - here’s why it’s problematic👇

It continues to support the very outdated assumption that deaf and hard of hearing children are not capable of achieving the same things as their hearing peers - and even worse than that - we shouldn’t expect them to 😓

And to be frank (no pun intended!), there is zero place for that kind of attitude in 2025 🙅🏻‍♀️

Because here’s what I know…

Since the day our deaf son was born, the expectations, the opportunities and the vision we’ve had for him have sat at the SAME table as those we have for his hearing brother.

We’ve never lowered the bar for him.
We’ve never expected less of him.
We’ve always ensured that he knows just how capable he is.

And if you look through my Instagram feed, it’s pretty clear how that approach is going for him (Spoiler alert: He’s kicking absolute goals 🔥)

So here’s what we need to do 🙋🏻‍♀️

We need to STOP putting our deaf kids in a different lane, based on societal beliefs and assumptions.

We need to STOP devaluing, limiting and pitying their potential and start embracing it.

We need to START surrounding them with villages that say “we know you can!”, so they are set up for success from the moment they are born.

As parents, as educators, as professionals in this space - we have the power (and the responsibility) to change the game here and shift old attitudes for good.

It’s starts with us ❤️💪🏼