RAB Source Entry 3 – Emily Aragon Medina

Part 1: MLA Citation

Powering potential: “Just a Kid.” April 1,2019

https://www.hearingfirst.org/powering-potential-podcast/b/powering-potential-podcast/posts/just-a-kid

Part 2: Summary

In the Hearing First podcast, “Just a Kid”, Dr. Teresa Caraway, a speech language pathologist, shares the stories of families with deaf or hard of hearing children. Dr. Caraway shares that most of the families she works with often wonder what their child’s life will look like. The first story Caraway shares with us is about Ketty and what her thought process was like when finding out her daughter, Nura, was deaf. Ketty shares that her first thought was, “who is gonna take Nora to prom?”. Ketty worried that Nura wouldn’t have the same experiences of growing up, making friends, and being included in activities. The second family Caraway shares with us is Phil and Daily, who have a son with intense hearing loss. Phil and Daily worry about how their relationship with their son, Roark, will flourish. They turned their worries into motivation. It pushed them into helping Roark become more involved with family life and the community around him. Daily and Phin are always trying out new activities and pushing boundaries to help with Roark’s development. An advice that Phil gives to families is to not let their child’s hearing loss affect how you go about your lives and to not let it ruin your relationship with your child. Caraway moves onto Matthew, the father of Fiona who is deaf. Matthew comments that prior to having Fiona he had a student who was deaf. Matthew shares that this student was a top A student and participated in many sports and clubs. Matthew says that seeing that student thriving gave him hope and inspiration that one day Fiona can also be on the right path. Caraway concludes by telling parents that having a child with hearing loss may look like there would be less opportunities, but with the right dedication anything is possible. 

Part 3: Reflection

After listening to the podcast I noticed that I worry just as much as the parents from the podcast. I’ve always wondered how different life would be for me and my family. Will my brother be able to have a normal life? I have learned through this podcast that there is no such thing as normal. Normal means something different for everyone. I have the same worries as Phil and Daily. I think their worry for building a relationship goes the same for siblings. I don’t want his hearing loss to have an effect on forming our relationship. I want to open opportunities for my brother. One thing that I can do to help my brother is to try out activities that can help with communicating and listening.

Part 4: Rhetorical Analysis

Dr. Teresa Caraway is a speech language pathologist who specializes in listening and spoken language. This source is a podcast. The purpose of this podcast is to show the different versions of what normal is in different families who have children with hearing loss. Caraway uses a lot of pathos in her podcast by  sharing the stories of Ketty, Phin and Daily, and Matthew. The tones that are used in this podcast optimistic and worried. In the podcast we can hear the worries these families have for their kids’ future but that at the same time their being hopefully about the whole situation.

Part 5: Notable Quotables

“Trying new activities and pushing boundaries in a safe way are so important for a child’s development. It helps them figure out who they are and where they fit into the world”(8:13)

“At the end of the day, a child with hearing loss is just a child— a child who needs the same love and celebration that all children do, a child who grows up too quickly, right before parents’ eyes.”(11:30)

“I saw a student who had progressed through the system, and this student was thriving. She was getting As in every class, she was in a mainstream environment, she participated in all kinds of sports and clubs.”(15:39)