Deaf Like Me Book Report

For my research paper, I read Deaf Like Me by Thomas S. Spradley. This is the story of Lynn and her parents learning to accept her deafness. This is set in the 1960s. During this time, there were fewer medical advancements compared to today, such as the rubella shot. There was also not much of an understanding disabilities and people who faced issues with deafness. Tom and Louise Spradley were a couple that had one child, Bruce. Bruce gets diagnosed with rubella just as Louise finds out she was pregnant. The doctor said that it would not cause too many complications. In April of 1965, Lynn was born. Lynn was “a perfectly normal baby girl”. During the Fourth of July, her parents noticed that while the fire trucks drove down the road she had no reaction as most babies would to such a loud noise. Her parents were confused as to whether or not their baby was deaf or not as she would laugh at funny things they would say or do. After some observation, they noticed Lynn was constantly banging her head against the crib so they took her to the doctor. The doctor said it was normal for some and did a check up and deemed her fine. Deafness was undetectable at her age regardless of testing. Over the summer, the family took a trip to California to go to a Clinic that specializes in deafness. Multiple tests were done on Lynn. She
I could see this helping someone in understanding a deaf person in their life. It may help them understand the struggles of a deaf child, such as how hard school can be and how frustrating it can be when you have no means of communications to anyone. It also shows off how important inspiration really is. I also see this as a general audience book. While it may help certain audiences, anyone can read this book and enjoy it in a different way. Whether it be for personal enjoyment or for educational purposes, you will have something wonderful to take