I'm Deaf and It's Okay by Lorraine Aseltine, Evelyn Mueller and Nancy Tait

Aletine, Lorraine, Mueller, Evelyn, and Tait, Nancy. I’m Deaf and It’s Okay. Morton Grove: Albert Whitman & Company, 1986.

I’m Deaf and It’s Okay shows readers an inside view of the frustration, struggle and happiness that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing face every day. The unnamed main character and narrator is deaf and uses hearing aides to help him better understand hearing individuals so that he can effectively communicate with them. The narrator explains that being deaf can be scary and that it takes great courage to overcome some of the difficulties deaf people and those that are hard of hearing face when interacting with society. The pencil sketched illustrations emphasize the range of emotions that the narrator experiences in different situations throughout the book. The illustrations also highlight the use of American Sign Language (ASL) by characters in the book including the narrator. The text and illustration work well together to create a full understanding of the situations the narrator is faced with. At times the narrator gets frustrated because he cannot communicate with his classmates completely and he feels left out. He also feels angry when he thinks other characters, such as his sister, get more attention from other people because they have better hearing. After seeing many adults communicating without the use of ASL and hearing aides, the narrator begins to believe that one day he will be like them and will not have to rely on his hearing aides for communication, he will be able to hear like everyone else. The illustrations work well to show the devastation that the narrator feels when his parents and teachers tell him that he will always need his hearing aides in order to communicate. The narrator hates the thought of never being able to hear without his hearing aides until a special teenager, Brian, who is also deaf and uses hearing aides, helps the narrator to understand that it is okay to be deaf. Brian shows the narrator and other young deaf children that he can still live his life much like other teenagers. He can drive a car, he can play sports, he has a job and he has many friends. Brian befriends the narrator and in doing so, shows him that even though it may be hard being deaf, it is not the end of the world. The narrator eventually learns to accept his deaf identity and begins to look at his life in a more positive way.


What makes I’m Deaf and It’s Okay an interesting book is that it is written by three different women. Lorraine Aseltine taught for seventeen years in which she worked with deaf and hard of hearing students. She has a Masters degree in deaf education and has a lot of experience in the field. Evelyn Mueller also has her Masters degree but in speech and hearing science. She worked along side Lorraine Aseltine at Pleasant Lane School in Lombard, Illinois where she has been working as a speech/language therapist for 6 years. Nancy Tait is the mother of a deaf teenager and serves as a preschool aide in a hearing-impaired classroom. Each of these women have substantial knowledge and personal experience in working within the deaf culture and together they form a remarkable team of insider authors. What sets this book apart from other books on the topic is that the authors were not afraid to dive into the hard issues and frustrations that deaf and hard of hearing individuals face. They point out the hurt that can occur from not being able to talk on the telephone like hearing individuals. They show the misinterpretation that can be receives when deaf or hard of hearing individuals cannot understand a conversation they see taking place. In the book there is a situation where the boy watches a group of his peers talking and laughing but cannot hear what they say. He gets angry and assumes they are talking about him only to realize they are only talking about Halloween. Misinterpretations like this can occur within everyday activities for deaf and hard of hearing individuals because they may not always understand that the communication taking place in their surroundings. The book explains the fear that deaf and hard of hearing individuals can face when they don’t fully understand their surroundings. The book also explains that deafness and hearing impairments are not something that can always be or need to be “fixed”. As the character of Brian helps to point out, although it may be ideal for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to eventually have the ability to hear, it may not always be a possible change but that is not necessarily a bad thing. This book shows the struggles that deaf and hard of hearing individuals face but it does not make the readers feel sorry for them. Although there are times when the boy is seen as being sad, there are almost equal situations in which the boy is happy and positively interacting with the hearing people around him. What is appreciated about this text is that the authors do no depict the life of deaf and hard of hearing individuals as easy or exactly the same as hearing individuals. The book points out subtle as well as obvious differences between the ways that deaf/hard of hearing individuals and hearing individuals function within their society. The three authors use their personal experience and knowledge to create a positive and accurate portrayal of deaf individuals in diverse literature.