Endnotes

The following are source materials used in the research and reporting for Mother Tongue. The page numbers correspond to the US hardcover edition, but key phrases have been used to aid those using other editions.

5 In the social sciences: Alberto Acerbi, Alex Mesoudi, and Marco Smolla, Individual-based Models of Cultural Evolution: A step-by-step guide using R (London: Routledge, 2022), https://acerbialberto.com/IBM-cultevo/vertical-and-horizontal-transmission.html.

15 Early Christianity: E.A.F., “What Did Saint Augustine Say?,” American Annals of the Deaf 57, no. 1 (1912): 111, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44462613.

15 By the sixth century: E.A.F., “What Did Saint Augustine Say?,” American Annals of the Deaf 57, no. 1 (1912): 111, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44462613.

16 ancient Egyptian culture: Alexandra Morris, Richard Amm, and Kyle Lewis Jordan, “Ancient Egypt and Disability,” Disability Action Research Kollective, 2024, https://files.libcom.org/files/2024-12/Ancient%20Egypt%20and%20Disability_0.pdf.

16 Socrates, having at some point: Des Power, “Googling ‘Deaf’: Deafness in the World’s English-Language Press,” American Annals of the Deaf 155, no. 5 (2006): 513, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26234413.

16 Cicero declared hearing: Marcus Tullius Cicero, Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations. Also, Treatises On The Nature Of The Gods, And On The Commonwealth, trans. C. D. Yonge (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1877), 206, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14988/14988-h/14988-h.htm.

16 The Mayan, Incan, and Aztec:  Ian Mursell, “The Aztecs and Disability,” Mexicolore, 2023,  https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/health/the-aztecs-and-disability.

18 While some find success: Elizabeth Dougherty, “Getting the Word In,” The Brink, Boston University, 2017, https://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/asl-language-acquisition/.

21 Only by speech: Johann Gottfried Herder, “Ideas for the Philosophy of the History of Mankind,” in Herder on Social and Political Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967), 253–326, https://konspektikaust.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/johann-gottfried-herder-ideas-for-the-philosophy-of-the-history-of-mankind.

22 “These are not my hearing aids”: Elizabeth A. Rozenweig, “Elizabeth A. Rosenzweig, PhD CCC-SLP LSLS Cert. AVT,” https://auditoryverbaltherapy.net/2015/06/22/free-poster-these-are-not-my-hearing-aids/.

23 only 8 percent: Wyatte C. Hall, Leonard L. Levin, and Melissa L. Anderson, “Language Deprivation Syndrome: a possible neurodevelopmental disorder with sociocultural origins,” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 52 (2017): 761–76, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-017-1351-7.

26 1 in 1,000 people are born deaf: “Quick Statistics about Hearing, Balance, and Dizziness,” National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, 2024, https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing.

27 1 in 155: Cari Romm, “The Life and Death of Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language,” The Atlantic, 2015, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/marthas-vineyard-sign-language-asl/407191/.

27 Old Kentish Sign Language: Nora Ellen Groce, “Deafness on Martha’s Vineyard,” Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016, https://www.britannica.com/science/deafness-on-Marthas-Vineyard.

28 unable to verify the existence of Old Kentish: Mary E. Kitzel, “Chasing Ancestors: Searching for the roots of American Sign Language in the Kentish Weald, 1620–1851,” University of Sussex, 2016, https://sussex.figshare.com/articles/thesis/Chasing_ancestors_searching_for_the_roots_of_American_Sign_Language_in_the_Kentish_Weald_1620-1851/23404043?file=41128268.

28 recent research into genealogy and migratory patterns: Justin M. Power and Richard P. Meier, “The historical demography of the Martha’s Vineyard signing community,” Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 29, no. 3 (2024): 295–321, https://academic.oup.com/jdsde/article/29/3/295/7591119.

29 the phenomenon of village-wide sign vocabulary: Kathleen L. Brockway, interview, 2025.

35 The Braidwoods offered Gallaudet: Barry Crouch and Brian Greenwald, “Hearing with the Eye: The Rise of Deaf Education in the United States,” in The Deaf History Reader (anthology) (Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press, 2007).

36 Laurent Clerc: Vivian Smith, ed., “Biography of Laurent Clerc,” Gallaudet University, https://www.gallaudet.edu/tutorial-and-instructional-programs/english-center/reading-english-as-second-language/practice-exercises/laurent-clerc/.

36 Clerc agreed: John Crowley, “Monsieur Laurent Clerc (1785–1869),” Social Welfare History Project, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018,  https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/clerc-monsieur-laurent/.

37 While today Clerc is known: Kathleen L. Brockway, interview, 2025.  

37 The Braidwood School in Virginia: Kathleen L. Brockway, interview, 2025.

38 there is some evidence that Black deaf students: “The Kendall School for the Deaf Opens,” African American Registry,  https://aaregistry.org/story/first-integrated-school-for-hearing-impaired/; “The New York School for the Deaf: People, Passion, Progress, 2023,” https://thebcw.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-York-School-for-the-Deaf-Brochure-English.pdf.

38 indigenous signed languages: Cecily Hilleary, “Native American Hand Talkers Fight to Keep Sign Language Alive,” Voice of America, 2017, https://www.voanews.com/a/native-american-hand-talker-fight-to-keep-signed-language-alive/3794333.html.

52 Using similar verbiage: Susan M. Schweik, The Ugly Laws: Disability in Public (New York: New York University Press, 2009), 291, https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.18574/nyu/9780814708873.003.0018/html?lang=en&srsltid=AfmBOoo7LH8ipFIGn78Jcz06drV7VMNKsscIyVQMCZAPtP73osUD4ByT.

52 police officers in San Francisco: Kathleen L. Brockway, interview, 2025.

52 The hearing psychologist and scholar: Harlan Lane, “Do Deaf People Have a Disability?,” Sign Language Studies 2, no. 5 (2002): 356–79, https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2002.0019.

60 The Ku Klux Klan: Henry A. Rhodes, “Nativist and Racist Movements in the U.S. and their Aftermath,” Racism and Nativism in Political Culture 4, no. 5 (1994), https://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/1994/4/94.04.05.x.html.

61 Pupils certainly are not sent to school: Alexander Graham Bell, “Letter from Alexander Graham Bell, February 17, 1894,” Library of Congress, The Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers, 1834–1974, https://www.loc.gov/resource/magbell.19400202/?sp=4&st=text.

61 What I would specially emphasize: Alexander Graham Bell, “Letter from Alexander Graham Bell to Mary E. Bennett, August 30, 1913, Library of Congress, The Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers, 1834–1974, https://www.loc.gov/resource/magbell.16900133/?sp=4&st=text.

62 The deaf also escaped some early eugenic policy: Kristen Harmon, “Un-telling the Eugenicist’s Tale: Early Twentieth-Century Deaf Writers on A. G. Bell and Eugenics,” Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies 15, no. 2 (2021): 151–67, https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/105/article/790619.

62 “Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race”: Alexander Graham Bell, "Memoir Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race: A paper presented to the National Academy of Sciences at New Haven, November 13, 1883,” Deaf Rare Books 22 (1884), https://ida.gallaudet.edu/deaf_rare_books/22.

65 Unsurprisingly, deaf people report a higher rate of mistrust: Sarah M. Hall, et al., “Deaf Patient Perspectives of Healthcare Provider Cultural Competency: Strategies for Improvement across Affective, Cognitive, and Behavioral Dimensions,” Qualitative Research in Health 8 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100630.

69 twelves states had enacted some degree of abortion ban: Elizabeth Nash et al., “State Policy Trends at Mid-Year 2019: States Race to Ban or Protect Abortion,” Guttmacher,  https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2019/07/state-policy-trends-mid-year-2019-states-race-ban-or-protect-abortion.

69 At its center was Carrie Buck: J. David Smith, “Carrie Buck (1906–1983),” Encyclopedia Virginia, http://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/buck-carrie-1906-1983/#:~:text=Following%20the%20birth%20on%20March,and%20gave%20her%20their%20name.&text=Shortly%20after%20Buck%27s%20commitment%2C%20Albert%20S
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/buck-carrie-1906-1983/.

70 Seeking evidence: “Carrie Buck’s Baby,” Encyclopedia Virginia,  https://encyclopediavirginia.org/8319hpr-93689bd8140a714/.

70 “three generations of imbeciles are enough”: “Involuntary Sterilization of Disabled Americans: An Historical Overview,” ABC Law Centers, https://www.abclawcenters.com/blog/2018/11/06/involuntary-sterilization-of-disabled-americans-an-historical-overview/.

70 This is not to suggest: “The Supreme Court Ruling that Led to 70,000 Forced Sterilizations,” NPR (2016), https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/07/469478098/the-supreme-court-ruling-that-led-to-70-000-forced-sterilizations.

70 As of 2022, laws permitting the nonconsensual sterilization: “Forced Sterilization of Disabled People in the United States,” National Woman’s Law Center (2022), https://nwlc.org/resource/forced-sterilization-of-disabled-people-in-the-united-states/.

70 Typically, these sterilizations are performed: “Involuntary Sterilization of Disabled Americans: An Historical Overview,” ABC Law Centers, https://www.abclawcenters.com/blog/2018/11/06/involuntary-sterilization-of-disabled-americans-an-historical-overview/.

71 In 1880: Robb Dooling, “Signs of Diplomacy—International Day of Sign Languages,” U.S. Department of State (2021), https://2021-2025.state.gov/dipnote-u-s-department-of-state-official-blog/signs-of-diplomacy-international-day-of-sign-languages/#:~:text=The%20Milan%20Congress%20of%201880,delegates%2C%20only%20one%20was%20deaf.

72 The International Congress on the Education of the Deaf: “2010: ICED, Apologies for Milan Conference,” Deaf History—Europe,  https://deafhistory.eu/index.php/component/zoo/item/2010-apologies-for-milan-conference.

73 If anything, it hurts a bit more: Marilyn Terrell and Laura Wallach, “Alexander Graham Bell in Love,” National Geographic Magazine (2012), https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/alexander-graham-bell-in-love.

74 Bell, like many others in power: Steven A. Faber, “U.S. Scientists’ Role in the Eugenics Movement (1907–1939): A Contemporary Biologist’s Perspective,” Zebrafish 5, no. 2 (2008): 243–45, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2757926/.

76 Leaders were now openly advocating: William H. Schneider, “Indiana Eugenics: History and Legacy, 1907–2007,” Indiana University School of Medicine, https://hdl.handle.net/1805/384.

76 By 1933: Horst Biesold, Crying Hands: Eugenics and Deaf People in Nazi Germany (Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press, 2004).

76 The party’s 1934 National Socialist Handbook: Ira Katznelson, “What America Taught the Nazis,” The Atlantic (2017), https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/11/what-america-taught-the-nazis/540630/.

77 Examples of dehumanization: Gregory Stanton, “The Logic of the Ten Stages of Genocide,” Genocide Watch, https://www.genocidewatch.com/tenstages.

77 In the lead-up to the Armenian genocide: William Donohue, “There’s a Dark Political History to Language that Strips People of their Dignity,” The Conversation, Michigan State University (2019), https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2019/theres-a-dark-political-history-to-language-that-strips-people-of-their-dignity.

77 Before the Holocaust: “German Propaganda: An Archive of Antisemitic Publications from 1930–1945,” https://germanpropaganda.org/jewish-influence-past-and-present/.

78 As World War I drew to a close: “The Deadly Virus: The Influenza Epidemic of 1918,” National Archives and Records Administration, https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/.

79 By 1933, Germany was legislating: “Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases (July 14, 1933),” German History in Documents and Images, https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=1521.

79 Approximately four hundred thousand disabled people: Philip R. Reilly, “Eugenics and Involuntary Sterilization: 1907–2015,” Annual Review of Human Genetics 16, no. 3 (2015): 351–68, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26322647/.

80 The first disabled people killed by the German state: Mark P. Mostert, “Useless Eaters: Disability as a Genocidal Marker in Nazi Germany,” The Journal of Special Education 36, no. 3 (2002): 155–68, https://courses.washington.edu/intro2ds/Readings/Mostert%20Useless%20Eaters.pdf?utm_source=signs%2Bwonders&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=disability-rights-are-your-yes-you-rights.

80 Lead physician Karl Brandt: Robert Jay Lifton, The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide (New York: Basic Books, 1986), 71.

80 In the particularly popular 1941 German film: Johannes Allgaier, trans., “I Accuse: An English Translation of the Dialogue in Ich Klage An, A 1941 Film About Euthanasia” (Prince George, British Columbia: College of New Caledonia Press, 1993), https://cnc.bc.ca/docs/default-source/cnc-press/1993-i-accuse.pdf?sfvrsn=e121d680_2.

80 The program, which under an expanded mandate: “Euthanasia Program and Aktion T4,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2020, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/euthanasia-program.

81 A few religious leaders opposed the murders: “Blessed Clemens August, Graf von Galen,” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Blessed-Clemens-August-Graf-von-Galen.

81 Though public advertisement of T4: “Creation of Extermination Camps 1941–42,” The Holocaust Explained, The Wiener Holocaust Library,  https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/how-and-why/how/creation-of-extermination-camps/.

81 It is estimated to have killed: “Euthanasia Program and Aktion T4,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2020, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/euthanasia-program.

82 A 2019 study examining maternal outcomes: Monika Mitra, et al., “Pregnancy, Birth, and Infant Outcomes Among Women Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine 58, no. 3 (2019): 418–26, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31952943/. [NG1] [MJB2] 

83 Over the next several years, the Heller School: Mel Ptacek, “Research Reports: Two-Part Series on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Mothers,” National Center for Disability and Pregnancy Research, Brandeis University, https://heller.brandeis.edu/disability-and-pregnancy/research/policy/deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-mothers-two-part-articles.html.

83 A deaf man recently settled a suit with Parkwest: Melissa Greene, “Covenant Health Settles ADA Claim After Deaf Man Loses Lower Leg,” 6 News Knoxville, August 2022, https://www.wate.com/news/local-news/covenant-health-settles-ada-claim-after-deaf-man-loses-lower-leg/.

83 A few years earlier, a group of deaf patients: Jeremy Cox, “Jacksonville Hospital Company Settles Dispute over Hearing-impaired Care,” The Florida Times-Union,  https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/healthcare/2011/03/04/jacksonville-hospital-company-settles-dispute-over-hearing/15911981007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z114105e009700v114105b0041xxd004165&gca-ft=84&gca-ds=sophi.

87 Arrythmia: “Heart Arrythmia,” Mayo Clinic, 2023, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-arrhythmia/symptoms-causes/syc-20350668.

87 A stranger on Reddit: Midweek_Sunrise, “Does Being Sick Impair the Body’s Ability to Form Memories During That Time?,” r/askscience, Reddit, 2022,  https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/11h1h43/does_being_sick_impair_the_bodys_ability_to_form/.

97 It’s worth noting that in the United States, fraud: Kathleen Romig, “Setting the Record Straight on Social Security,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 2025, https://www.cbpp.org/blog/setting-the-record-straight-on-social-security.

100 Instructions from the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Screening: J. L. Cox, J. M. Holden, and R. Sagovsky, “Detection of postnatal depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale,” British Journal of Psychiatry 150 (1987): 782–86.

104 30 percent of a nursing woman’s energy: Jennifer Grayson, “‘There Are No Tests’: Stunning Lack of Medical Support for Breastfeeding Women,” HuffPost, 2017, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/there-are-no-tests-the-st_b_11307426.

104 a phenomenon known as microchimerism: Viviane Callier, “Baby’s Cells Can Manipulate Mom’s Body for Decades,” Smithsonian Magazine, September 2015,  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/babys-cells-can-manipulate-moms-body-decades-180956493/.

107 Newborns fall directly into REM: Gwen Dewar, “Baby Sleep Patterns: An Evidence-Based Guide,” Parenting Science, 2023, https://parentingscience.com/baby-sleep-patterns/.

114 During inhalation: “How the Lungs Work: What Breathing Does for the Body,” National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/lungs/breathing-benefits.

114 And, while we can make a conscious effort: “Breathing,” Medline, National Library of Medicine, 2025, https://medlineplus.gov/ency/anatomyvideos/000018.htm.

126 Frankie D. Murphy: Gabriel Escobar and Ruben Castaneda, “Handcuffed Deaf Man Dies After Struggle with Police,” The Washington Post, May 17, 1991, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1991/05/17/handcuffed-deaf-man-dies-after-struggle-with-police/a3af1858-6851-4dc4-83ff-d180f1f25149/.

126 Errol Shaw, a Black deaf man: Brad Heath, “Policeman who Shot and Killed Detroit Man Shares his Story,” Detroit Free Press, 2014, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2014/08/26/policeman-who-shot-and-killed-detroit-man-shares-his-story/14657227/.

127 Latino deaf man Magdiel Sanchez: James Doubek, “Oklahoma City Police Fatally Shoot Deaf Man Despite Yells of ‘He Can’t Hear,’” NPR, 2017, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/21/552527929/oklahoma-city-police-fatally-shoot-deaf-man-despite-yells-of-he-cant-hear-you.

127 It was also in Oklahoma that Pearl Pearson: “Deaf, Black, and A Victim of Police Brutality,” Al Jazeera, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Rkctxo_LQI.

127 In Las Vegas in 2021: Katelyn Newberg, “Deaf Woman Detained in April Sues North Las Vegas Police,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2021, https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/deaf-woman-detained-in-april-sues-north-las-vegas-police-2501436/.

127 Despite the findings of a 2016 report: Justin Ellis, “Media Missing the Story: Half of All Recent High-Profile Police-Related Killings are People with Disabilities,” Ruderman Family Foundation, 2016, https://rudermanfoundation.org/media-missing-the-story-half-of-all-recent-high-profile-police-related-killings-are-people-with-disabilities/.

129 the rate of fatal police shootings: “Rate of Fatal Police Shootings in the United States from 2015 to December 2024, by Ethnicity,” Statista Research Department, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1123070/police-shootings-rate-ethnicity-us/.

129 misinterpretation of ASL as “gang signs”: David Player, “Misunderstood: American Sign Language Mistaken as Gang Signs,” Medium, 2024, https://dplayer84.medium.com/misunderstood-american-sign-language-mistaken-as-gang-signs-6660ce63fe49.

129 2013 case of Jonathan Meister: “Police Beat, Stun Man After Confusing Sign Language for Threatening Gestures,” CBS News, Los Angeles,  https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/police-beat-stun-deaf-man-after-confusing-sign-language-with-threatening-gestures/.

129 Brady Mistic of Colorado: Emma Tucker, “Deaf Colorado Man Who Couldn’t Hear Police Commands Says he was Tased, Spent Four Months in Jail,” CNN, 2021,  https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/30/us/deaf-colorado-man-arrested-jailed-four-months/index.html.

129 Belleville News-Democrat: Heidi Wiechert, “36 Years Ago, a Deaf Man was Shot in the Back by Belleville’s Then Police Chief,” Belleville News-Democrat, 2017, https://www.bnd.com/news/local/article178025796.html.

130 killing of Daniel Harris: Lilit Marcus, “The Deaf Are Unheard Victims of Police Brutality, Until Now,” GQ, 2016, https://www.gq.com/story/the-deaf-are-the-unheard-victims-of-police-brutality-until-now.

132 Thomas Flowers: “Celebrating Black History Month,” Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Facebook,  https://www.facebook.com/psd1820/posts/psd-is-proud-to-celebrate-black-history-month-and-values-the-diversity-of-our-st/7184700344938351/?locale=hi_IN.

132 In the lead-up to the Civil War: Harry G. Lang, “Fighting in the Shadows: The Untold Story of Deaf People in the Civil War,” Sign Language Studies 17, no. 1 (2016): 64–70, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26189129.

132 Kendall School Division II: Nicole Chavez, “Black Deaf Students who Attended 1950s Segregated School Will Finally Get their High School Diplomas,” CNN, July 22, 2023,  https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/22/us/gallaudet-university-black-deaf-students-high-school-diplomas-reaj.

133 Known today as Black American Sign Language: “Black ASL Project,” Center for Black Deaf Studies, Gallaudet University, https://gallaudet.edu/center-black-deaf-studies/black-asl-project/.

133 Indigenous signed languages: Arlene Islas and Melanie McKay-Cody, “Preserving Native Sign Languages: A Deaf Scholar’s Mission,” University of Arizona, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_IRTpQdut4.

135 Audre Lorde’s famous essay: Audre Lorde, “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House,” in Feminist Theory: A Reader, 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw Hill, 1979), 15–17, https://www.womenofthehall.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lorde-Audre-Masters-Tools.pdf.

137 the Black Panthers: “The 504 Protests and the Black Panther Party,” Disability Social History Project, 2021, https://disabilityhistory.org/2021/12/19/the-504-protests-and-the-black-panther-party/.

141 estimated a global orphan population: “AIDS-Related Orphanhood,” UNICEF, 2025, https://data.unicef.org/topic/hivaids/orphanhood/.

141 UNICEF’s definition of orphan: “UNICEF Data on Orphans by Region to 2010 [Chart],” Children and Youth in History, 2021, https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/293.html.  

142 While voluntary efforts had been encouraged earlier: Kenneth Pletcher, “Consequences of China’s One-Child Policy,” Encyclopedia Britannica, 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy/Consequences-of-Chinas-one-child-policy.

142 Those in violation would face debilitating fines: Barbara Demick, “Stolen Chinese Babies Supply Adoption Demand,” Los Angeles Times, Sept. 20, 2009, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-sep-20-fg-china-adopt20-story.html.

142 One-child policies prohibited not only multiple births: Siyi Huo, “China and The US Share a Unique Adoption History,” Survive and Thrive Boston, 2016, https://surviveandthriveboston.com/index.php/china-and-the-us-share-a-unique-adoption-history/.

142 Intercountry adoption first surpassed domestic: Siyi Huo, “China and The US Share a Unique Adoption History,” Survive and Thrive Boston, 2016,   https://surviveandthriveboston.com/index.php/china-and-the-us-share-a-unique-adoption-history/.

143 Even in the peak period, from 2000 to 2013: Jenna Cook, “A ‘Lost’ Daughter Speaks, and All of China Listens,” Foreign Policy, March 30, 2016, https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/30/a-lost-daughter-speaks-and-all-of-china-listens-adoption/.

144 When asked in an interview with Foreign Policy: E. J. Graff, “The Lie We Love,” Foreign Policy, Oct. 6, 2009, https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/06/the-lie-we-love/.

144 Take, for example, Guatemala: “Timeline: Guatemala’s Brutal Civil War,” PBS News, 2011, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/latin_america-jan-june11-timeline_03-07.

144 In 2006, one in every 110 infants: E. J. Graff, “The Lie We Love,” Foreign Policy, Oct. 6, 2009, https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/06/the-lie-we-love/.

144 Many families were caught in education-based scams: Jessica Davis, “The ‘Orphan’ I Adopted from Uganda Already Had a Family,” CNN, Oct. 13, 2017, http://https/www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/opinions/adoption-uganda-opinion-davis/index.html.

146 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children: John Devendorf, “Hague Convention Countries,” Law Info, 2025, https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/adoption/hague-adoption/convention-countries.html.

147 eight million children living in institutions: Corinna Csaky, “Keeping Children out of Harmful Institutions: Why We Should be Investing in Family-Based Care,” Save the Children, 2009, https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/1398.pdf/.

147 a study examining vulnerable populations: “About Institutional Care,” Opening Doors, 2019, https://www.openingdoors.eu/key-facts/#fn4.

147 a study out of Russia in 2000: D. Tobias, “Moving from Residential Institutions to Community Based Social Services in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union,”  The World Bank (Washington, DC: 2000), 33.

158 “The word ‘understand’”: Andrea Elliott, Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City (New York: Random House, 2021), 520.

161 America’s adult LGBTQ+ population: Jeffrey M. Jones, “LGBTQ+ Identification in U.S. Now at 7.6%,” Gallup, 2024, https://news.gallup.com/poll/611864/lgbtq-identification.aspx.

161 Similarly, a 2021 study: Varshini Varadaraj, et al., “National Prevalence of Disability and Disability Types Among Adults in the US, 2019,” JAMA Network Open 4, no. 10 (2021), https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2785329.

161 as bell hooks defined queerness: bell hooks, “Are You Still a Slave? Liberating the Black Female Body,” Eugene Lang College at The New School, 2014,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJk0hNROvzs&t=5226s.

166 Falwell headed a group called the Moral Majority: “Politics in the Pulpit,” The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, American Archive of Public Broadcasting, 1980, https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-507-0v89g5gw13.

166 Reagan’s official 1980 platform: “Republican Party Platform of 1980,” The American Presidency Project, University of Santa Barbara, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/republican-party-platform-1980.

168 in a secret, untitled report: “The Wedge Document,” National Center for Science Education, 2008, https://ncse.ngo/wedge-document.

171 “You and I have the gift of femininity: Elisabeth Eliot, Let Me Be a Woman (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Momentum, 1999).

173 Focus on the Family’s explainer: Glenn T. Stanton, “Understanding the Myths of Gender Identity and Transgenderism,” Focus on the Family, 2025, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/helping-kids-recognize-the-myths-of-gender-identity-and-transgenderism/.

182 most humans have twenty-four ribs: Corey Whelan, “How Many Ribs Do Men Have?,” Healthline, 2019, https://www.healthline.com/health/bone-health/how-many-ribs-do-men-have.

188 Genie, a thirteen-year-old: Rory Carroll, “Starved, Tortured, Forgotten: Genie, the Feral Child Who Left a Mark on Researchers,” The Guardian, July 14, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/14/genie-feral-child-los-angeles-researchers.

188 Victor’s teacher was the physician Jean Itard: Harlan Lane, When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf (New York: Random House, 1984).

189 2 percent receive an education in signed language: Matthew L. Hall, Wyatte C. Hall, and Naomi K. Caselli, “Deaf Children Need Language Not (Just) Speech,” First Language 4, no. 39 (2019): 367–95, https://cssh.northeastern.edu/cali/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/09/Hall-et-al-2019-deaf-children-need-language-not-just-speech.pdf.

189 80 percent of deaf children receive implants: Tom Humphries et al., “Language Acquisition for Deaf Children: Reducing the Harms of Zero Tolerance to the Use of Alternative Approaches,” Harm Reduction Journal 2, no. 9 (2012): 16, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22472091/.

189 70 percent of U.S. deaf children: Elizabeth Dougherty, “Getting the Word In,” The Brink, Boston University, 2017, https://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/asl-language-acquisition/. 

189 A 2021 report from Texas Education Agency: “Annual Statewide Report on Language Acquisition for Students who are Deaf or Hard-of-hearing and Deafblind 0-8 Years of Age,” Texas Education Agency, 2022, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iuJB1Ho0w4r1W0gQiqLnV9cbk19FZbe_/view?pli=1.

190 One 2018 study examining speech recognition: Arielle Spellun and Poorna Kushalnagar, “Sign Language for Deaf Infants: A Key Intervention to a Developmental Emergency,” Clinical Pediatrics 57, no. 14 (2018): 1613–15,  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0009922818778041.

190 Halfway across the world: Claire Campbell, “Children Face Developmental Delays After Cochlear Implant Bungle at Women and Children’s Hospital,” ABC News Australia, March 20, 2023, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-20/wch-hearing-bungle-leave-children-with-developmental-delays/102117512.

190 Sign language neither delays speech: C. R. Lyness, B. Woll, R. Campbell, and V. Cardin, “How Does Visual Language Affect Crossmodal Plasticity and Cochlear Implant Success?,” Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 37 (2013): 2621–30.

191 deaf children have better linguistic and academic outcomes: Donna Jo Napoli et al., “Should All Deaf Children Learn Sign Language?,” Pediatrics 136, no. 1 (2015): 170–76, https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/136/1/170/29040/Should-All-Deaf-Children-Learn-Sign-Language?redirectedFrom=fulltext; Tom Humphries, et al., “Avoiding Linguistic Neglect of Deaf Children,” Social Service Review 90, no. 4 (2016): 589–619, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/689543.

191 American Academy of Pediatrics: Charles Bower and Julia L. Hecht, “Hearing Assessment Update Offers 7 Recommendations, Expands Medical Home Guidance,” AAP News, 2023, https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/25437/Hearing-assessment-update-offers-7-recommendations?autologincheck=redirected.

205 Deaf education in Thailand: Sophon Chaiwatthanakunwanich, “Thailand,” World Association of Sign Language Interpreters, 2013, https://web.archive.org/web/20230203131721/https://wasli.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/255_thailand-country-report.pdf.

205 These communities were separated: “History of Bangkok,” Civitatis, https://www.introducingbangkok.com/history.

206 In the 1940s: David Robinson, Ranjit S. Teja, Yangho Byeon, and Wanda S. Tseng, Thailand Adjusting to Success: Current Policy Issues, International Monetary Fund (1991), https://www.elibrary.imf.org/display/book/9781557752215/ch002.xml.

206 The Setsatian School: Arusa Pisuthipan, “Lending a Hand,” Bangkok Post, 2015, https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/600872/lending-a-hand.

206 Khunying Kamala Kraireuk: Apiluck Tumtavitikul and W. Rasapatcharawong, et al., “Thai Sound System Teaching Tool for the Hearing Impaired” (2012), https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Thai-Fingerspelling-invented-by-Khunying-Kamala-Kraireuk-1953-is-based-on-ASL_fig5_268386226.

206 As had happened with ASL: Angela M. Nonaka, “(Almost) Everyone Here Spoke Ban Khor Sign Language—Until They Started Using TSL: Language Shift and Endangerment of a Thai Village Sign,” Language and Communication 38 (2014): 54–72, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2014.05.005.

214 the CRPD is the only human rights treaty: “Statement on Senate CRPD Vote,” Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, 2013, https://dredf.org/2013/02/19/statement-on-todays-senate-crpd-vote/.

214 CRPD is perceived by conservatives as dangerous: Bobby Caina Calvin, “Treaty for the Disabled Falls Short of Ratification,” Political Intelligence, Boston.com, 2012,  
https://web.archive.org/web/20130518003232/https://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2012/12/04/treaty-for-the-disabled-falls-short-ratification/Esvyz2zFLGdVzX5j42TSLM/story.html.

217 George Wing: Bette Le Verne Fauth and Warren Wesley, “A Study of the Proceedings of the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf 1850–1949, II,” American Annals of the Deaf 95, no. 2 (1950): 146–47, https://www-jstor-org.proxy.emerson.edu/stable/44389036?seq=1.

225 Recent studies show that ASL fluency isn’t necessary: Naomi Caselli, Jennie Pyers, and Amy M. Lieberman, “Deaf Children of Hearing Parents Have Age-Level Vocabulary Growth When Exposed to American Sign Language by 6 Months of Age,” The Journal of Pediatrics 232 (2021): 229–36, https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(21)00036-6/fulltext.

227 AG Bell Academy: “About the LSL Specialist Certification,” AG Bell Academy for Listening & Spoken Language, https://agbellacademy.org/certification/.

227 as in Michigan’s 2022 hearings: “Michigan Deaf Community Testifies in Support of LEAD-K Bill,” The Daily Moth, 2022, https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/michigan-deaf-community-testifies-in-support-of-lead-k-bill.

227 ASHA maintains public opposition: “Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K),” American Speech-Language-Hearing Society, https://www.asha.org/advocacy/lead-k/?srsltid=AfmBOopQwskmlqLxA0EC3heIs9XtbZvLorOt0F7gSb7UG6eGunnqKEBf.

228 A 2015 report by the Department of Health and Human Services: “Position Statement on Improving Child Protective Services for Families with Deaf Individuals,” National Association of the Deaf, 2016, https://www.nad.org/about-us/position-statements/position-statement-on-improving-child-protective-services-for-families-with-deaf-individuals/.

228 Lee Larsen v. the State of Michigan: Cal Montgomery, “The Cochlear Implant Trial,” Ragged Edge Magazine, 2002, https://www.raggededgemagazine.com/extra/deaftrial1.html.

229 In the end, the judged ruled in favor: Alicia Ouellette, “Hearing the Deaf: Cochlear Implants, the Deaf Community, and Bioethical Analysis,” Valparaiso Law Review 45 (2011): 1245–68,  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228218468_Hearing_The_Deaf_Cochlear_Implants_The_Deaf_Community_and_Bioethical_Analysis.

234 ASHA’s certification of clinical competence: “2020 Standards and Implementation Procedures for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology,” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2020, https://www.asha.org/certification/2020-slp-certification-standards/?srsltid=AfmBOoqAR5O0dxlXfZWYyBRzgdkq9kdhz2jexztBGZ2n-87EKRFgIHhT#5.

242 cured a deaf eleven-year-old in a clinical trial: “Gene Therapy Allows an 11-year-old-boy to hear for the first time,” The New York Times, Jan. 23, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/23/health/deaf-gene-therapy.html.

245 U.S. Department of Defense: “Hearing Restoration Research Program Focused Research Award,” Department of Defense Health Program, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, 2024, https://cdmrp.health.mil/funding/pa/HT942524HRRPFRA_GG.pdf.

248 The reality is me and you: Mark Kozyk (@sky__0_o), Instagram, August 1, 2024. https://www.instagram.com/p/C-JPpluy8OL/?hl=en&img_index=1