Silence Can Be Deadly

Your article on deaf Americans and AIDS was the first I've seen you print on issues related to deaf people ((SOCIETY, April 4)). Too bad you had to make us look as dumb as rocks. While we're not all illiterate simpletons, there is some truth to your article. How about a follow-up on why America finds it so difficult to educate its deaf citizens adequately?

Tom Willard, Editor

Silent News

Rochester, New York

As deaf teenagers, we found your report insulting and inaccurate. We know what HIV positive means. We understand how AIDS is transmitted and how it can be prevented. Thanks to the closed-captioning of TV broadcasts, deaf people are aware of social issues as well as what's happening in their communities. Our school has a state-mandated AIDS curriculum. Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act has finally given deaf people the break they deserve.

Zachary Palisoc and Nidia Chevez

Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf

Mill Neck, New York

The issue is not just poor AIDS education for the deaf but also the failure of the U.S. to educate deaf people in general. Since American Sign Language is the most accessible method of communication for the deaf, it is their "native" language. We must adopt the bilingual education model and teach the deaf in their own language, help them master it and use it as a comparative model for their second language, English. If this were accomplished, maybe the deaf would not only understand the facts about AIDS but would also be educated in all the subjects necessary for survival.

John Sedlak

New York City