Will Fertman
@willfertman.com
Father and author of The Deaf Baby Instruction Manual, available for pre-order now from Bloomsbury Academic: https://is.gd/0FoT5z
All opinions are my own. More opinions at:
https://willfertman.com - https://buttondown.com/will_fertman
All opinions are my own. More opinions at:
https://willfertman.com - https://buttondown.com/will_fertman
Pinned
Will Fertman
@willfertman.com
· Nov 17
resources for parents – William Fertman, author
willfertman.com
For hearing parents out there with #deafkids —and I can't believe I'm the first one to use that hashtag here—here's some resources that appear in my upcoming book.
Good baby books to sign, #ASL media for kids, Deaf-made apparel, helpful orgs and docs for IEPs, etc. willfertman.com/resources-fo...
Good baby books to sign, #ASL media for kids, Deaf-made apparel, helpful orgs and docs for IEPs, etc. willfertman.com/resources-fo...
Absolutely free thanksgiving this year. We're just experimenting with the air fryer and playing Telestrations, which is the most fun game ever, ever, ever. theop.games/products/tel...
Telestrations® 8 Player (2nd Edition)
The award-winning party game Telestrations will get your family and friends laughing as they draw what they see, then guess what they saw for hours of hilarious miscommunication. All players simultane...
theop.games
November 26, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Absolutely free thanksgiving this year. We're just experimenting with the air fryer and playing Telestrations, which is the most fun game ever, ever, ever. theop.games/products/tel...
Reposted by Will Fertman
School Groups Sue to Stop Dismantling of the Education Department www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
November 26, 2025 at 12:51 AM
School Groups Sue to Stop Dismantling of the Education Department www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Reposted by Will Fertman
For anyone who is, or who knows someone who is, deaf or hard of hearing and who likes to eat and be around other humans, this one is for you. rachelzemach.substack.com/p/the-innoce...
The Innocent Illusion of Inclusion: Devices at Dinnertime
November 2025
rachelzemach.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:59 PM
For anyone who is, or who knows someone who is, deaf or hard of hearing and who likes to eat and be around other humans, this one is for you. rachelzemach.substack.com/p/the-innoce...
What makes a thing useful isn’t always what makes it valuable. Thinking about gratitude for ASL and Deaf culture in tomorrow's newsletter. Subscribe at: buttondown.com/will_fertman
Notes from the Deaf Baby Instruction Manual
Being a parent is a lot. Parenting a deaf baby is a lot more.
buttondown.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:19 AM
What makes a thing useful isn’t always what makes it valuable. Thinking about gratitude for ASL and Deaf culture in tomorrow's newsletter. Subscribe at: buttondown.com/will_fertman
The more I work with parents of kids with disabilities, (and the more I parenting I do myself) the more I understand that scheduling is a huge equity issue.
And if those classes also happened at convenient times
(And if in-person, at accessible locations and included child care…)
My goodness. So basic and yet so revolutionary.
(And if in-person, at accessible locations and included child care…)
My goodness. So basic and yet so revolutionary.
November 24, 2025 at 4:17 AM
The more I work with parents of kids with disabilities, (and the more I parenting I do myself) the more I understand that scheduling is a huge equity issue.
Reposted by Will Fertman
Many disabled kids would benefit so much if parenting classes that focus on disability inclusion and the harms of ableism were widely available (so, free) to their parents.
November 24, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Many disabled kids would benefit so much if parenting classes that focus on disability inclusion and the harms of ableism were widely available (so, free) to their parents.
Reposted by Will Fertman
Emotional. ❤️
I've been working on this for the past 2 years, but in many ways, much longer, as my Masters degree is in paleoanthropology. Specifically Miocene ape evolution.
This isn't a book about how humans learned to walk as much as it is about how primates learned to reach. ❤️
Hence the title.
I've been working on this for the past 2 years, but in many ways, much longer, as my Masters degree is in paleoanthropology. Specifically Miocene ape evolution.
This isn't a book about how humans learned to walk as much as it is about how primates learned to reach. ❤️
Hence the title.
Oooooooh, looks like the news is out! 😁
Our human evolution picture book announcement!!!
I've been SO pumped about this one. It is the story both my soul and my academic side has been longing to tell. I'm thrilled to work with Galia and bring this important story to life for young kids everywhere.
Our human evolution picture book announcement!!!
I've been SO pumped about this one. It is the story both my soul and my academic side has been longing to tell. I'm thrilled to work with Galia and bring this important story to life for young kids everywhere.
November 21, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Emotional. ❤️
I've been working on this for the past 2 years, but in many ways, much longer, as my Masters degree is in paleoanthropology. Specifically Miocene ape evolution.
This isn't a book about how humans learned to walk as much as it is about how primates learned to reach. ❤️
Hence the title.
I've been working on this for the past 2 years, but in many ways, much longer, as my Masters degree is in paleoanthropology. Specifically Miocene ape evolution.
This isn't a book about how humans learned to walk as much as it is about how primates learned to reach. ❤️
Hence the title.
Reposting for movie theaters, which are the best.
November 23, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Reposting for movie theaters, which are the best.
It runs through a lobster shack, a haunted house, Chinese acting gigs, a cheese magazine and a failed startup. Plus I had kids.
November 23, 2025 at 1:41 AM
It runs through a lobster shack, a haunted house, Chinese acting gigs, a cheese magazine and a failed startup. Plus I had kids.
“Dear Neptune, lend me your flesh forms. Forgive me for eating the forms that preceded me,”
November 22, 2025 at 7:28 PM
“Dear Neptune, lend me your flesh forms. Forgive me for eating the forms that preceded me,”
Reposted by Will Fertman
I'm keeping a list of cowards and collaborators who've helped destroy public health and biomedical research: who would you nominate? From Ta-Nehisi Coates: "If none of us are here, If none of us are here to see it, tell your children who the cowards were."
November 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I'm keeping a list of cowards and collaborators who've helped destroy public health and biomedical research: who would you nominate? From Ta-Nehisi Coates: "If none of us are here, If none of us are here to see it, tell your children who the cowards were."
Reposted by Will Fertman
I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not thebaffler.com/outbursts/si...
Signed Away | Sara Nović
The hearing world continues to pillage and caricature the deaf community—most recently with the proprietary, sign-based system Makaton.
thebaffler.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not thebaffler.com/outbursts/si...
Get your pre-orders while they’re hot!
Preorder your copy of @willfertman.com's THE DEAF BABY INSTRUCTION MANUAL, a must-read guide for parents of deaf or hard of hearing children!
It's RRRREEAAADDDYYYY! The Deaf Baby Instruction Manual is now available for pre-order.
It's a modern parenting guide for hearing families with deaf or hard of hearing children. Makes a great gift for parents, family members and educators, and a useful weapon for throwing at an LEA or admin,
It's a modern parenting guide for hearing families with deaf or hard of hearing children. Makes a great gift for parents, family members and educators, and a useful weapon for throwing at an LEA or admin,
November 21, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Get your pre-orders while they’re hot!
Can't wait for the "deaf cures" to start being promoted by such luminaries as BeerBiceps and the Doctropraneur Academy.
How stem cell treatments, without evidence of benefit but with risk of harm, are promoted at YouTube by celebrities and influencers
cell.com/stem-cell-re...
cell.com/stem-cell-re...
Stem cells in your YouTube feed: The complex landscape and unexpected mediators of online information
In this article, Grundtvig and Munsie provide a large-scale analysis, identifying
4,481 stem cell-related videos on YouTube across 1,734 channels and attracting 134
million views. The article explores...
cell.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Can't wait for the "deaf cures" to start being promoted by such luminaries as BeerBiceps and the Doctropraneur Academy.
Quick q. for @drewmagary.bsky.social. My 11 year-old secretly stole this book from me and read the whole thing directly after purchase. What are my options here?
November 20, 2025 at 5:51 AM
Quick q. for @drewmagary.bsky.social. My 11 year-old secretly stole this book from me and read the whole thing directly after purchase. What are my options here?
For my family, it's telling my kids "Did you know that UC Berkeley stole these buildings from California School for the Deaf and back in the 70's?" berkhistory.org/berkeley-in-...
November 20, 2025 at 4:59 AM
For my family, it's telling my kids "Did you know that UC Berkeley stole these buildings from California School for the Deaf and back in the 70's?" berkhistory.org/berkeley-in-...
Reposted by Will Fertman
Deaf standard time is so embedded in #Deaf culture that the Summer Deaflymics being held in November feels like a cultural statement.
Good luck to Deaflymic athletes this week!!
Good luck to Deaflymic athletes this week!!
November 15, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Deaf standard time is so embedded in #Deaf culture that the Summer Deaflymics being held in November feels like a cultural statement.
Good luck to Deaflymic athletes this week!!
Good luck to Deaflymic athletes this week!!
View from the reading chair. (I’m the reading chair.)
November 19, 2025 at 4:09 AM
View from the reading chair. (I’m the reading chair.)
The ongoing dismantling of the DoE.
Update: Title I, teacher training grants, English learner programs, TRIO, adult ed, Native education, foreign-language programs, foreign med-school accreditation, and student-parent grants to move. IDEA stays at DoEd for now, though without OSERS staff it's unclear what is even being done.
November 18, 2025 at 9:46 PM
The ongoing dismantling of the DoE.
On that note, any authors here have experience getting their books translated into Spanish for the US market, or sold in Spanish in the US? I'd love to get your perspective the rights issues and how it happened. #translation
November 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
On that note, any authors here have experience getting their books translated into Spanish for the US market, or sold in Spanish in the US? I'd love to get your perspective the rights issues and how it happened. #translation
Just spent an enlightening morning talking with a board member from handsunitedor.org. Really underscored the need for orgs to offer multilingual services—half of my son's class at CSD, and half of all California families with #deafkids, use Spanish at home.
Hands United
Supporting immigrant families with children who are Deaf or hard of hearing to connect and grow with their child.
handsunitedor.org
November 18, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Just spent an enlightening morning talking with a board member from handsunitedor.org. Really underscored the need for orgs to offer multilingual services—half of my son's class at CSD, and half of all California families with #deafkids, use Spanish at home.
Reposted by Will Fertman
I don’t want to formulate words yet, but my friend Alice Wong, @sfdirewolf.bsky.social of the Disability Visibility Project, has passed.
Here are the words she left behind:
www.instagram.com/p/DREMDNBjnq...
Here are the words she left behind:
www.instagram.com/p/DREMDNBjnq...
Alice Wong on Instagram: "ID: Yellow background with black text "This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing. Hi everyone, it ...
423 likes, 73 comments - alicatsamurai on November 14, 2025: "ID: Yellow background with black text "This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the t...
www.instagram.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:57 AM
I don’t want to formulate words yet, but my friend Alice Wong, @sfdirewolf.bsky.social of the Disability Visibility Project, has passed.
Here are the words she left behind:
www.instagram.com/p/DREMDNBjnq...
Here are the words she left behind:
www.instagram.com/p/DREMDNBjnq...
Reposted by Will Fertman
As @raeoflion.bsky.social and I wrote in this article featuring Rae's video:
A report from the California Health Care Foundation found that 10 percent cut to HCBS programs would lead to $1 billion more in Medicaid spending in the state... due to the greater overall costs of institutionalization.
A report from the California Health Care Foundation found that 10 percent cut to HCBS programs would lead to $1 billion more in Medicaid spending in the state... due to the greater overall costs of institutionalization.
Medicaid-funded services are their lifeline—and make their work possible. But the Trump cuts to the program could change it all.
Meet Audrey and Jeremy, who went viral for talking about how the GOP's Medicaid cuts could devastate their everyday.
Meet Audrey and Jeremy, who went viral for talking about how the GOP's Medicaid cuts could devastate their everyday.
What Trump's Medicaid cuts mean for two podcasters with Down syndrome
Medicaid-funded services are their lifeline—and make their work possible.
www.motherjones.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:52 AM
As @raeoflion.bsky.social and I wrote in this article featuring Rae's video:
A report from the California Health Care Foundation found that 10 percent cut to HCBS programs would lead to $1 billion more in Medicaid spending in the state... due to the greater overall costs of institutionalization.
A report from the California Health Care Foundation found that 10 percent cut to HCBS programs would lead to $1 billion more in Medicaid spending in the state... due to the greater overall costs of institutionalization.
Reposted by Will Fertman
This Department of Ed is attacking nurses and eliminating nursing programs, per Project 2025.
November 14, 2025 at 5:11 PM
This Department of Ed is attacking nurses and eliminating nursing programs, per Project 2025.