Charlie Serrano

Charlie is about to enter her sophomore year in high school when her father gets full custody of her and enrolls her in River Valley School for the Deaf. Charlie was born Deaf. Growing up, however, Charlie was not allowed to learn ASL because her doctors told her mother that ASL would be a crutch that prevented her from learning to use her cochlear implant properly. However, Charlie is never able to properly use her implant. Although she has had it since she was three years old, she never adjusts to its strange sound and can only ever make out about 60% of noises around her. In addition to this, Charlie is never able to speak like a hearing person and her doctors classify her an “oral failure.” Because of this, Charlie is left without any access to language and has trouble communicating with and understanding her friends...