Will Fertman
banner
willfertman.com
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
Pinned
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...
resources for parents – William Fertman, author
willfertman.com
Happy New Year, to all who celebrate.
January 1, 2026 at 1:00 AM
Reupping for posterity.
On one side, Tom and Ray. On the other, Dr. Katz, Laura, and Ben. These are the pillars.
December 31, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Reposted by Will Fertman
Agree the Cartoon Art Museum is incredible and you should go there if you can. Plus Square Guys Pizza is right there so boom perfect date.
This article is excellent, but the Cartoon Art Museum shouldn't be under the radar. People should constantly be talking about the Cartoon Art Museum. Whenever people aren't at the Cartoon Art Museum, they should be saying, "Why aren't we at the Cartoon Art Museum?"
www.sfexaminer.com/culture/muse...
SF's niche museums are somehow thriving
Cable cars, comic strips and an old-school arcade — SF’s best under-the-radar museums are unusually popular
www.sfexaminer.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Nobody got mad at me. :(
What’s the funniest reason someone got mad at you on Bluesky this year?
December 31, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Shocking revelation. :)
December 30, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Esphyr Slobodkina 4-EVR. This is a great one to practice your #ASL with, if you've got a #deafkid.
The very one. It’s absolutely my favorite book to read to my kids.
December 30, 2025 at 3:45 PM
The correct answer is a crouton-forward salad.
Settle a debate for me. I maintain that Nachos are pasta. @ndgree.bsky.social thinks they’re pizza.
December 28, 2025 at 5:23 AM
These are fighting words. To say that books aren’t interactive and dialogic dismisses the basic functions of books in an education. Learning how to engage dynamically with “static” text is essential to critical thinking.
Re books: books and literature are useful for information, but they aren't interactive and dialogic. They don't fulfil the same function that I'm referring to.
December 27, 2025 at 9:50 PM
I was talking with my wife about @wyattehall.bsky.social's recent paper. She's a biologist who previously worked at @ncse.bsky.social, and she pegged it immediately: oralism is like creationism, always swapping out the justifications without changing the underlying beliefs.
Peeling back the layers: contextualising the oralist narratives of listening and spoken language in deaf education and early intervention
The fields of Deaf Education and Early Intervention are currently awash with discussions about Listening and Spoken Language (LSL). LSL is a communication approach striving to teach deaf children h...
www.tandfonline.com
December 27, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Will Fertman
by Stephanie Burt
December 27, 2025 at 5:51 AM
I'm so psyched to read this!
December 26, 2025 at 4:29 PM
This is a great, by-the-numbers takedown of that asinine Jacob Savage piece. As a white guy of that "lost generation," I'd just add that stagnant wages and fewer jobs in the media were a real driving factor in immiserating with me and my peers, but shifting blame to diversity is pure brain-worm.
The white backlash that is materially devastating democracy, marginalized people, and the planet is all b/c of symbolic gains. As Juliet Hooker writes, white grievance leads to real grief for the rest of us (but also for themselves in the end, because there is only one world).
What Does the Census Data Say About “The Lost Generation”
Savage appears wrong, but the reality is potentially bleaker.
www.peoplespolicyproject.org
December 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Hey publishers: Killer Underwear Invasion is 3 years old and still putting up strong numbers on Amazon. Folks want books on media literacy, for their kids and for themselves!
December 25, 2025 at 6:47 AM
I once caught someone using Matt Hall's work to argue against parents teaching their deaf child ASL. It sure was a moment...
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:

My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.

Huh? When did I say that?!
December 25, 2025 at 4:58 AM
”Come find me dad! Come find me!”
December 25, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Not advice, but I hate writer’s workshops. Good feedback can be contradictory and unhelpful in the moment. Bad feedback can be depressing and pummel your work into gray mush.
what is your least favorite piece of writing advice and why? 👀
December 24, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Just wanted to take a break from running after the kids to let you all know that this decision will kill thousands of our children, and that RFK Jr. is a monster of generational scale.
December 23, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Will Fertman
also, apropos nothing, my spouse & I (both #Disabled) urgently need an #IHSS worker/aide. we're located in northern #LosAngeles (ZIP code 91405).

our current person is having a life crisis & hasn't checked in in over 24 hours. meanwhile we still have care needs to be met. just #DisabledLife stuff.
December 22, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Imagine the corollary in any other language: Colts cheerleader speaks French with French child!
It’s really cool that the Colts cheerleader was able to sign with that kid and very weird that sports media continues to frame being normal to disabled people as an extraordinary act of kindness.
December 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Will Fertman
bzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzz
December 21, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Totally forgot: yesterday last year it was crow day.
crow day
YouTube video by William Fertman
youtu.be
December 20, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Reposted by Will Fertman
I also want to say thank you to the person who introduced me to the French word 'beaucoup' this year. It means a lot.
December 19, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Will Fertman
This unfair practice must be stopped.
December 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Ravenous is one of the greats, and has an astonishing soundtrack.
Rian Johnson bringing his own copy of RAVENOUS to put onto the Criterion Collection shelf is probably the best thing that’s going to happen to me this week. youtu.be/U2plMSuOgrI
December 19, 2025 at 12:18 AM
This is some super bullshit right here.
Today House Republicans voted 216-211 to pass MTG’s bill to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors nationwide, marking the first time a national ban on care for trans youth has reached — and passed — the House floor.
www.huffpost.com/entry/marjor...
Marjorie Taylor Greene's Bill Punishing Doctors And Parents Clears House Floor
If passed, the bill would punish doctors and parents who provide or consent to a minor receiving gender-affirming care.
www.huffpost.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:41 AM