Oooh! Had no idea there were bits on sign language and deaf language acquisition in the book—now I'm doubly excited. ❤️

Hey @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social - you should fly me to Tilburg University so I can interview Neil.

Also also, I want to thank my agent Jen Nadol at @unteragency.bsky.social and my editor Christen Karniski at @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social for their support getting the manual to press.

After his stroke, my grandfather had a sharpened fork and a sharpened spoon as adaptive technologies to help him eat one-handed.

The manual is out April of 2026, so if you've got a deaf baby in your arms, or if you know someone who does, grab a copy today and it will arrive just in time for IEP season. Also available at Bookshop.org or the Bad Place.

I wrote the guide to cover the parts of parenting a deaf kid that they don't teach you in early intervention, including how to fire your early intervention team. Drawing on current research from folks like @wyattehall.bsky.social and @naomicaselli.bsky.social and advice from all kinds of Deaf adults

I'm starting a comics club at my son's school, so I'm excited to learn more about comics' formal visual language and to see how #deafkids in particular engage with it.

OK, I need to get my hands on this. <3

Which is total bullshit when we're talking about institutions as wealthy as UC Berkeley, which actually has cafeterias and existing meal plans. The idea that any student would go hungry (and don't get me started on instructors and staff) is obscene.

Yep. University of California reports that as of 2022, 48% of undergrads experienced food insecurity. regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/mar2...

What about the little-discussed parsnippon?

Although I love them, persimmons definitely have that “It was the sweetest fruit available at the time“ energy.

It really is.

I got into Jon Klassen and his frequent writing partner Mac Barnett over at my newsletter/blog here: buttondown.com/will_fertman...

This gives them a chance to develop theory of mind and narrative competence while having a screamingly fun time. And it doesn't hurt that a lot of his work is easy enough for parents who are learning ASL.

His books are filled with implied details, unspoken motivations, and characters who don't always tell the truth or know what the real situation is. It encourages kids to do detective work, put themselves in other's shoes, and fill in all kinds of gaps.

Mazel tov!