Deaf Girl Asks to Live With Her Interpreter

A deaf teen-ager who says her parents refuse to learn sign language pleaded with a judge Wednesday to let her live permanently with her interpreter. Her father said he could “stomp my foot and point” to communicate, or he could write letters.

Sonya Kinney, 15, said in an interview that the most frustrating moment came two years ago, when she tried to tell her mother she had been abused by her stepfather.

“She didn’t understand me. I told her, but she didn’t understand me,” Sonya said in sign language. Instead, she said, she told her interpreter, Joanie Hughes.

Hughes is seeking permanent custody of Sonya. No charges were filed against the stepfather, who died recently.

Sonya began living with her father, Norman Kinney, in January after telling social workers of the abuse. A month later, her father agreed to let her move in with Hughes. Then he changed his mind, and the legal fight began.

Kinney acknowledged in court Wednesday that he didn’t learn sign language but said he was able to communicate with his daughter.

“I always done the best I could. I could stomp my foot and point to something. I admit when she was younger I had a hard time communicating with her,” Kinney testified. He wrote letters as she grew older, he said.

If there was a major problem, “I would go to the school and have the interpreter tell me what was bothering her,” Kinney said.

Outside court, Sonya threatened to run away if the court makes her live with her father.

“If I have to live with my dad, I’m alone all the time,” the girl said as Hughes, an interpreter for the school system, translated.

Kinney’s attorney, John Burns, argued that Sonya’s skill at sign language shows that her parents are trying to help by letting her spend so much time with Hughes.