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“El Deafo” written by Cece Bell is a comic novel that follows the chronicles of a young girl making it through life and school with a hearing loss. This story is a great read for any parent or child experiencing a hearing loss. Cece has a hearing aid and her ability to hear with her super “phonic” ear. Cece experiences both highs and lows that any child with a hearing loss or aided device may go through. This novel can be used with to empower young children, teenagers, and parents to embrace their hearing loss and provide a source of comfort that there are people that embark on the same experiences and struggles. 

My Review on “El Deafo”  

“El Deafo” was not only funny and cute, but it was informative and realistic in regard to the different aspects of Cece’s hearing loss. It showed you Cece’s progression which I liked because I felt like I was seeing everything that I learned from start to finish. From her diagnosis of meningitis, to the hearing test and her audiogram it showed you almost the process of what an individual who acquires a hearing loss goes through. El Deafo gave me insight into how a deaf individual may feel, some of their internal struggles as well as what they are actually hearing. Even though Cece had her device, she still needed to lip read and really focus on what the individual was saying so it should not be assumed that they will hear perfect despite their external devices. The speech bubbles showed what one person was actually saying and translated it into what Cece was hearing which I thought was spot on in terms of the sounds they hear.  

Taylor Howell, MS, CF-SLP, TSSLD