Re: Sign language./social/transition

[Guest guest]

Re: Sign language.

:

You have brought up some very interesting issues. The deaf community has

become very strong here in Ontario as well. Because of the increasing

number of teachers who are hearing impaired or deaf becoming " Deaf

Specialist Teachers " , the push for ASL in the schools is even stronger. The

provincial government did studies and determined that signed English or

Exact English being used did have a direct positive effect on the written

language and communication abilities of the students. (some of the teachers

who are deaf still refuse to follow the provincial policy and use ASL in the

classrooms)

Because our Deafblind Department is within a school for the blind and

visually impaired, I myself have problems following an ASL conversation when

we go to meetings or workshops. You see the teachers who are deaf, and then

teachers of the deaf doing the same " grouping " kind of thing!

One of the reasons the unit was started in the school for the blind was

that Jaquie wanted to keep children with " deafblindness " distinct in terms

of having unique needs because of visual problems. She did not want their

need for advocacy with social and communication issues lost within a

determination that they were simply " deaf " .

Issues of communication preferences for really should not be dictated

like that, especially if it involves testing. I can't believe they are

still trying to use " tests " and things at that age. Why do they want to

test him? Is there not a functional ability profile that will transition

with him? Are they going to test him with standards used for " hearing

impaired " or " normal standardized tests " ?? If there if a vision problem

these really do not apply. This reminds me of anne on the list. That

poor girl has been tested over and over!!!

Transition philosophy should include learning to be responsible, making

choices, and being able to tell others how you need for them to communicate.

Perhaps can adopt some advocating power. Have him start telling

others what lighting, size of print, where the intervenor needs to stand,

what they need to wear to see signs best, etc. etc. We always had problems

with using intervenors who were hearing impaired or deaf because

intervention means the world's sights, sounds, facial expressions,

interuptions, textures, incedental experiences needed to be interpreted. It

was not a question of simply transposing language in short form.

will probably make choices about what he feels comfortable and secure

about. Perhaps sharing with him how you feel within the deaf culture may be

important for him to understand. Maybe try to provide experiences with some

hearing teens who are eager to learn signs so that he may be conscious

there are other choices and experiences that people who are not in the deaf

culture may have to offer.

The social grouping thing is very evident no matter where you go. The

children who were visually impaired or blind were often " friendless " within

an integrated high school now find themselves leaders, class presidents,

cheerleaders, etc...in the Provincial school. And within this school the

students have created a social hierarchy. The students with some vision

usually hang out together and are at the top. The students who are doing

core subjects who have no vision are next. The children who are visually

impaired with learning disabilities never seem to make the students council

and tend to group together, etc....The young adults with Usher's Syndrome

group themselves together and do not seem to mingle with the young adults

who are deaf or with the students who are congenitally deafblind.

I was transitioning one of my students with congenital deafblindness back to

her home community at age 21. It had a strong deaf population because the

provincial school for the hearing impaired was there. Many opportunities to

have roomates who were deaf or deafblind were possible. Instead her Mom

created a model for transition using University Students sharing her

apartment (they always had nights covered in case of fire). C. had an

intervenor who signed both ASL and SEE and helped with mobility, job

placements, direct formal language teaching based on routine experiences,

etc...The roomates also did some 3-11 shifts as intervenors, and would

include C. in their activities and interests or would follow C.'s interests.

(Choice calendar board) Sign classes happened every week. C. could visit

Mom's home whenever she needed to. Her Mom wrote the book, WINGS, about

this if you would like to have a copy I could arrange this. I am also

putting together stuff of transition but other things have detained me!!!

Take care, Ann Gloyn, Deafblind Specialist Teacher, Canada

>

> wrote: (summary....)

> What I am seeing is when an interpreter is needed the deaf are insisting

that they be interpreters

> who are certified in ASL. > our meetings we have hearing interpreters who

interpret exact english to her and she then signs ASL to the future

> residents of the home. She has even advised me that in any testing that

has to go through that the interpreting

> should be done in the same manner.

> . What I found is had better sentence structure in his writing

than allot of of the kids who

> attended the deaf school from k and up. What I am seeing now is the longer

is signing ASL the more you see

> evidence of it in his writing. I have gotten into some very heated

discussions with some deaf adults on issues of the

> degree of immersion has in deaf culture. is a member of a

hearing family so therefore I feel it's like he

> has one foot in the hearing world and one foot in the deaf world. The

people who are deaf that has involvement

> with sometime imply that he is more immersed within the deaf culture. I

have been in situations of being with a group of

> deaf parents of deaf children and being totally ignored even though I can

sign fairly well. Depending on the group your

> with this can and will happen. As a hearing parent of a deaf child this is

something you will eventually encounter as

> your child reaches adulthood. Their are allot of deaf people who are very

accepting of hearing but you will also find

> those who are not.

>

> Vicki mom to (23)

>

>

[Guest guest]

Tom Gloyn wrote:

>

>

> Re: Sign language.

>

> :

> You have brought up some very interesting issues. The deaf community has

> become very strong here in Ontario as well. Because of the increasing

> number of teachers who are hearing impaired or deaf becoming " Deaf

> Specialist Teachers " , the push for ASL in the schools is even stronger. The

> provincial government did studies and determined that signed English or

> Exact English being used did have a direct positive effect on the written

> language and communication abilities of the students.

I'm afraid that allot of the parents from this list are going to experience

the same concerns as I over controversial

issues dealing with education, communication, and social life of our children

between the hearing and deaf as your

children become teens and young adults. I have had more contact with deaf

adults in the past 1 1/2 years then I have

had in the first 14 years of 's life with us. The organization " Signing

Places " has been born from the efforts

of myself and a woman who is a case manger from OVR here in Pa. who herself is

deaf. There are 20 plus people making up

Signing Places and over 3/4 of us are deaf. What we are accomplishing together

has never been done before in Pa. We are

creating a waiver funded home designed for people who have a dx of mental

retardation, two are non ambulatory, one

() has visual difficulties and they all are deaf. These people all know one

another, want to live together, and are

board members of Signing Places. In my position as president of Signing Places I

am getting the experience of hearing

both sides of the issues. At this time Signing Places is writing a request for

proposal for the home for deaf. We not

only want support people working in the the home who are deaf themselves or

hearing who have the approved level of

signing skills to work with the proposed residents but and his friends

will be the ones who have to give that

approval.

I have become emerged within the controversy. I see myself sometimes paying

for the perceived and real wrongs

perpetrated against the deaf population. I myself really want to understand but

I am and always will be my son's mother

first in trying to help reach his dreams and goals.

> One of the reasons the unit was started in the school for the blind was

> that Jaquie wanted to keep children with " deafblindness " distinct in terms

> of having unique needs because of visual problems. She did not want their

> need for advocacy with social and communication issues lost within a

> determination that they were simply " deaf " .

I'm embarrassed to even admit this but did not get attention paid to

his visual needs until he went to Helen

Keller. There was so much to get through when he first came to us that the sight

issues didn't get enough attention. We

did not seek the services of Blindness and Visual until he was 20 and ready to

graduate from Scranton School for the

Deaf. BVS sent us for the first time to a specialist who had experience with

CHARGE. It was there for the first time

that had a really in-depth examination of his eyes. had always

appeared to do so well that I was appalled at

how bad his vision really was. Helen Keller then went by the doctors

recommendations in giving the mobility

training he needed. In our stubbornness and the fight to give him as close to

normal after the institution we did not

seek MHMR services until he was 20 also. While we were tackling all his medical

problems we were also insisting that

be challenged to reach his full potential. He had missed out on so much in

the first 5 years of his life. It was

hard to even know where to begin. We chose to fight for him to have the

experiences of regular childhood.

> Issues of communication preferences for really should not be dictated

> like that, especially if it involves testing.

has not been tested excessively. I am not a believer in IQ testing. I

feel the American educational system

uses this testing to segregate those they feel are not the high achievers. What

happened is when I went to the MHMR

agency for support when was 20 they first refused him. I investigated the

regulation and found that the state of

Pa.set a limit of an IQ of 70 in order for someone to qualify for their

services. 's testing from the deaf school

was 74. What I found was the state allowed a 5 point variance if said person had

other problems such as hearing or

visual difficulties. Under this variance qualified. came out of

Helen Keller asking for a home with supports

but with other deaf people like himself. This was also what Helen Keller was

recommending. was qualified for the

federal MR waiver program which would fund a home for . The agency drug

their feet so that a year would pass. They

wanted to go through the IQ testing again in hopes that he would improve

the 2 points so they could disqualify him

for their services. The waiver required testing that had done within 1 year of

application. They wanted to test him in

their office with an interpreter. I refused and secured the testing to be done

at the Scranton State School for the

Deaf. If was after all this that the deaf professor informed me that the proper

testing for deaf was a deaf ASL

interpreter to receive from a exact English interpreter. I have to admit, we

have been doing this kind of interpreting

for and the others at our meetings of Signing Places. All four of them use

ASL and are better able to digest and

retain the information better this way. Of, course our ASL interpreter is

extremely good at determining from the

expressions if they are understanding the information. If not she will take

extra time and make sure.

> Transition philosophy should include learning to be responsible, making

> choices, and being able to tell others how you need for them to communicate.

> Perhaps can adopt some advocating power. Have him start telling

> others what lighting, size of print, where the intervenor needs to stand,

> what they need to wear to see signs best, etc. etc.

I have worked to create a support group around since he has come

homefrom Helen Keller. In the beginning

he would always look to me to answer for him. He

does very rarely anymore. I have a list of interpreters that has become

familiar with

and I always try for availability of the one he likes the most for meetings with

the MHMR

agency. He is receiving home based waiver now and and I worked together to

find and hire

support people who can sign to work with him in the community whom he himself

has interviewed and picked.

>

>

> will probably make choices about what he feels comfortable and secure

> about. Perhaps sharing with him how you feel within the deaf culture may be

> important for him to understand. Maybe try to provide experiences with some

> hearing teens who are eager to learn signs so that he may be conscious

> there are other choices and experiences that people who are not in the deaf

> culture may have to offer.

One of the biggest issues I had about the deaf population and culture was I

felt sometimesthat they were trying to

retch my son away from me. Jealously, fear I guess those feelings were

a big part of it. He is deaf but his family is hearing. I don't want to deny him

a deaf culture and I am willing to work

to understand the deaf issues. Sometimes I feel like the deaf don't want to

accept me along with my son. and I

spend allot of time together. We talk. I sometimes think he feels I can make all

the things that he wants happen. No one

else in the immediate family sign. He is more connected to me than to anyone.

With this heart surgery staring me in the

face I worry even more. I want to see him less dependent on me before the

surgery and I'm not sure how long I have for

this to happen.

>

> Her Mom wrote the book, WINGS, about

> this if you would like to have a copy I could arrange this. I am also

> putting together stuff of transition but other things have detained me!!!

I would be glad for any information you could send my way. I will send you

my home address bypersonal e-mail. I have

found that I can not change things for without also working to change the

system that is suppose to work for

people like him.

In the past year I have become very active in advocating for moneys and better

services for

special needs people and their caregivers. My education is just beginning and I

don't ever expect

to stop learning.

Thank you for your concern and offer of help.

Vicki mom to (23)

>