ASL Immersion Experience - long

[Guest guest]

My husband and I just returned from a 6 day full immersion program at

the Washington State School for the Deaf in Vancouver, WA. From Tuesday

until Sunday morning we did not use our voices to communicate - only

ASL. And except for a few times when we forgot we were in " voice off "

mode, we did not cheat - not even in our room.

We were divided into five groups of students - the level of ASL skill

ranged from beginner to almost interpreter level. Somehow I ended up

with the most advanced students...so I was really challenged, but it was

a great learning experience. Linden was in a different group and

challenged as well. I joked that it was also a great experience for our

marriage. Imagine almost a week of only non verbal communication with

your spouse. Really, it was a good thing. A few students didn't know we

were married so at the debriefing last meeting when my husband hugged

and kissed me (trying to comfort me when I was so choked up by emotion I

couldn't share my thoughts at the week's experience) a few thought that

perhaps our relationship had developed during the program.

The experience has left a heavy imprint on me on many different levels.

During the debriefing experience everyone had the chance to share their

observations about the week. It was an amazing experience. After 108

hours of not using our voices we could finally use them. Many

participants shared their thoughts through tears - my husband and I

included. Being immersed in another culture for that many days was so

intense. As the mother of a child with a hearing loss, it really hit me

in my mother's heart - thinking about what Cameron may experience from

people who can't understand him. It also gave me the chance to think

about the frustration that Cameron has now when he can't be understood -

even by his own family (me included).

Part of our experience included going to a street fair and having to

interact with three vendors using some non verbal form of communication

- gestures, written, etc.). It was interesting to hear people talking

about us - thinking we were completely deaf. Most people were kind and

helpful. My husband heard one vendor comment, " I wonder if he can read "

when considering handing him a printed brochure about their products.

One evening we played a " game " where we had to collect stickers by

communicating with different people for different services - employment,

travel, medical needs, restaurant, lodging, etc. Every service provider

used a different mode of communication - finger spelling, SEE, gestures,

lip reading, tactile signing (deaf/blind). There was also an angel who

would give us " money " when she felt sorry for us. There was also a

sheriff who could throw us in jail if a service provider called him.

Getting out of jail entailed bribing him. We had to figure out how the

world operated and a few people got frustrated and gave up. That night I

was able to see it as a game and just did what I could to figure things

out. While I didn't get all of the parts, I did collect all the

stickers. But the next morning I was struck with the deeper meaning of

the game...imagine having to figure out different modes of communication

every day - for real. Being deaf or hard of hearing you encounter many

different kinds of people. Would you pick only those places that would

be the easiest for you to deal with?

We also had a lot of fun and laughed a lot. The staff were all deaf and

shared their life experiences with us. They stressed how important it is

for families to be involved in their deaf/hh child's life with

communication. Most of the participants were studying to be interpreters

or worked in education with deaf/hh students.

There's more I can share but I'm still processing it. The biggest thing

I learned is how important it is to be able to communicate to your child

no matter what the method they need. I'm so grateful that we picked ASL

for our son and that he uses it and is continuing to learn it. Now I

need to step up and continue to improve my skills for his sake. For

those who don't know much about our son. Cameron is 5, has a

profound/severe

conductive hearing loss, wears hearing aids, uses his voice and ASL to

communicate. He was also born with a bilateral cleft lip/palate which

also compromises his speech.

Also, one of the teachers told us about a student she has at the school

who has CHARGE. He is 6 years old. She was going to pass along our

information to that family. Does anyone on this list know of that

family? The school is in Vancouver, WA.

We are going to the CHARGE conference later this month...I'm guessing it

will be another emotional experience. (smile)

Mom to Cameron, 5, CHaRGE and , 7

Wife to Linden