Hinsdale South connects deaf students with jobs :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: The Doings ClarendonHills
The 17-year-old junior at Hinsdale South High School can only communicate with others through a sign language interpreter, physical gestures or the written word.
But that hasn't stopped him from holding a job at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital. His boss in the hospital kitchen has nothing but praise for him and his ability to work interpersonally.
"There's really no difference at all between him and the others," said Ross Pullom, the hospital's dietetics manager. "He reads lips and communicates OK."
It's this idea, that deaf students can successfully function amongst their hearing peers, that Hinsdale South hopes to instill in its deaf and hard of hearing students through its partnership with Adventist Hinsdale Hospital.
"It's been very good for their self esteem to be able to do this," said Linda Sliz, job coach and sign language interpreter for the students.
Hinsdale South has housed the deaf and hard of hearing division of the LaGrange Area Department of Special Education for about 40 years. Roughly 70 students from DuPage, Will and Cook counties are enrolled in the program at the school.
Four deaf students from Hinsdale South work part-time at the hospital on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Two students work a one-hour shift in the morning, and the other two work in the afternoon.
The students are compensated with school credit, and a paycheck funded by an Illinois Department of Human Services grant.
Sliz, or another job coach, often will accompany the students to work and offer assistance if they need it -- not that they ask for it often.
"They're just like ordinary teenagers," Sliz said. "They don't want you standing over them the entire time."
Seventeen-year-old junior Orlanda Cruz is a perfect example. Cruz works in the hospital's linens department, sorting bed sheets and towels. Head linen technician Irvin Azcarraga said Cruz's work has been phenominal, and because the department recently lost a worker, she has helped fill that gap in the staff.
"When she comes in, I just show her which cart to empty and she goes to work," Azcarraga said.