Hi! Yes, I am thinking about sending her to camp this summer--most likely to one in Florida. I know about one that many FSDB students attend--looking into that. As to FSDB and the signing environment--this is what we discovered on our visit. Yes, they DO encourage it and teach it, but they don't seem to be "pushy" about it. What I mean is this: when we visited, almost everyone SPOKE to my daughter and she SPOKE to almost everyone that she met--that included students, teachers, and staff. She met some students her age--most of them were oral and LEARNING to sign. THAT is where she is right now--she will always be "oral deaf" because she hears well with hearing aids and speaks well--she cannot imagine living in a "silent" world where ONLY sign is used. She would be very uncomfortable in a situation where no one talked to her. She is who she is--she wants to learn ASL for social reasons, but she would never want to "give up her voice." Now, having said that, I know that she would not "fit in" in many situations--she would be very much an outsider at a camp or school where everyone was strictly "voice off." In some ways, she is in the group of people who are "in between"--not really fitting in well with either hearing or Deaf groups. However, she has met a few people who are more like her--severe hearing loss (more than mild/moderate but not profound), gets GREAT benefit from hearing aids, LOVES to listen to music, and are very, very talkative. My point is this--she wants to be part of a deaf/hh group, but she won't fit in with ALL deaf/hh groups. If I send her to a camp or school where most of the people ONLY communicate in ASL and don't talk (or choose to be "voice off"), she would be like a fish out of water. That is why she has narrowed her choice down to FSDB--when we visited, she enjoyed TALKING to some of the students her age--they told her about the volleyball team and basketball team--they told her that they were ALSO just now learning ASL--they were her TRUE peer group, know what I mean? She says that she could communicate with anyone who can't speak by writing notes back and forth--that is HER way of compromising. She also WANTS to learn sign--kind of a way to "fit in" because she thinks it is a cool thing. My greatest fear would be to put her in a situation where she is SHUNNED because she prefers to speak--from what we saw at FSDB, this is not the case. Maybe it used to be, I don't know--now it seems to have a very "Total Communication" kind of approach--at least from what we saw when we visited the middle and high school. Look, for those who choose otherwise, more power to you. But MANY deaf/hh people are like my daughter--they LOVE to hear (with hearing aids) and speak--they would never want to give that up. BUT--they also want to be part of a group--they don't quite fit in well in "regular schools" because they feel "different." My daughter is now wanting to claim her "deaf identity"--but that can mean different things to different people. To her, and many like her, it means--being part of a group who feel comfortable with each other--they consider themselves "deaf" (little d)--they wear their hearing aids (and some have cochlear implants) and enjoy hearing what they can hear--they TALK to each other--maybe sometimes they sign or write notes, but TALKING is what comes natural to them--this is the kind of "deaf community" she is seeking. And it seems harder to find THAT kind of "deaf community"--maybe because they are all spread out and blending into the hearing world. If my daughter becomes proficient in ASL, she may feel comfortable attending some "silent events"--but I bet she will sneak in some talking to those who do!
Anyway--this is what my daughter is searching for--honestly, it has been very hard to find! If I send her to a place where she is ostracized because she speaks and is teased because her ASL skills aren't very developed--this would devastate her! SO--whether looking for camp or schools, I have to see what kind of environment it would be--would I be putting her somewhere that she would thrive, or would I be putting her in yet another place to be singled out and isolated? From what we saw in our visit, FSDB seems to be a place that she would thrive--she felt VERY comfortable there and they said as long as she is willing to learn ASL, she should fit in just fine. I am not sure that she would receive such open arms at other schools and camps. All I want is to put her in the BEST place for HER--I HOPE that we are making the right choice!