5 year old HOH boy - oral only or "mainstreaming"

[Kateweb]

wow that a bit of a move I am rather surprised that alaska doent have the funding for your son, I would recomend that if you do think leaving the state is the best option that you look at other states , I will have to give a plug for Rochester NY , I do live hear we have our problems but this place id a Deaf Mecca , their are deaf people every were and terp in mainstream school, also look around the rest of the U.S.A if your ganna move you might as well look at all the options .

 

[Sweethappy1]

children falling behind

my daughter is now 8 and was mainstreamed when she was 5.

i have to really fight for the teachers to understand that even with "all this equipment" that she still misses so much of what is said. i think that when you main stream it is very important to have a conferance 3 weeks after your child starts to see if there need to be changes. i have run into some teachers who wouldn't have one until 9 weeks(like this year) and now my daughter has fallen behind again.

It is frustrsting to me that they think she is defiant when she doesn't follow directions correctly.

what also hinders my daughter is language delay.

i commend you on teaching your child sign. i was told my the experts not to teach my daughter sign. that it would slow her reading developement. that since she has a really nice speaking voice and uses what hearing she has very well ~ that she didn't need to learn sign. now i am being told that, since she keeps falling behind , she doesn't have time to focus on learning sign. now we found out her hearing loss is progressive....

so.. yes it is the parents fault for kids falling behind...but sometimes due to bad advice.

 

[jillio]

my daughter is now 8 and was mainstreamed when she was 5.

i have to really fight for the teachers to understand that even with "all this equipment" that she still misses so much of what is said. i think that when you main stream it is very important to have a conferance 3 weeks after your child starts to see if there need to be changes. i have run into some teachers who wouldn't have one until 9 weeks(like this year) and now my daughter has fallen behind again.

It is frustrsting to me that they think she is defiant when she doesn't follow directions correctly.

what also hinders my daughter is language delay.

i commend you on teaching your child sign. i was told my the experts not to teach my daughter sign. that it would slow her reading developement. that since she has a really nice speaking voice and uses what hearing she has very well ~ that she didn't need to learn sign. now i am being told that, since she keeps falling behind , she doesn't have time to focus on learning sign. now we found out her hearing loss is progressive....

so.. yes it is the parents fault for kids falling behind...but sometimes due to bad advice.

I used signed English books with my son, and found that they were very helpful. Because he was so visual, seeing a sign and a word paired together actually elevated his reading skills. He entered the first grade being able to read ahead of the hearing kids because he had already grasped the concept of the sign and the printed word representing the same concept.

Those educators who tell you that sign prevents the development of readding skills are those that only know how to teach reading using one methodolgy: phonics. It is my opinion that they are not the best teachers for hearing or deaf. A good teacher needs to adapt a methodology to the individual learning styles of her/his students.

 

[deafbikerchick]

Yes. Even though he has top-notch digital hearing aids, they cannot give him back the hearing that he doesn't have. He misses the softer sounds of speech, i.e. ch, sh and transposes t's, p's and d's, etc. The signing, including finger spelling the "p" or "d" or "s", really clarifies those words for him. (Finger spelling has also helped him learn his alphabet better, and I wonder if that's because it's a visual cue that makes it easier for him to connect with the sound??)



The oral school is in Missouri, and we live in Alaska. The offer for us to go to the out-of-state school is for our entire family to relocate there. We have family in Missouri, and it would actually work for our family as a whole re jobs, school for our older son, etc.

I found out late yesterday that Missouri also has an excellent special education school district, which might be an alternative to the oral school. I don't yet know if they provide interpreters. I'll find more out about this next week.

My biggest concern at this point about mainstreaming him here is that none of his teachers can tell how much he is learning from the signing and how much is he learning from them speaking. I know at home that he misses at least a word out of every couple to three sentences. So, I find it hard to believe that he isn't getting something from the signing in school. Everyone believes he is smart enough to "bridge" the gap and figure out the missing words, but I'm having a hard time resolving myself to the fact that, because of where we live and the lack of resources, my kid has to try that hard just to get the information. His teachers here have been very clear that it will get harder for him as he goes up in grade levels because of the introduction of more advanced language - science, biology, etc. They say hoh kids here can do pretty well mainstreaming in elementary school, but it gets much harder and "sketchy" as they enter middle school, and then, of course, high school.

Everyone believes he is smart enough to "bridge" the gap and figure out the missing words, but I'm having a hard time resolving myself to the fact that, because of where we live and the lack of resources, my kid has to try that hard just to get the information. His teachers here have been very clear that it will get harder for him as he goes up in grade levels because of the introduction of more advanced language - science, biology, etc. They say hoh kids here can do pretty well mainstreaming in elementary school, but it gets much harder and "sketchy" as they enter middle school, and then, of course, high school.
It's so so so FANTASTIC for your child to learn to readlip,speak and ASL together and he will grow up more independent and get by much better on his own. I recall being "burnt out" while in Jr High and High School (both oral and regular school) and it wasn't easy. My parents were very patient with me and I'm glad they were.

 

[jasin]

My son is HOH with normal hearing to 1000 Hz and then moderate to severe/profound loss from 2000-4000 Hz. He is 5 years old and has always been very verbal. We found out about his hearing loss when he turned 3 (he had normal hearing at birth), and we put him in a total approach preschool class at a state-funded DHH school. He has flourished in this setting and absolutely loves school. His preferred mode of commuincation is speech and his articulation has cleared up a lot. Even though he never stops talking, he does know sign language very well. In fact, his teachers call him "the sign language detective." At his prompting, at home, we look up all types of words in our ASL dictionary, although he just doesn't use them while communicating. His teachers obviously sign with him all day long, and I sign with him at home, but we all have to actually ask him to sign something to us. He is a very happy and bright boy, and thinks his hearing aids are the coolest things in the world - he calls them his "super ears."

Due to funding issues, the school is no longer available. The only option left in our state is to "mainstream" him into a regular classroom without a signing interpreter and no specialized "deaf education" (Yes, we've been dealing with our EIP/IDEA - long story but the resources just aren't available). At this point, to get anything else, we will have to move out of state.

I wanted to put as much info about him as I could before asking this question: We have been approached by some family members for assistance in moving to a state where there is an excellent oral only school. While it is an incredible opportunity in some ways, and he doesn't rely on sign to communicate himself, I find it hard to believe access to sign language hasn't helped clear things up for him while learning. He is also an EXCELLENT lip reader, but I know how much it helps clear things up between us at home when I sign to him. With a kid that already is so verbal and although knows sign language, doesn't use it, would an oral only school be a good decision?

His teachers believe he would do well in either the oral only school out of state or being "mainstreamed" into the public school system where we live. Either way, he won't get signing in school up here unless something changes by next year with state funding. I would continue to expose him to sign outside of school because I really believe in it and want him to remain a part of the DHH community.

Any input would help. Thanks

One of the biggest misconceptions about the deaf and HOH is that they are silent. The deaf and HOH are anything but silent, Residential schools and classrooms with deaf and HOH students tend to be louder then those with students that are completely hearing. Deaf students tend to be able to read lips very well also, so as far as the oral goes I would not worry that much, let him speak. Deaf and HOH people do speak .. we are not silent, we are anything but silent. Oh and btw, there is a book on just that, its called anything but silent, check it out its very informative.

As far as education goes I would suggest you get him into a class where he can learn ASL. Not a special Ed class but a class with other students who are actually HOH and Deaf. There are mainstream public schools that have classes like that. I don’t know about your area but you may need to search around for one. You may even need to move to get him in such a school. When you find one of those schools immerse him in the language through the education he receives, but do not force it on him. Incorporate ASL into his education and daily life, make it fun and always be loving about it. In the end it will be worth it and to his benefit even if he is resistant at first. I know as a HOH person my self that if I had learnt ASL when I was younger I would of done better academically.

 

[jasin]

I used signed English books with my son, and found that they were very helpful. Because he was so visual, seeing a sign and a word paired together actually elevated his reading skills. He entered the first grade being able to read ahead of the hearing kids because he had already grasped the concept of the sign and the printed word representing the same concept.

Those educators who tell you that sign prevents the development of readding skills are those that only know how to teach reading using one methodolgy: phonics. It is my opinion that they are not the best teachers for hearing or deaf. A good teacher needs to adapt a methodology to the individual learning styles of her/his students.

A lot of sign language teachers are against students learning SE and for many reasons. 1. its to much like English and sign language should not be like English because its another language in its self. 2. The majority of the deaf people in the USA are using Asl as their primary language not SE. 3. Most colleges do not teach SE they teach Asl, therefore, if you want to use sign language for a foreign language credit you will need to learn ASL.

 

[shel90]

hehe...yeah, or modifying your words somehow...

AS IF...


I work (not always) with Deaf children from ages 6 through 17.
The one thing that amazes me is how far behind most are and there's absolutely NO EXCUSE.
They are intelligent, but left out.
The blame lies partially with their parents but also with the educators themselves for allowing them to continue to fall behind.

I know and I agree with u. I see it too at my teaching job. *sighs*

 

[shel90]

my daughter is now 8 and was mainstreamed when she was 5.

i have to really fight for the teachers to understand that even with "all this equipment" that she still misses so much of what is said. i think that when you main stream it is very important to have a conferance 3 weeks after your child starts to see if there need to be changes. i have run into some teachers who wouldn't have one until 9 weeks(like this year) and now my daughter has fallen behind again.

It is frustrsting to me that they think she is defiant when she doesn't follow directions correctly.

what also hinders my daughter is language delay.

i commend you on teaching your child sign. i was told my the experts not to teach my daughter sign. that it would slow her reading developement. that since she has a really nice speaking voice and uses what hearing she has very well ~ that she didn't need to learn sign. now i am being told that, since she keeps falling behind , she doesn't have time to focus on learning sign. now we found out her hearing loss is progressive....

so.. yes it is the parents fault for kids falling behind...but sometimes due to bad advice.

People who have no deaf education training or degrees really have no idea how to meet deaf children's needs. That is why there are separate college degrees just for deaf education. Geez at those stupid teachers. All deaf and hoh need to be exposed to sign language to ensure that they dont fall behind in language development. I am deaf and I have a Master's in Elementary Deaf Ed. I learned so much about these kinds of issues during my grad studies. Blew my mind away cuz before that I really didnt know as much as I thought I did about deaf education.

I am sorry to read about your daughter. Fight those so called oral-only specialists. They really do not know cuz they arent deaf themselves nor have deaf children do they? Until they do, they do not know what they are talking about.

 

[shel90]

I used signed English books with my son, and found that they were very helpful. Because he was so visual, seeing a sign and a word paired together actually elevated his reading skills. He entered the first grade being able to read ahead of the hearing kids because he had already grasped the concept of the sign and the printed word representing the same concept.

Those educators who tell you that sign prevents the development of readding skills are those that only know how to teach reading using one methodolgy: phonics. It is my opinion that they are not the best teachers for hearing or deaf. A good teacher needs to adapt a methodology to the individual learning styles of her/his students.

Well said!!! The reading/writing curriculm we are using that we adopted from the public school puts a lot of emphasizes on phonics and decoding so we changed the lessons into fingerspelling lessons. For those who have CIs or are hoh at my school, they get time to be instructed using the phonetic lessons so my school offers both to meet all the kids' needs.

 

[shel90]

One of the biggest misconceptions about the deaf and HOH is that they are silent. The deaf and HOH are anything but silent, Residential schools and classrooms with deaf and HOH students tend to be louder then those with students that are completely hearing. Deaf students tend to be able to read lips very well also, so as far as the oral goes I would not worry that much, let him speak. Deaf and HOH people do speak .. we are not silent, we are anything but silent. Oh and btw, there is a book on just that, its called anything but silent, check it out its very informative.

As far as education goes I would suggest you get him into a class where he can learn ASL. Not a special Ed class but a class with other students who are actually HOH and Deaf. There are mainstream public schools that have classes like that. I don’t know about your area but you may need to search around for one. You may even need to move to get him in such a school. When you find one of those schools immerse him in the language through the education he receives, but do not force it on him. Incorporate ASL into his education and daily life, make it fun and always be loving about it. In the end it will be worth it and to his benefit even if he is resistant at first. I know as a HOH person my self that if I had learnt ASL when I was younger I would of done better academically.

To "copy" your comment that I bolded, I know as a deaf person myself that if I had learned ASL when I was younger I would have done better academically. Try to imagine being stone deaf in an oral only program with no visual language at all? My education life was spent on guesswork. I do not credit my educational upbringing for my good literacy skills. I credit that to my own desire to suceed by reading and reading and reading during every free time I got. Since I missed out on what was said among my classmates during social times, I spent some time alone just reading to kill time. Thank god for that hobby!!

 

[shel90]

A lot of sign language teachers are against students learning SE and for many reasons. 1. its to much like English and sign language should not be like English because its another language in its self. 2. The majority of the deaf people in the USA are using Asl as their primary language not SE. 3. Most colleges do not teach SE they teach Asl, therefore, if you want to use sign language for a foreign language credit you will need to learn ASL.

I think Jillo is fluent in ASL now. She is a strong advocate for deaf rights' and ASL as being the language taught in educational settings.

 

[shel90]

my daughter is now 8 and was mainstreamed when she was 5.

i have to really fight for the teachers to understand that even with "all this equipment" that she still misses so much of what is said. i think that when you main stream it is very important to have a conferance 3 weeks after your child starts to see if there need to be changes. i have run into some teachers who wouldn't have one until 9 weeks(like this year) and now my daughter has fallen behind again.

It is frustrsting to me that they think she is defiant when she doesn't follow directions correctly.

what also hinders my daughter is language delay.

i commend you on teaching your child sign. i was told my the experts not to teach my daughter sign. that it would slow her reading developement. that since she has a really nice speaking voice and uses what hearing she has very well ~ that she didn't need to learn sign. now i am being told that, since she keeps falling behind , she doesn't have time to focus on learning sign. now we found out her hearing loss is progressive....

so.. yes it is the parents fault for kids falling behind...but sometimes due to bad advice.

That is such a crock of shit that those so-called experts are using to justify their one-track minds. I was told the same thing by my teachers growing up and as a result, I believed that my intelligence was related to how well I could speak and understand hearing people. I do not even want to think about all opportunities and information I must have missed out. Oh well, no turning back. DAmn these people who tell the parents that. They are soooo wrong about sign language slowing down deaf kids' reading development. Wow...:rl: to those narrow minded "experts".

 

[jillio]

A lot of sign language teachers are against students learning SE and for many reasons. 1. its to much like English and sign language should not be like English because its another language in its self. 2. The majority of the deaf people in the USA are using Asl as their primary language not SE. 3. Most colleges do not teach SE they teach Asl, therefore, if you want to use sign language for a foreign language credit you will need to learn ASL.

Trust me, I know more about this debate than you are assuming. My son learned ASL from antive signers in the Deaf community, just as I learned it. The reference was to literacy skills, and I found that common children's books that I purchased from Galluadet, that utilized pictures of the sign underneath the printed word were extremely useful in assisting my child with his reading skills.

As I have a master's degree already, and am in the process of completing my Ph.D. foreign language credit is not an issue for me. And, that would be SEE, not SE.

 

[jasin]

To "copy" your comment that I bolded, I know as a deaf person myself that if I had learned ASL when I was younger I would have done better academically. Try to imagine being stone deaf in an oral only program with no visual language at all? My education life was spent on guesswork. I do not credit my educational upbringing for my good literacy skills. I credit that to my own desire to suceed by reading and reading and reading during every free time I got. Since I missed out on what was said among my classmates during social times, I spent some time alone just reading to kill time. Thank god for that hobby!!

You do not know me or my expierences so dont try an contradict me as if you know what I have gone through or expierenced. I swear, some of you people are such asses.

 

[jasin]

Trust me, I know more about this debate than you are assuming. My son learned ASL from antive signers in the Deaf community, just as I learned it. The reference was to literacy skills, and I found that common children's books that I purchased from Galluadet, that utilized pictures of the sign underneath the printed word were extremely useful in assisting my child with his reading skills.

As I have a master's degree already, and am in the process of completing my Ph.D. foreign language credit is not an issue for me. And, that would be SEE, not SE.

Whatever, I'm not going to argue about one letter, an E.

 

[BearBeauty]

I applaud the orginator of this thread for the road she took her child on. ANd I think that if you want to move to an area that you feel would be better for yourself and your children, Go for it.

I'd keep my child in oral and sign language.. And while some things experts tell parents may be good... for the most part, they do not step outside their office and look at deaf people today... that's just my observation.

 

[BearBeauty]

You do not know me or my expierences so dont try an contradict me as if you know what I have gone through or expierenced. I swear, some of you people are such asses.

She is not contradicting you. She was agreeing with you.. Read it more carefully, she was talking about HER past expierences.

 

[shel90]

You do not know me or my expierences so dont try an contradict me as if you know what I have gone through or expierenced. I swear, some of you people are such asses.

Huh? Where did I contradict u? I was agreeing to AND complimenting your previous post and then adding my experiences. Pls do not call me an ass. if u disagree to something I said, just say so but to start insulting me..that is another story.

Thanks Bearbeauty for pointing that out.

 

[jasin]

Shel, I was referring to jillio, if I posted a response to you and meant her then I apologize. Jillo was very rude and arrogant in her statement towards me and I did not deserve that. I have a right to my opinions and I can speak on my experiences when necessary.

 

[shel90]

Shel, I was referring to jillio, if I posted a response to you and meant her then I apologize. Jillo was very rude and arrogant in her statement towards me and I did not deserve that. I have a right to my opinions and I can speak on my experiences when necessary.

Oh ok...no problem. @f0

FYI....I read your thread about rudeness and saw my name being brought up before reading this recent POV so pls disregard what I posted in that other thread.