Hearing mom of a HOH child in the KC Missouri metro area

N

nikidust

New Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hi, my name is Nycole, and I joined alldeaf.com because I have a 7 year old HOH son, and we will soon be learning ASL as an additional means of communication with him. We don't know what caused his hearing loss, or when it happened, though he had normal hearing as a baby, and his hearing has been stable since he was diagnosed 3 years ago. He wears hearing aids and communicates well verbally, but of course, there are situations in which ASL would really help.

I just found out that we are eligible to receive ASL tutoring through a non-profit organization called The Whole Person, Inc. free of charge. My husband and I have been discussing learning to sign, but didn't know where to start, so it is a great blessing that this organization sends tutors out to people's homes to teach the whole family to sign.

We get a 1 hour visit each week, which I know isn't a whole lot, but it is a place to start, and it doesn't cost us anything. I homeschool the kids, and I'm hoping to add in ASL instead of a foreign language in our studies after we get the foundation from the tutor.

Anyway... I'm hoping to pick up a decent webcam soon, so I can practice my signing online, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum. I hope you have fun reading and posting all the threads here. See you around here. :wave:
 
Hi Nikki! The good thing about ASL is that there's a lot of really good resources out there. I'm really not an expert on homeschooling or anything....but what I would do is contact the Deaf Schools in your area (including ones in bordering states, like Kansas....and I know that the Kansas School for the Deaf is very hoh friendly) and see if there's anything good out there. I'm almost sure (although don't quote me on this) that homeschooled special needs kids (like dhh and blind/low vision kids) are eligable for itenierant teachers to come in and help them. You could request that a TOD come in and teach your son ASL. Also if you have a decent deaf program or are near a deaf school, maybe your son could attend it on a part time/enrichment basis to have exposure to ASL and other dhh peers. He could also attend camp at a School for the Deaf. There's American Society for Deaf Children, which is a wonderful organization for parents of dhh kids: American Society for Deaf Children Deaf ed/ dhh clases are NOT just for "voice off" pure ASLers....
Was he dx late or postlingal? If he is postlingal, he may not find ASL appealing....but at least you're trying. Which is AWESOME. Most hoh kids can very easily pick up speech, but we don't get a lot of exposure to Deaf culture and ASL! For that I commend you!
Are you homeschooling for religious reasons? If so, there is NAATHAN, which is the National Challenged Homeschoolers Assocation, and there's the Bill Rice Ranch in Tennesse (but that can be kind of conservative)
 
Back
Top