Meniere's disease and high school... what should I do?

MintyOreo

MintyOreo

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I guess this is where I should post this...

I'm having a problem, and I would appreciate some input on what I should do. I am deaf, and although there are many causes to my deafness, one of those causes - and the one that causes me the most trouble - is Meniere's disease. I have had Meniere's for several years now, since middle school. I'm now a sophomore (10th grade). Before Meniere's, I was hoh, but now I am deaf with both a fluctuating loss and a permanent loss. It's hard to explain in a short way...

In middle school, I attended a hearing public school. I had minimal accommodations, because the tiny school district in my area cannot provide the accommodations that I need. At the time, I had no form of transportation to a larger school with a dhh program, or at least a school with some accommodations. I was hoh at that time, and while I was struggling A LOT in school, it wasn't as bad as it is now. My Meniere's disease was unilateral at the time, and I had hearing loss in both ears. I learned how to squeeze by in school.

Now, the situation is different. In 9th grade, I left the hearing public school, and I started going to a cyber school. I am currently attending the cyber school, and this is my second year there. Doing school on the computer is nice and all, but it's not the right fit for me. I don't have ANY of the accommodations that I need. We have these sessions where we go into a chat room, and the teacher teaches us the lesson by talking to us via a microphone and writing on the virtual whiteboard. You cannot see the teachers at all. Sometimes they use a webcam, but they are low-quality ones, and the picture gets distorted and doesn't keep up with the audio. Most of the time, the teacher does not use a webcam. So you can't try to lipread the teacher at all. I NEVER can hear my teachers. Therefore, I am not being taught AT ALL. I have no help. I am basically trying to teach myself, which I cannot do for much longer. This isn't a good situation for me.

So... long story short, I am going to be transferring to a new school (or the local school district) next school year. I'll be a junior in high school. My problem is that while I have a steady hearing loss, I also have fluctuating hearing loss. So, I have a certain level of hearing loss that is my best, and then my hearing fluctuates to worse than that. At my worst, both ears are at a profound loss. At my best, both ears are around a moderately-severe to severe loss, give or take. (My left ear barely reaches a moderate loss in a few frequencies, but my right ear is nowhere near that level.) With my fluctuating loss, I have good days and bad days. And I also have bad vertigo attacks (although they aren't as bad as they used to be), ringing ears, fullness in the ears, headaches, and etc. My Meniere's disease is now bilateral.

My problem is that if I try to explain my deafness and Meniere's disease to the local school district, they won't even accept me as a student, probably - because they don't have the resources that are needed to properly educate me. That's fine with me. I actually don't want to go to the local public school. I want to go to a Deaf school, or a dhh program. (I really want to go to Western PA School for the Deaf.) My parents want me to go to the local public school - and be "normal", as they say. However, I want to go to a Deaf school. So we're butting heads, here. I'm not sure what to do. I only have two more years of high school left. My parents don't want me to go to a Deaf school, because they are afraid that if they do, I will decide to go voice-off and sign ASL instead of speak. Actually, I WANT to go voice-off and sign ASL instead of speak. But my parents don't want me to. And they are convinced that if I go to a Deaf school, I won't get a proper education and I won't be able to go to college for my major, which is Occupational Therapy. (They don't understand that there are colleges out there specifically for Deafs!)

Sorry for the long post. (I tend to write a lot.) What should I do? Should I push for the Deaf school, should I try to get into a dhh program, or should I go back to the local public school? We have to make a decision soon...

:ty: for your help! :)
 
How are your grades? If not good, explain to your parents why they're not good (you can't hear the teachers, etc).
Do your research on deaf colleges and deaf friendly colleges and present the information to your parents. Ask them to visit the colleges with you so they can see.
Have you visited Western PA School for the Deaf? If not, ask your parents to arrange a visit to it so they can see 1st hand.

Hope you're able to convince your parents that a deaf school/college will be better for you.
 
Hi MintyOreo, you may have done this already, but if not, you may want to spend a day or 2 at WPD sitting in on junior (or sophomore) classes to see how much of the instruction, lectures, presentations, and discussion among classmates you follow and can participate in in the classroom. And to see how you mesh with the students outside the classroom.

You mentioned that you are learning ASL, and I'm assuming you are motivated enough to become conversationally proficient and could handle the social interaction, but do you think you'd also be able to become proficient enough academically to handle high school math, science, social studies, etc. classwork by September? Are you participating in an immersion program during the summer (via Gallaudet, maybe)?
 
Ooops LoveBlue, looks like I just repeated your suggestion to visit.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. No, we haven't visited WPSD yet. I want to, but I'm trying to convince my parents to visit.

GrendelQ said:
You mentioned that you are learning ASL, and I'm assuming you are motivated enough to become conversationally proficient and could handle the social interaction, but do you think you'd also be able to become proficient enough academically to handle high school math, science, social studies, etc. classwork by September? Are you participating in an immersion program during the summer (via Gallaudet, maybe)?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, to be honest. I am VERY good at learning languages, though. I learn very quickly. I am a fairly good student - mostly A's and a few B's. (Except for math. I struggle with math, and I don't really have anyone who can properly teach me.) But I spend literally all of my time doing schoolwork. I don't have time for much else. My parents are always harping on me, because I spend my whole entire life on schoolwork, and I have NO time to enjoy being a teen. I currently have no social interaction whatsoever beyond online forums and church every week. Not a good thing! And, besides for AllDeaf, NONE of that time is spent with d/Deaf/Hoh people, people like me - because I am literally one of the only d/Deaf/Hoh teens in my area.

I'm very motivated and willing to work hard at becoming proficient enough in ASL to be able to handle my classwork and socialization by the time that school starts. I think that it's very much worth it. But, would it even be possible to transfer to WPSD when I'm a junior? I only have 2 years of high school left. Is it too late, or do you think I could still transfer?

What I'm wondering is whether or not WPSD might have some sort of ASL class or a tutor who could help me after school or something to get caught-up to speed in ASL. I'll look around their website again, but it's probably best if we call and find out for sure.
 
My mom didn't allow me to go to deaf schools for the same reason. But it was a huge mistake. My school years were horrible because of it. My grades didn't suffer because I pretty much taught myself the whole way through, but it was exceedingly difficult, and UNNECESSARY.

Parents don't realize just how important the social aspect of school really is. It's not as important as academic, but close. You will benefit a lot from learning and using ASL among deaf peers. You have been culturally hearing and functioning as a hearing person long enough, that even if you spent the next 2 years voice-off and ASL only, you would not have that much difficulty switching to your previous mode of communication when necessary. 2 years of voice off and ASL isn't going to ruin you for life, all it will do is give you proficiency in another communication option, as well as open the door for you socially.

AT this point, I would say, from having been where you are and being an adult now, that you have nothing to lose by going to a deaf school for the next two years, but that is not entirely true.

One reason my mom kept me from deaf schools is that the deaf schools that were available to me back then were very poor in terms of the quality of education. I would have graduated with only a 9th grade education. Not good.

From what I am told, many deaf schools are still the same way, although a lot of them have caught up to the hearing schools.

What you need to do is really look into the deaf school that is available for you and find out what the education is like. If it is equal to hearing education, you're good to go, and can only benefit by going, especially if that is what you want. If the education is worse than at hearing schools, you might be better off sticking with the hearing schools and working harder.

So your first step is to find a good deaf school with good education that is equal to the hearing school's standard, and then go to your parents and CALMLY, rationally, explain the pros and cons between hearing vs deaf school. The quality of education will be a HUGE selling point for them. If you can show that your education will remain the same, or perhaps be even better since you won't struggle so much in a deaf school, then it will be a lot easier to get them to see the other pros of a deaf school.

I am a walking testament to why sending a deaf child to a hearing school and trying to make them stay as "hearing" as possible is a REALLY bad idea. There are several other people on this board that are in the same position as me. I think there are several testimonials about this topic on this board that if you search hard enough you can probably find, to share with your parents.
 
Is there any summer program for Deaf students in your area? Would they be willing to let you try that?

This isn't the same thing, and it may be completely the wrong program for you, but since you mentioned church, I wondered if your parents would be interested in the Bill Rice Deaf Camp? It's free, and it's in TN.
Bill Rice Ranch - Deaf Ministry

Like I said, I don't know anything about it except it's religious and the Rice's started it because they had a Deaf child.

It's also possible that you could send a private email to this blogger:

Signs of Life : The Brownie Chronicles

She's a homeschooling mom, hearing, married to a Deaf husband. I know she has helped other parents of deaf kids come to terms with it and learn to appreciate how important it is to learn ASL.

She is pretty busy, but she might be the kind of person your parents could relate to.

Best wishes.
 
I would strongly look into both a Deaf School or a dhh program. Dhh programs can be awesome b/c then you get a mini "school" of dhh kids and you also get the advantages of a hearing school.
I agree 100% with Lily, parents really do not understand that social life and identifying with other dhh kids is REALLY important. Especially for hoh kids....those of us who are HOH tend to be mainstreamed and oralized to the max......ugh.
And yes, I second looking into summer camps and programs. Maybe your parents might see what a HUGE difference "deaf" programming can make. I have met SO MANY hearing parents who send their kid to a deaf camp, and then b/c of that are all "OMG the difference is amazing!"
Yes, you're a junior but so what? You would still have two years....heck you might even get to have more b/c dhh kids can stay in school until we are 21. I think we have someone who transferred to a deaf school, who was going to be a junior but is staying an extra year.
 
Hang in there. I'm HOH from birth and then developed Meniere's as of more recently. I can go from my baseline moderate-ish to (as far as I can tell) total silence to everything in between from minute to minute some days. The large range of variability is the big problem for me, not the loss itself. When it stays at anything steady (even when that's silence) for an hour or two I adjust to it and function well enough on lipreading and context and body language that it takes most people a while to realize anything's going on. (That most of my social interactions take place at parties where alcohol is served helps of course.) It's when the fluctuations are too rapid to adjust to them that I really struggle.
Despite that, I attend supposedly one of the toughest engineering schools in the country, think I might end up with A's in all my classes this semester, and have a social life. I can't really explain how I managed that, but hang in there. Where there's a will there's a way!
 
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