What kind of Education would you choose for your dhh kid?

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deafdyke

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Better to be prepared and I would want to stay in the area of the Oral school i went to, it is considered the top oral school, it would be a pain if we moved out of state (for job reasons or whatever) and find out we have deaf children and move all the way back
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If your kids turned out to be dhh what kind of education would you choose for them? Mainstream, oral, residental, sign whatever and why? I was surprised that Babyphat would want her kids to have an oral education...Many of the ex-orals that I know, who have gone on to have dhh kids have chosen to not opt for an oral education for their kids.
I would want my kids to be able to hear and speak, but I wouldn't want them to have to go through what I went through as a child. meaning frustration, low self esteem, being harrassed by hearing kids(I remember in elementary school the boys would put tacks on my chair and really really be incredibly nasty to me)..and I would never ever want my child to ask me why I never exposed them to Sign and Deaf culture. I also would never want my kids to think that they were the only dhh kids in the universe(it seems like a lot of "experts" think that psedeo-hearing and speech will magically help dhh kids to become "normal") and I'd never want my kids to feel like they didn't fit in with people. I'd also want them to be exposed to fun stuff like Sign and Deaf culture, rather then having them give an awareness presentation on how the ear works and how hearing aids can help dhh kids.
I would send my kids to a school for the deaf initally...and follow up with additional speech therapy or auditory-verbal therapy if they weren't getting good speech therapy. Later on when they were older,(around 5th grade or whatever) I'd help them decide whether or not to go on to res school or if they wanted to be mainstreamed or whatever.
 
I would let my kid go anywhere he/she wants to go. However, I would recommend that they go to a school that has a good interpreter support program or something so that they can get through without worrying about support or other problems.
 
If I have a deaf child.. Ill put her into infant program for now till she or he gets bigger. Then Ill see what she or he wants from there.
 
It'd depend on how he/she fares in school -- then decide and go from there. It varies from child to child on what sort of education is best for the child.
A few children have been put in the wrong kind of school and finished with really bad education, not being able to read nor write properly. Sure, that can happen at any schools, but there are some parents who absolutely refuse advices on which school would be best for their child. Like for example - if a child has a cochlear implant and the parents want the child to be as hearing as possible and avoid schools with deaf facilities -- that's denying the child the opportunity to see what it's like being in a deaf program and learning sign language. Instead, they're being 'forced' in not signing at all and being 'oralism' throughout the schooling term.

Sometimes I get pissed off because those parents are ignorant and being selfish -- thinking of wanting their child to be 'hearing' whilst it can't be because the child's deaf, period. Cochlear implant or not. :roll:
 
I am a hearing person so I don't have the perspective of having the experience of mainstream or residential education. However, since most deaf children are born to hearing parents, statistically speaking, there is a strong chance that I could have had a deaf child.

I like deafdyke's plan:
I would send my kids to a school for the deaf initally...and follow up with additional speech therapy or auditory-verbal therapy if they weren't getting good speech therapy.
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I would probably move close to a residential school and enroll my child as a day student. I am an interpreter, and my hearing husband is a signer, so using ASL with the child would not be a problem for us. We are also active in the local Deaf community, so we would include our child in those relationships also. I would also try to find after-school play groups, weekend activities, and summer camps for him/her with other Deaf children.

As the child became older, we would together, as a family re-evaluate the program. Depending on the child's interest and other factors, we would continue with the day school or perhaps try a mainstream program.

Another factor for our family is that we prefer Christian education to government schools. That means we would have to closely monitor the curriculum and spiritual atmosphere of the residential day school. As for mainstreaming, I guess it would probably be in a Christian school, using interpreters. I don't know of any Christian residential or mainstream programs for Deaf children. If any of you knows of such a program, I would love to hear about it.
 
It varies from child to child on what sort of education is best for the child.
A few children have been put in the wrong kind of school and finished with really bad education, not being able to read nor write properly. Sure, that can happen at any schools, but there are some parents who absolutely refuse advices on which school would be best for their child. Like for example - if a child has a cochlear implant and the parents want the child to be as hearing as possible and avoid schools with deaf facilities -- that's denying the child the opportunity to see what it's like being in a deaf program and learning sign language. Instead, they're being 'forced' in not signing at all and being 'oralism' throughout the schooling term.
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Yes, the Schools for the Deaf get bashed by some people (not naming names) but the main reason why schools for the Deaf tend to be bad is b/c nowadays most kids fall through the cracks and may not get appropreaite services until they end up at a school for the deaf. That is why I would start my kid off at a deaf school, so they wouldn't fall through the cracks.
 
Not every deaf person gets harrassed in hearing schools. I was never made fun of or harrassed especially not for my hearing loss.

I went to a program of all kids who used sign language or not really good orally. Instead of improving on my speech I began to babble like a deaf child. My speech was diminishing. I didn't have any other options as a child, so throughout the year I did okay in regular schools. My mother wanted me to go to a Montessori school, but we didn't have one around. For those who dont' know, it's a school where you work at your own pace and improve at your own pace without being in a "grade" system.

The other thing, when I got to high school...I began to suffer socially. 99.9 percent of the kids did not want to socialize with me or they just shied away. The ASL students sometimes would use ASL, and I would answer verbally because that's what I always do, but I think they took it the other way--like rude or that I hated my deafness--whatever the problem was. Why don't ASL classes teach that not all deaf people use ASL? I am sure they do know, but for some reason they just don't seem to register that.

I did want to go to a deaf school because I wanted to be accepted socially. The only concern of a deaf school is the academic skills--they suck. I didn't have many options to transfer or move around just to fit my world.

I think each deaf child is different. There shouldn't be one size fits all. I never got mad at my mother for not exposing me to deaf people. I would never start anything just for the sake of "JUST IN CASE." I think it should be the best parent's intuition and life is also never going to be completely fair.

There was one ASL student that talked to me, and he said I had good speech. It was a short convo, but after that he didn't seem to notice me. It was a snobbish high school...so that could be? I'll never know.

By the way, what's dhh? deaf hard of hearing?
 
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Here's the perspective of a recent high-school graduate who was mainstreamed for all 12 years of his elementary education:

I've seen so many of my close friends suffer in programs where the bar is set too low for deaf students, possibly because so many deaf children are diagnosed after the golden linguistic stage has passed and are forever stuck trying to catch up with their peers. If i become a parent of a deaf child, what would be most important to me is that my child stays at or above the level of students at his age. Most likely I would have to send my child to be mainstreamed in an area school where there are also several deaf students (as we have here in PA). I don't mean to bad-mouth deaf insitutions, but several of my friends complained about using the same math book for 5 years at a local school for the deaf, and I have noticed a gap in education between students at other deaf schools. I'm not saying ALL deaf institutions are bad, I've heard glowing reviews about MSD, but I would definitely do my research beforehand to ensure my child gets educated well.

On the oral/signing topic, here in PA we have a total-communication program, where students are raised both signing and speaking. This is the path I would choose for my child, because I wouldn't want to deny who he is as a deaf individual, nor would I want to isolate him from the world that he is living in (the hearing world).

Again, this is just my opinion. Thought y'all might like to hear from a recent graduate.
 
t0rmented said:
Here's the perspective of a recent high-school graduate who was mainstreamed for all 12 years of his elementary education:

I've seen so many of my close friends suffer in programs where the bar is set too low for deaf students, possibly because so many deaf children are diagnosed after the golden linguistic stage has passed and are forever stuck trying to catch up with their peers. If i become a parent of a deaf child, what would be most important to me is that my child stays at or above the level of students at his age. Most likely I would have to send my child to be mainstreamed in an area school where there are also several deaf students (as we have here in PA). I don't mean to bad-mouth deaf insitutions, but several of my friends complained about using the same math book for 5 years at a local school for the deaf, and I have noticed a gap in education between students at other deaf schools. I'm not saying ALL deaf institutions are bad, I've heard glowing reviews about MSD, but I would definitely do my research beforehand to ensure my child gets educated well.

On the oral/signing topic, here in PA we have a total-communication program, where students are raised both signing and speaking. This is the path I would choose for my child, because I wouldn't want to deny who he is as a deaf individual, nor would I want to isolate him from the world that he is living in (the hearing world).

Again, this is just my opinion. Thought y'all might like to hear from a recent graduate.
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That will happen to a selected few -- I attended a residential school for my last 8 years of education and I came out of it alright. :D
 
Sometimes I get pissed off because those parents are ignorant and being selfish -- thinking of wanting their child to be 'hearing' whilst it can't be because the child's deaf, period. Cochlear implant or not.
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My mother raised me oral. She did not want me to raise me using sign language because she did not want me to get used to signing and not talk. My mother put me in a deaf program, but it did not work out because I was losing my speech and mimicking sounds of the deaf children while losing my speech. I had to leave those programs.
 
I wouldn't send my child to a program that is exclusively ASL or oral. I think sending the child to a program where the teacher believes in using all the tools to enrichen the child's education would be much better, and that probably would be total communication. I grew up in a total communication environment, and learned SEE before switching to ASL in Grade 4. Although my English wasn't up to the par by grade 5, I started being mainstreamed and it really helped me to improve my level. I was in the advanced placement and honours English not long after that. I didn't think SEE really helped me until I had an ASL interpreter interpreting English classes. I think it is important that if a communication method doesn't work, do not stay stuck with it and refuse to use another method just because you don't agree with it. Should use whatever would help the child learn better.
 
A LOT depends on where you live. Arizona is NOT a good place to raise
a deaf child. I am mainstreaming my daughter this year to a school with
a deaf program. The final straw for me was the new principle they hired.


There are only a few school districts in Arizona that have decent deaf
programs and I happen to live in one.
 
I did want to go to a deaf school because I wanted to be accepted socially. The only concern of a deaf school is the academic skills--they suck. I didn't have many options to transfer or move around just to fit my world.
Well there's something called partial mainstreaming, where the dhh (deaf/hard of hearing) student attends some classes at a school for the deaf and then attends mainstream classes. One of my friends who has a hard of hearing daughter does this with her daughter and I beleive alisonjoy did this as well. Not all deaf schools suck academicly....Katie says that Kansas School for the Deaf is SO much better then the mainstream enviroment. There are also good schools like TLC and others. I think a lot of the academic suckiness comes from two things a: the fact that most of the "just deaf" kids fell through the cracks in terms of early intervention or recieving correct services/teaching. and b: the low expectations for dhh kids in general...but this isn't just limited to schools or programs for the deaf. Mainstream enviroments have this attitude too...especially as most kids served by a mainstream special ed program are learning disabled (and quite a few of those kids are just stupid dumbass slacker types)
I think each deaf child is different. There shouldn't be one size fits all. I never got mad at my mother for not exposing me to deaf people. I would never start anything just for the sake of "JUST IN CASE." I think it should be the best parent's intuition and life is also never going to be completely fair.
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Yes, each dhh kid is different. That is why I am arguing against total and complete mainstreaming for a dhh kid. Our educational system is set up for the Average Middle Class Student and doesn't really tend to make allowences for people who are "different" Gifted kids very often have a lot of simlair struggles getting a good quality education as do special ed kids! (I know b/c I was and am both) I mean I am glad that I got a decent education compared to what I would have recieved had I been born in the not so far past. However, it wasn't all that great..... I learned far more by reading books and incidental learning then I did in a classroom. Our mainstream education system is a mill filled with sheep and there is little to no attetion paid to students who need more then what the average kid needs.
I don't understand why mainstreaming is so valued by members of a certain organization or by some people.
The trouble with parental intution is that, too often it's based on the "healthy normal" mentality rather then what the kid actually NEEDS or wants. Many hearing parents think " Oh boy...my child can be "healthy and normal" instead of having to attend a speshal program or school or learn by speshal teaching methods or do something differently then the majority of the population.
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I don't understand why mainstreaming is so valued by members of a certain organization or by some people.
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Because many deaf schools are not great in academics. It's one of the reasons I doubted going to a deaf school in high school. It was only the social aspect that I lacked. If you weight education vs. sociality, you'd pick education over it. You can't get 100 percent of what you want. Mainstreaming allows you to interact with the normal part of the world. It allows you to be closer to your home with your neighbor kids. It allows you to learn and grow with people of your age. Yes, going to a regular school is more normal than deaf school education. I haven't heard very many good deaf school education.

I am not sure about the healthy and normal. Perhaps, that's the way you perceive it. I am sure there are flawed parents, but there are flawed parents in the hearing schools, too. It's probably the parents that is the problem not the children should the children fail to have a normal life. I don't think that mainstreaming or trying to make a deaf child's life as close to the hearing population as you can that is the problem. Parents have to be involved for education to go accordingly.

Sometimes you have to pick between one that's is best than another such as education over the social aspect of a deaf school. It sort of does some deaf people good to learn to adapt later on, but yes, I understand that socialization is yearned.

Perhaps deaf schools should be improved?
 
Because many deaf schools are not great in academics. It's one of the reasons I doubted going to a deaf school in high school. It was only the social aspect that I lacked. If you weight education vs. sociality, you'd pick education over it. You can't get 100 percent of what you want. Mainstreaming allows you to interact with the normal part of the world. It allows you to be closer to your home with your neighbor kids. It allows you to learn and grow with people of your age. Yes, going to a regular school is more normal than deaf school education. I haven't heard very many good deaf school education.
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Very true....deaf schools are not great academicly but I still don't see why mainstreaming is so damn valued. I would have to say that many deaf schools aren't as bad as some people insist. Yes, they aren't as good as a typical middle class suburban high school, but on the other hand, they are probaly better then an inner city high school for example. I'm not bashing mainstreaming when the kid has had appropreate early intervention and is academicly ready to mainstream and will have appropreaite support and a supportive sped staff who is experianced in teaching kids with classic disabilties. I'm concerned about the thinking that the mainstream is the absolute best place for everyone!
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I am not sure about the healthy and normal. Perhaps, that's the way you perceive it. I am sure there are flawed parents, but there are flawed parents in the hearing schools, too. It's probably the parents that is the problem not the children should the children fail to have a normal life. I don't think that mainstreaming or trying to make a deaf child's life as close to the hearing population as you can that is the problem. Parents have to be involved for education to go accordingly.
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Oh, believe me HKG, many parents do go through the "healthy normal" shit. It's one of the biggest reasons why parents pick oral only....I have a lot more to say on this but I gotta run.
 
To continue my post.....there are some parents who choose oral b/c it will help their kids with a very vital skill...they aren't deadset against Sign or Deaf culture...they just are concerned that the TC programs don't concentrate enough on oral training. However, there are a TON of parents who have been brainwashed into thinking that alternative methods are a "crutch" and the only true way is to train a kid to function somewhat like a "normal" person. I see those parents ALL the time. Those are the ones who think that a dhh kid who has a handful of spoken words is "higher functioning" then someone who has little to no verbal skills but who can express themselves at a Harvard level in ASL.
Yes, we do need to improve schools for the Deaf....that also includes ORAL schools...Kids who are oral aren't nessarily higher functioning then those who sign or who do TC.
 
Depends on your areas where provide your child best interest for good Educational as well.. Ain't fun but depend your child needs to be deserved happier where prefer attend at ???
Deaf School is okay just good starter for junior.. until when turns older enough as teen.. what their choice prefer stay Deaf High school or mainstream.. If school willing pay the funded for provide an interpreter.. uneasy... Hopefully a day would be great change and challenge new!
 
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