dreamchaser

I need to get some information about how many mainstream school use an oral only approach, or are basically using English in all of their classes. Are most schools supplying interpreters and note takers and leaving kids in the class rooms? or are they separated out. I haven't been able to find any statistics on this for my research paper.

How did your school do it?

ty for info. My paper is due soon, and I just can't get enough info for it.

Deafness

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Reba

The public mainstream middle school for which I sub uses interpreters in the classrooms, and "resource" class periods. During the academic class periods the deaf students are in class with the hearing students and use interpreters, but no note takers. During resource time, the deaf student is one-on-one with either an interpreter in a tutoring role, or with a deaf ed teacher, in a separate classroom. The signing is English, and the students are encouraged to use their voices to respond. CI students and non-CI students all use FM systems with the teachers miked up.

Deaf students ride the little yellow bus, so they get dismissed from their last period classes 15 minutes early.

shel90

I was the only deaf kid in my elementary school. I was thrown in with the sharks and had to rely on myself to keep from sinking. Somehow, I managed but not without a few scars from those sharks.

Basically what happened was I was treated like any hearing kid in the classroom which on paper sounds good but in reality, it wasnt good cuz I had no support system..no terp, no resource teacher (not until middle school), no notetaker...nothing. I dont know how I learned...probably cuz I loved to read so I learned from reading rather than from the teachers and my peers. My mom always had to work with me everynight to make sure I understood my homework which had to be tough cuz she was a single mom living on minimum wage.

In middle school, I was always happy to get teachers who put lecture notes in writing whether it was on the blackboard or on the overhead transparency...helped me a LOT. If I didnt, I had to rely on help from my peers to let me know what was happening in class which got me several trips to detention for "talking too much" in class.

In high school, for some reason, an ASL terp was assigned to me in 1 or 2 classes ( I had 6 classes each year) and they didnt even bother to recognize the fact that I knew no ASL so I never looked at the terp cuz I was sooo ashamed and brainwashed about my deafness. All the terp represented the fact that I was "different" which I had been trying to deny for so many years.

Now, I accept that I am 'different" and I DONT care. Wish I did back then...would have made life easier.

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~Shel~

rick48

dreamchaser,

Mainstream schools are oral as they serve a population that is over 99% hearing. How they deliver their instruction to deaf students is a function of each individual child's IEP and what it states.

In our case, our daughter's IEP indicated that her instruction was to be oral and that any TOD had to orally communicate with her as that is her language. There is now another deaf child in our school district and her IEP states that she is to have an ASL intrepter and her TOD (who happens to be the same as my daughter) can use ASL with her. So in this case, the same school district provided different services to deaf children in their schools because of what was indicated on their IEPs.
Hope that helps.
Rick

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Mizzou

Well, I been in mainstreamed all my life. Let me tell little about deaf program here.

I went to deaf education for some reason and you said yellow bus comes early for deaf students come on but I got off same time with hearing and I have to RUN and RUN all the way to my yellow bus because I am part of deaf program. I hate to see my yellow bus leaves and pissed me off. Now yellow bus for the deaf program are AWARE about mainstreamed kids who went to hearing classes and go on deaf yellow bus.

Earlier of my preschool, I have oral teacher and went to hearing classes which is no trep at all. They not know nothing about deaf program because I live in small town in that state.

I moved to big city and went to deaf education class for two years. Of course, there is no trep program, just deaf education program. Now, I heard not much trep program around the city but only one school need them.

I moved to bigger city and went to mainstreamed for 12 years. I sees ASL treps and SEE treps, too. Two deaf education program in that city. Now, I heard there is more deaf programs around the city which is success.

I been friends with hearing and deaf students. They do learn to communcation with me or another student who went same with me.

dreamchaser

How does a FM system work?

dreamchaser

Where did you learn sign language? Would you feel happy without it? Is sing language an important part of your education? What do you think about oral only programs?

Reba

I can describe the ones that are used for this school only. The teacher wears a lapel mike (transmitter), and the student wears an earpiece (receiver). That way, depending on the degree of hearing that the student has, the student can hear the teacher speak. That's the theory anyway.

dreamchaser

Thanks, I keep hearing about FM, and people waiting for one, or other technical things about types, BUt I didn't know what they were until now...

dreamchaser

coooool, So, your school is not necessarily oral only if you chose not. I believe it is helpful to get lots of oral practice in, especially if one has an implant or can function with aides. I wonder though, do you think terps pick up enough info? I mean, this may sound ignorant, like stuff that is peripheral? ya know, sideline conversations and things that would make a child feel like part of the peers' discussions?

I want to be a great terp when I finish school, not a lousey one. I know some people go into it for he bucks, but I want to actually help our kids to get a GOOD education.

When they use a terp, is it mostly SEE in your district?

Gemma

I attended Jesuit schools all the way up to college. That sucked because my elementary and high schools wouldnt provide any extra support services for me due to not recieving federal funding. They said that if I wanted to get some support services such as assistance with my vocabulary or assignments, I would have to walk across the street to a building in order to meet a public school teacher to get these services. I was humiliated when I had to leave the campus to go to this building with all students staring at me outside windows. Needless to say, I never went back. I refused to swallow my pride and rejected the services.

Thus I was all on my own all these years. I dont know if it has gotten any better lately but that was my experience. I often wonder what would have happened if I attended public schools and get much more tailored support services to meet my own needs. I finally got support services and had to learn ASL real quickly in order to use them in college.

Mizzou

I been learn sign language since 3 years old with my mom in somewhere at my hometown (not know where)

I barely use speech so sign most of time. I think I am okay with that.

Sign language is important for deaf to understand the commuication with other people. If there is no sign language then how we can communication... that will be MUTE forever...

Oral program isn't what I am looking for. Parents want to have oral program for their kids but ended up, kids prefer sign language over oral. My parents not know what to do with me so put me TELECOMMUCATION frist then oral, SEE then ASL. I am still learning.