JessicaH413

So I wanted to get peoples thoughts on the future of deaf ed. Just where you think it will be in 10 years or so. any thoughts are welcomed!

Deafness

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CrzyMeg

You meant deaf education? I probably be interest in that.

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JessicaH413

yea I did.. I'm just curious as to what people think is going to happen with advances in CI and just changes in schools attitudes toward special education kids.

CrzyMeg

I see, it mostly depend on family. Like mine, I grewing up with hearing family. All of them are hearing. Mostly likely they sent kids to public school.

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web730

Well, over 90% of those deaf school kids' parents are all-hearing yet they send them to deaf schools.

For the future deaf education... I would say both deaf and mainstream would stay on for a long time, probably.

Just hope that they stop oralism cold especially those who force them not to sign at all and speak only.

DeafPenPal

My family is hearing. As for me, I am HOH/Deaf have been to many different school involving main-stream and deaf school. You can read it all on my profile. It tells it all. I have been coping with my hearing family with variety of problems. But now I'm old and not child anymore, they just respect me some. The Board of District for Education had placed me in many different schools. Maybe some of the school was too good for me. Some of my old school was too far and I had to wake up early in the morning like 5 a.m. and leave for bus at 6:25 a.m. Other school, I chose to go by the time I was junior in high school. During high school I was confident that I know where to go.

In my opinion, I think it is best to have main-stream school with deaf and hearing. That way you can interact and socialize with hearing and deaf. You can play sports with hearing. If you are best player or become homecoming queen/king in hearing school, then you're lucky and you'll get a lot of heads from hearing. Being in main-stream school, you can show them that you and them are equality.

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CrzyMeg

I been to public school all of my life except 6th grade. I love my life except
6th grade.

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jillio

Agreed. I am hearing, and I freely chose to send my deaf son to a Deaf school. I see the future as moving toward the bi-bi environment, but it is going to take some time to bring the naysayers who are responsible for the sad state of deaf ed today on board.

deafbajagal

Deaf education on a national wide level in the United States is in a serious crisis. Many residental schools are losing fundings, teachers, and even students. Coordination and support in the mainstream settings are severely lacking. There is a severe shortage of qualified teachers in all settings. There is also an increase need for mental health services and proper behavior treatment programs - yet very few places are available for deaf students. More programs for the deaf and hard of hearing are getting sidetracked by focusing on misguided goals that are not appropriate. Deaf and hard of hearing children are getting shortchanged in our education system. I don't see this stopping anytime soon. In fact, it is going to get worse. Much worse.

shel90

I couldnt agree with you more.

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jillio

I, too, am afraid that it is going to get worse. Those in favor of total mainstreaming and oral education are refusing to recognize the problems that are already evident. It is going to have to bottom out before they will actually open their eyes and admit to the sorry state of deaf ed.

shel90

And who are the ones who loses out big time when things bottom out? The kids.

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jillio

Exactly. And then the same people will probably turn around and blame the kids instead of the system.

authentic

I guess I will have to find a way to home-schooling my kids in the future.

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jillio

More and more parents are opting for that choice. Not parents of deaf kids, neccessarily, but parents with kids who have learning disorders, mental health issues, and various other disabilities because the public system is not meeting their needs. And, parents of kids without any disability because the public system is not meeting their needs, either.

I think it is more rare for the parent of a deaf child to homeschool, because most parents are hearing and never bother to learn the language they need to learn in order to communicate with and teach their child.

deafdyke

OMG YES!!!! SO many total mainstreamers and pro oralists have it stuck in their heads that the mainstream oral enviroment is some sort of GLORIOUS UTOPIA.
GOD, my PARENTS (who were perfectly OK with total mainstreaming) now say they wish they would have done things differently.(and I know SO many parents of special needs kids who echo that) It's so ironic. The total mainstreamers ALL assume that ALL parents of dhh kids are from towns where the schools are wicked good, and who have wicked involved parents. They also assume that the dhh kid is going to reap ALL the benifits of mainstreaming. You know....one of my memories from second grade is of sitting in a classroom being puzzled as FUCK over the concept of syllabels and different vowels. Also I still cannot emphasize enough about how fucking cruel kids are socially......Even a lot of the overachiever types have horrible social lives. HELLO........many of us sound funny,(and I got made fun of or thought of as retarded SO many times b/c of my voice) or we may not have the best social skills b/c of language issues. (ie we're working so hard to remember how to use our spoken language, that we don't have enough energy for social stuff)
You know one way to reduce the res school's fall from grace, is a) A specific program targeted towards inner city (or just generally poor) dhh kids, where they could have the benifits of a stable relationship.....GOD, some of the conditions that poor kids grow up with are just so horrendous. I honestly honestly do not think many people who are in charge of things really understand the reality of some of the poor folks out there.
and b) offer more vocational training. That in turn would equipt dhh kids (as well as multiple handicapped kids) with really useful skills!

Miss-Delectable

Makes me wonder if Governments in Australia will have to rebuild deaf schools for few states that doesn't have such institutions when they realise how wrong mainstreaming are for many kids?

They've closed just about every state schools for the deaf in the 70's and 80's. Only two remains but enrolment is getting smaller every year. *sighs*

My mother wants me to be a teacher for the deaf to address the TOD shortage and also it'll ensure I'll be in great demand careerwise.....

But the fact is I don't see any positive aspect for deaf education now or in the future now thatsupport for oralism is on the rise, and people especially the parents and so-called experts just don't want to face the fact that deaf kids are not like them or do they have the same needs.

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web730

Yeah, so unfortunately for those deaf schools where their state gov'ts decided to close them down assuming that the mainstream schools will do and save their taxes. Rochester (RSD) is already experiencing some shrink and their adm/facility becoming worse off. I recalled Nebraska closed theirs back in the 90s.

Although there are few good deaf schools are experiencing some enrollment increases as of late aka Indiana, Florida, Maryland, and few others (not sure about Texas yet). Also their educations are improving in some fields, too - great! How about Fremont and MSSD, anybody knows? Those are good ones.

I really have no idea about the mainstream schools but am curious about those ones but probably assume that some are increasing as well due that the Gallaudet's enrollment, half of them comes from the mainstream schools nowadays.

My mother recommended me to be a deaf school teacher, too but I turned it down. Later after leaving college I wondered as I was mistaken but then I don't think it is, however. One thing it really gets bothersome from what I gathered from my deaf teacher friends stating that sometimes it's tough to be teachers esp in the middle-high school departments because of extra sensitive situations that the state/school policies have put them into... not so good situation for them to be in... so they have to be extra careful at what they say, etc... sort of like walking on a thinner rope.

So we indeed recognize that we deaf people need to involve more to stress the governments to overhaul both school systems for the better. It's what I really hope that DBC improves itself and can be more helpful and effective in the near future... they are just a year old organization so I would say that it needs more time to develop into a more powerful organization thus going into a right approach... just hope they don't foul it up. lol

Cheri

To be honest, there will be no perfect answers. For many years professionals came up a plan that would be suitable for the majority of deaf children, they took away sign language, then sign language was brought back. A.G. Bell's invention put the majority deaf children at BIG disadvantage; because sign was taken away, and he expected those majority of deaf children to rely themselves on speech and hearing. That's upright ridiculous.

I'll say when someone tries to force a method on a child it can cause serious delays in their language, I believe they should be open in using whatever method works best for that individual child. I don't think oralism is the best approach, I don't think total communication is the best approach, I don't think bi-bi is the best approach and I don't think cued speech is the best approach for the majority of deaf children, there's no easy way out, they will have some frustrations because they're deaf, they use their strength differently, their hearing loss are different from each others, their ability of learning environments are different from each others.

just my two cents.

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web730

Well, I agree with your first paragraph but disagree with your second paragraph at best.

It becomes more obvious that the bi-bi approach is the better approach than any others so far it proved, if not perfect. We have to choose a system disregardless whatever they declare that all approaches didn't work out or aren't perfect, however. Sure enough, it is only my opinion that I think we ought to use the bi-bi approach yet they could always improve it along.

It's acknowledged that it may be widely vary depending on the individuals' abilities that has/had to do with it, otherwise. It's not easy to teach deaf something so unique and different like you said well sort of.

Cheri

That's your opinion as far I've done my research, the disadvantage of bi-bi setting that it does not spend time working on audition or speech. You can find that information on here: Bi-Bi Options

I prefer if deaf children learn speech and signs, not one over another that's my opinion.

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jillio

Evidence supports the use of bi-bi as the best method for the vast majority of deaf students.

jillio

That is incorrect. The bi-bi program does provide for speech/auditory services just as the public school system writes these services into an IEP. They are not part of the curriculum, but then, they are not part of the curriculum in any program, oral only included. They are provided as adjunct services.

Cheri

Where did I stated that it does not provide speech/auditory services? From what I said "bi bi does not spend time working on audition or speech" from research. I believe speech/auditory is held separate from daily classroom instruction. The question is how often do they work on speech and audition?

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jillio

Where you stated it is in the bolded comment you have provided. "Does not spend time working on it" is the same as saying the services are not provided. When services are provided, then time is spent working on it.