Student and Teacher - That's Me!

Hey guys,

My name is Puck (It' a nickname--don't ask. My real name is Michelle) and I am a hearing individual who is beginning the Sign Language Interpreter's program at Tarrant County College next Spring. Right now I am taking lower level sign classes at the Dallas Deaf Action Center and in TCC's Continuing Ed program.

I currently work as a teacher in a "differently abled" classroom (the term I prefer over "special needs"), and over the years I have seen many deaf /HoH and other forms of non-verbal children who are years behind grade level due to their lack of a solid linguistic background (of any language!). Their inability to communicate easily with others has kept them from getting the education they deserve, and it really makes me sad.

I very much support the Deaf culture's belief that being Deaf is in no way a handicap, and want to help perpetrate that notion to my colleagues, to the families and friends of my students, and to the world in general. I believe it is important to make an extra effort to connect with people who are different than ourselves by learning their culture and their ways of communication rather than insisting they try their best to become like us. When it comes to dealing with my more challenging non-verbal students (many are on the autism spectrum), I often have to implement complex strategies in order to really connect and communicate with them, but when I do, it is totally worth it because I have a special, amazing relationship with them--a relationship they may have never had with anyone before, as many parents are not well-equipped to deal with their kid's different abilities. Not to say, of course, that deafness and autism are comparable in more than a few ways, but one of those ways is that the Deaf and kids with autism both face immense challenges when it comes to communication, while another is that they are both often misunderstood by the world at large, causing their challenges to be mishandled in a way that can be frustrating at the lowest level and traumatizing at the highest.

That was probably more about me than you wanted to know about me, but I wanted to try and really express why I want to learn ASL. Partly because it's a cool language--I think it's pretty awesome in general--but mostly because I want to help the Deaf and non-verbal kids I come across connect to the world and overcome their challenges so that they can go on to be successful and fulfilled adults.

NOTE: If you are a student in Dallas/Fort Worth (especially in the mid-cities--I live in Arlington) I would LOVE to get together weekly for coffee or something and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Puck said:

I currently work as a teacher in a "differently abled" classroom (the term I prefer over "special needs"), and over the years I have seen many deaf /HoH and other forms of non-verbal children who are years behind grade level due to their lack of a solid linguistic background (of any language!). Their inability to communicate easily with others has kept them from getting the education they deserve, and it really makes me sad.

That was probably more about me than you wanted to know about me, but I wanted to try and really express why I want to learn ASL. Partly because it's a cool language--I think it's pretty awesome in general--but mostly because I want to help the Deaf and non-verbal kids I come across connect to the world and overcome their challenges so that they can go on to be successful and fulfilled adults.

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Are you still seeing a lot of dhh kids who are years behind? It really doesn't surprise me whatsoever that it's still happening...I think people thought that the deaf or oral school experience could be replicated in the mainstream.... Unfortunatly all inclusion does, is make a dhh kid fall through the cracks. I'm smiling grimly. There are certain people who claim that they have never heard of a dhh kid being placed in special ed, and that I was making up those stories.
We really do need regional dhh early childhood schools housed in the various and sundry cities in Texas. We also need to make sure that kids get good global dhh services. We need to stop worrying about speech vs ASL, and just give parents the full toolbox.
Oh, you do know that kids who are nonverbal tend to use ASL in an ACC fashion, rather then an actual language right? There are some people who cannot speak, who CAN use ASL as ASL....but generally they can't use it as a full whole sophiscated higher level language....

Oh and is there any way at all that you could suggest Deaf Ed or Deaf School as a placement? It blows my mind that Arlington doesn't have a Deaf School/program.

During the interview, I asked Dallas Independent School District directly what kind of program they use to teach deaf/HH students such as Bi-Bi and Total Communication. They turned heads and faced each other asking questions like "I think they use total communication, right?" My jaw dropped to the floor. After 5 minutes of waiting for their answer, they mentioned they 'officially' have a current program, Total Communication. Eeeh.

An terp told me she worked at Regional Day School program for the Deaf in Dallas area (can't tell ya the name for privacy reasons) and her job was to interpret, not teach. She was asked by a teacher to teach one of her students, but the terp was like, "Uh.. That's not my job. I'm not an aide or anything like that."

She also told me she witnessed elementary school students can't go to the rest rooms without an adult supervisor. Weird.

Since you live in Arlington, I heard Irving ISD has a Regional Day School for Deaf. Check it out.

deafdyke said:

Are you still seeing a lot of dhh kids who are years behind? It really doesn't surprise me whatsoever that it's still happening...

Oh, you do know that kids who are nonverbal tend to use ASL in an ACC fashion, rather then an actual language right? There are some people who cannot speak, who CAN use ASL as ASL....but generally they can't use it as a full whole sophiscated higher level language....

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I do, but I see aLOT of kids behind grade level for silly things (one had a deformed hand and was held back because his writing was poor.). The Texas school system is a MESS.

Yes, I realize that they usually do not use full ASL but I still want to learn it. We don't speak to our non-verbal kids in a different way than our verbal kids, so why should we sign different? With many of our children we have no idea what they could possibly do--it has always been assumed because they do not communicate to us or seem to comprehend the world that they are incapable of doing so, when in fact they may be internalizing it all and may one day surprise us. I try to avoid ever thinking that one of my kids "can't do that" in mind, because I have been surprised--no, shocked--before!

That's a good idea... Just remember that the two populations ARE VERY different. I hate it when people get all excited about teaching their severe special needs kid ASL, since that population really cannot use it as a language, the way "just dhh" do. It's not even nessarily ASL, it's more signs used in an AAC fashion.
Like they use the same language systems as a lower functioning Deaf-Blind (who often are severely multihandicapped) ... There is a Deaf School in Beverely that serves multihandicapped and dhh severe plus students. I think that's more along the lines of what you're looking for.....http://cccbsd.org/
Like the population you're working with might use all sorts of AAC sorts of things... I think you're looking more towards something like Makaton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makaton, rather then ASL. It really is too bad it's not popular in this country.

Puck said:

I do, but I see aLOT of kids behind grade level for silly things (one had a deformed hand and was held back because his writing was poor.). The Texas school system is a MESS.

)

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Doesn't surprise me....heck the school system in general is a MESS!