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Human Rights Commission to study Sask. deaf services
Sask. 'worst place in North America to bring up a deaf child,' father says
Members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community hope some attention from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission will bring changes to the level of services offered to them by the province's education system.
Saskatchewan is alone among all Canadian provinces and all U.S. states in not offering early intervention programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, according to research conducted by James Moulson, secretary of the Deaf Children's Society of Saskatchewan.
Moulson and his wife moved from London, England, to Saskatchewan after their daughter Cassidy was born because they didn't want to raise her in such an urban environment. Cassidy is deaf in both ears.
"We thought that Saskatchewan was a better place to bring up children. We moved here, then we discovered we'd moved to the worst place in North America to bring up a deaf child," Moulson said.
He has been one of the forces pushing the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to consider advocating for improved supports for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. That process begins with community consultation sessions in Saskatoon and Regina this month.
"The purpose is to examine the facts to determine what impediments exist for stakeholders and to determine whether there is potential or evidence of systemic discrimination," SHRC chief commissioner David Arnot said.
"Eventually, if we make that determination, we'll look to finding a solution to that systemic discrimination, but we're not there yet. This is preliminary, embryonic."
Arnot stressed that the commission doesn't go into the consultation process - which he described as a fact-finding endeavour - with any preconceived notions.
"Fundamentally, we're very collaborative in our approach ... We'll be listening to all sides of the story," he said. "We make no preconceived ideas or notions of whether there is systemic discrimination or not, but we're going to examine the evidence raised."
One of the messages Moulson plans to bring to the consultation is the need for more access to sign language services in the province.
"It has been such a struggle to get sign language services. They're not super expensive, and they pay for themselves, because you get an intelligent child at the end of it," he said.
Linda Beuckert's daughter Kristen, who was born deaf, is 19 years old. Kristen's experience "is an example of how the system has failed," Beuckert said. She described her daughter's life as 19 years of struggling.
"I haven't been able to really even sit down and think through what my message (to the SHRC) is, but what I do want them to see is the lack of support my daughter had, and where she's at now is the result," Beuckert said.
Her daughter was labelled by the education system as learning disabled after she was placed in classrooms with peers who were far more advanced in their language skills.
After spending the past four years in a life skills program at Saskatoon's Bishop James Mahoney High School with the aid of an "intervener" experienced in working with both blind and deaf people, Kristen is doing "exceptionally well," Beuckert said.
"It shows I was on the right track the entire time and these professionals were wrong. That's the hardest pill to swallow," she said. "I just wish someone had listened. I wish someone had followed through with what I was saying."
Beuckert and Moulson both expressed frustration with consultations
that have happened in the past with various levels of government, that haven't resulted in any actual changes. They hope some action will come of the SHRC process, they said.
"The system is so full of holes," Beuckert said. "When we're already falling through the cracks, we're just absolutely lost."
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Deaf+services+studied/11126863/story.html
Sask. 'worst place in North America to bring up a deaf child,' father says
Members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community hope some attention from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission will bring changes to the level of services offered to them by the province's education system.
Saskatchewan is alone among all Canadian provinces and all U.S. states in not offering early intervention programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, according to research conducted by James Moulson, secretary of the Deaf Children's Society of Saskatchewan.
Moulson and his wife moved from London, England, to Saskatchewan after their daughter Cassidy was born because they didn't want to raise her in such an urban environment. Cassidy is deaf in both ears.
"We thought that Saskatchewan was a better place to bring up children. We moved here, then we discovered we'd moved to the worst place in North America to bring up a deaf child," Moulson said.
He has been one of the forces pushing the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to consider advocating for improved supports for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. That process begins with community consultation sessions in Saskatoon and Regina this month.
"The purpose is to examine the facts to determine what impediments exist for stakeholders and to determine whether there is potential or evidence of systemic discrimination," SHRC chief commissioner David Arnot said.
"Eventually, if we make that determination, we'll look to finding a solution to that systemic discrimination, but we're not there yet. This is preliminary, embryonic."
Arnot stressed that the commission doesn't go into the consultation process - which he described as a fact-finding endeavour - with any preconceived notions.
"Fundamentally, we're very collaborative in our approach ... We'll be listening to all sides of the story," he said. "We make no preconceived ideas or notions of whether there is systemic discrimination or not, but we're going to examine the evidence raised."
One of the messages Moulson plans to bring to the consultation is the need for more access to sign language services in the province.
"It has been such a struggle to get sign language services. They're not super expensive, and they pay for themselves, because you get an intelligent child at the end of it," he said.
Linda Beuckert's daughter Kristen, who was born deaf, is 19 years old. Kristen's experience "is an example of how the system has failed," Beuckert said. She described her daughter's life as 19 years of struggling.
"I haven't been able to really even sit down and think through what my message (to the SHRC) is, but what I do want them to see is the lack of support my daughter had, and where she's at now is the result," Beuckert said.
Her daughter was labelled by the education system as learning disabled after she was placed in classrooms with peers who were far more advanced in their language skills.
After spending the past four years in a life skills program at Saskatoon's Bishop James Mahoney High School with the aid of an "intervener" experienced in working with both blind and deaf people, Kristen is doing "exceptionally well," Beuckert said.
"It shows I was on the right track the entire time and these professionals were wrong. That's the hardest pill to swallow," she said. "I just wish someone had listened. I wish someone had followed through with what I was saying."
Beuckert and Moulson both expressed frustration with consultations
that have happened in the past with various levels of government, that haven't resulted in any actual changes. They hope some action will come of the SHRC process, they said.
"The system is so full of holes," Beuckert said. "When we're already falling through the cracks, we're just absolutely lost."
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Deaf+services+studied/11126863/story.html
it is improve pretty. poor on saskatoon deaf.. yes.. should be implentation quality on make sure better sure.