Miss-Delectable
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Cibola Beacon - Grants, New Mexico
Americorps, a service program for the people, has heard the cries of the deaf and the families struggling to understand them. Beginning last October, Americorps has sent out their Native Sign Language speaking members to schools and families in Grants, Pinehill, and Thoreau areas to assist in helping families, teachers, and school staff learn sign language for children who are deaf.
Rural communities lack native and fluent American Sign Language users. Deaf children, and the many people who interact with them, don’t have the necessary models to learn sign language or teach it. Cindy Huff, the program director, works for the New Mexico School for the Deaf and proposed the idea to Americorps last year. She and her team wrote for a federal grant to help get the project off the ground. After receiving the grant in last September they were able to send out certified Native Sign Language users all across the state in mid-October.
“The beauty of this program is it really helps create a good environment for these children in general. By having this language connection with the people around them, their relationships grow richer,” exclaimed Cindy. All members who teach sign language for the program happen to be deaf. They all have college degrees and strong educational backgrounds. “I think it’s a great experience and confidence booster for the kids. They get to see grown deaf adults who have made it through college and have a real profession helping out people who once were just like them.”
All members who are sent out accommodate the families on their schedules and will meet the families in any environment the family pleases. Some have met families at restaurants and churches. Some are sent with the children to school to help teach staff, friends, and teachers who interact with the child on a daily basis.
Americorps and the New Mexico School for the Deaf offer different types of programs to the deaf. Their main programs supports children who show signs of hearing disability once they are born. The other helps support any children older than 6 months the minute they find out they are deaf, called the Deaf Step*Hi program. They program has an outreach specialist who provides the highest quality education for the deaf as well as holding workshops and home lessons for the families of the child. All children and families are welcome to stay in the programs until the child turns 21.
“The idea of the program was to build the language around the child,” said Cindy, “ We want to accommodate them as things are changing at home.” Americorps hopes to see the children happier knowing they have a means of interaction with everyday people. Americorps is currently assisting one family in Grants and one child in Thoreau.
For more information, visit the program website at New Mexico School for the Deaf: AmeriCorps
Americorps, a service program for the people, has heard the cries of the deaf and the families struggling to understand them. Beginning last October, Americorps has sent out their Native Sign Language speaking members to schools and families in Grants, Pinehill, and Thoreau areas to assist in helping families, teachers, and school staff learn sign language for children who are deaf.
Rural communities lack native and fluent American Sign Language users. Deaf children, and the many people who interact with them, don’t have the necessary models to learn sign language or teach it. Cindy Huff, the program director, works for the New Mexico School for the Deaf and proposed the idea to Americorps last year. She and her team wrote for a federal grant to help get the project off the ground. After receiving the grant in last September they were able to send out certified Native Sign Language users all across the state in mid-October.
“The beauty of this program is it really helps create a good environment for these children in general. By having this language connection with the people around them, their relationships grow richer,” exclaimed Cindy. All members who teach sign language for the program happen to be deaf. They all have college degrees and strong educational backgrounds. “I think it’s a great experience and confidence booster for the kids. They get to see grown deaf adults who have made it through college and have a real profession helping out people who once were just like them.”
All members who are sent out accommodate the families on their schedules and will meet the families in any environment the family pleases. Some have met families at restaurants and churches. Some are sent with the children to school to help teach staff, friends, and teachers who interact with the child on a daily basis.
Americorps and the New Mexico School for the Deaf offer different types of programs to the deaf. Their main programs supports children who show signs of hearing disability once they are born. The other helps support any children older than 6 months the minute they find out they are deaf, called the Deaf Step*Hi program. They program has an outreach specialist who provides the highest quality education for the deaf as well as holding workshops and home lessons for the families of the child. All children and families are welcome to stay in the programs until the child turns 21.
“The idea of the program was to build the language around the child,” said Cindy, “ We want to accommodate them as things are changing at home.” Americorps hopes to see the children happier knowing they have a means of interaction with everyday people. Americorps is currently assisting one family in Grants and one child in Thoreau.
For more information, visit the program website at New Mexico School for the Deaf: AmeriCorps