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Greater good - Brattleboro Reformer
In a classroom at the Austine School recently, Ian Fournier kidded one of his fellow faculty members for calling him deaf.
Fournier, 25, cannot understand people if he doesn't see them talking, and he is more adept in American Sign Language than he is at speaking. But to be accurate, he is hard of hearing, not deaf.
The difference is significant at the Austine School, Vermont's only school for the deaf and hard of hearing.
"It has to do with identity," Fournier explains through translator Bert Carter, the director of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Some at the Austine School can't hear and others are effectively what Fournier and Carter called "culturally deaf."
Although Fournier is culturally deaf and Carter can hear just fine, the two communicate together with ease.
It's not unlike -- as their relationship celebrates its 10th anniversary -- the ease with which the Austine School and the Vermont Center work together, according to Carter.
The Austine School has been in Brattleboro for almost 100 years. Col. William Austine built the now historic landmark Holton Hall to serve as a school for deaf children.
Although the 175-acre forested campus is open to public and attracts quite a few hikers, most people know it from seeing it on the west side of Interstate 91, between Exits 1 and 2.
A decade ago the Austine School and the state agreed that there were too many hard of hearing Vermonters not to take advantage of the Austine School's resources and reputation, according to Carter. A partnership was born and the Austine School is now just one of 16 different programs under the umbrella of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
"There was a discussion between the director (of the Austine School at the time) and the state department of education about consolidating services. And we decided to expand into adult services as well," said Carter.
Now, although the Austine School is still the flagship program, it is by no means the largest for the Vermont Center. There are 65 students on the Austine School campus and the Vermont Center serves more than 600 students across the state off campus. And its audiology department is utilized by thousands of Vermonters annually.
"It was a big change," Carter said. "A lot more students are served in public schools now. We're all over the state and can provide services wherever there is a deaf person." The shift has allowed the Vermont Center to create programs that benefit the Austine School.
"The Williams School is a good example," Carter said. Comprised of 12 students who are not only deaf but also have emotional and/or behavioral issues, students in this program get better one-on-one treatment than they would if they were lumped into a classroom with students who don't share their unique mix of disabilities. "Different types of students require a broader range of services," Carter said. He said Williams School students often progress to the point where they can move on to a more traditional classroom setting.
Another achievement for the Vermont Center was expanding into adult services and parent infant programs. Carter said the idea is to have a lifelong relationship with the center's constituency.
"This is what the state had in mind," he said. "Contact from birth until death."
The deaf mentor program, which pairs deaf children with deaf adults, is one example that has benefits for both the Austine School students and deaf adult Vermonters.
Like for everyone, Carter said it is important for deaf people to know other deaf people. "It helps ease the anxiety," he said.
Students at the Austine School agreed with the director of the Vermont Center.
"Socializing, talking with my friends," is how 16-year-old David Small described his favorite aspects of being a student under the umbrella of the Vermont Center.
In a classroom at the Austine School recently, Ian Fournier kidded one of his fellow faculty members for calling him deaf.
Fournier, 25, cannot understand people if he doesn't see them talking, and he is more adept in American Sign Language than he is at speaking. But to be accurate, he is hard of hearing, not deaf.
The difference is significant at the Austine School, Vermont's only school for the deaf and hard of hearing.
"It has to do with identity," Fournier explains through translator Bert Carter, the director of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Some at the Austine School can't hear and others are effectively what Fournier and Carter called "culturally deaf."
Although Fournier is culturally deaf and Carter can hear just fine, the two communicate together with ease.
It's not unlike -- as their relationship celebrates its 10th anniversary -- the ease with which the Austine School and the Vermont Center work together, according to Carter.
The Austine School has been in Brattleboro for almost 100 years. Col. William Austine built the now historic landmark Holton Hall to serve as a school for deaf children.
Although the 175-acre forested campus is open to public and attracts quite a few hikers, most people know it from seeing it on the west side of Interstate 91, between Exits 1 and 2.
A decade ago the Austine School and the state agreed that there were too many hard of hearing Vermonters not to take advantage of the Austine School's resources and reputation, according to Carter. A partnership was born and the Austine School is now just one of 16 different programs under the umbrella of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
"There was a discussion between the director (of the Austine School at the time) and the state department of education about consolidating services. And we decided to expand into adult services as well," said Carter.
Now, although the Austine School is still the flagship program, it is by no means the largest for the Vermont Center. There are 65 students on the Austine School campus and the Vermont Center serves more than 600 students across the state off campus. And its audiology department is utilized by thousands of Vermonters annually.
"It was a big change," Carter said. "A lot more students are served in public schools now. We're all over the state and can provide services wherever there is a deaf person." The shift has allowed the Vermont Center to create programs that benefit the Austine School.
"The Williams School is a good example," Carter said. Comprised of 12 students who are not only deaf but also have emotional and/or behavioral issues, students in this program get better one-on-one treatment than they would if they were lumped into a classroom with students who don't share their unique mix of disabilities. "Different types of students require a broader range of services," Carter said. He said Williams School students often progress to the point where they can move on to a more traditional classroom setting.
Another achievement for the Vermont Center was expanding into adult services and parent infant programs. Carter said the idea is to have a lifelong relationship with the center's constituency.
"This is what the state had in mind," he said. "Contact from birth until death."
The deaf mentor program, which pairs deaf children with deaf adults, is one example that has benefits for both the Austine School students and deaf adult Vermonters.
Like for everyone, Carter said it is important for deaf people to know other deaf people. "It helps ease the anxiety," he said.
Students at the Austine School agreed with the director of the Vermont Center.
"Socializing, talking with my friends," is how 16-year-old David Small described his favorite aspects of being a student under the umbrella of the Vermont Center.