Miss-Delectable
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Mother seeks niche for her deaf daughter | Democrat and Chronicle | democratandchronicle.com
Cathy Ernisse believes language is the most important tool she can give her daughter, Kyra, 18, who is both deaf and learning disabled.
Kyra needs language, Cathy says, to advocate for herself, to make sense of her world, to make friends. Kyra could work in a sheltered workshop for people with disabilities, but with limited sign language support, she would be isolated. The same would be true in a "day-hab" program, Cathy says, where community service is combined with classes.
Especially in Rochester, home of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, there are opportunities for young people who are deaf to study at the college level. And there are opportunities through existing agencies for young people with emotional and learning disabilities to work and interact in a structured environment.
The problem, for Kyra, Cathy says, "is the marriage of the two." What's missing is an opportunity for a young deaf woman who has intellectual limitations. She's spent most of her life at the Rochester School for the Deaf, which has been a life-giving experience for her, but she is ready to go to work.
Kyra was born with a malignant brain tumor. "They told us she had a 5 percent chance of making it to her first birthday," Cathy says. But she beat those odds. She's now at the crossroads of adulthood.
Cathy's goal isn't complicated.
Several school districts and BOCES have programs with area colleges for students who, because of their learning disabilities, may remain in school until they turn 21. There is no such program for deaf young people, say, at NTID.
She'd also like NTID to agree to consider hiring young people like Kyra for entry-level office jobs when there are openings. Kyra had a two-week summer job experience at NTID two summers ago and received a glowing assessment from her West Irondequoit district job coach.
"Just give her a chance," Cathy says. "If she doesn't work out, she doesn't work out." NTID would be a great place for young people with her limitations — a place where they'd be supported, where they share the language. The existing alternatives, Cathy says, don't guarantee the language support.
NTID President Gerard Buckley says he's sympathetic, but the school, which depends on a federal grant, has a specific and limited mission: "to provide technical and professional education programs for deaf students in a postsecondary setting." Jobs training or employment for deaf adults with disabilities is not part of that mission.
Cathy understands it, but she doesn't accept it. She's lobbying right now for a change in the federal grant for NTID (which is up for renewal in two more years) to allow the school to offer work experience or employment. It won't benefit Kyra, who will have aged out by then, but she hopes to network with other parents who share her concerns (she can be reached at ernvi@frontiernet.net). There must be a way in this community to find alternatives for Kyra and other deaf young adults.
Cathy just wants the system to bend a little. Together, parents like Cathy should be able to find a way.
"She's a miracle," Cathy says of Kyra.
Language made it possible.
Cathy Ernisse believes language is the most important tool she can give her daughter, Kyra, 18, who is both deaf and learning disabled.
Kyra needs language, Cathy says, to advocate for herself, to make sense of her world, to make friends. Kyra could work in a sheltered workshop for people with disabilities, but with limited sign language support, she would be isolated. The same would be true in a "day-hab" program, Cathy says, where community service is combined with classes.
Especially in Rochester, home of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, there are opportunities for young people who are deaf to study at the college level. And there are opportunities through existing agencies for young people with emotional and learning disabilities to work and interact in a structured environment.
The problem, for Kyra, Cathy says, "is the marriage of the two." What's missing is an opportunity for a young deaf woman who has intellectual limitations. She's spent most of her life at the Rochester School for the Deaf, which has been a life-giving experience for her, but she is ready to go to work.
Kyra was born with a malignant brain tumor. "They told us she had a 5 percent chance of making it to her first birthday," Cathy says. But she beat those odds. She's now at the crossroads of adulthood.
Cathy's goal isn't complicated.
Several school districts and BOCES have programs with area colleges for students who, because of their learning disabilities, may remain in school until they turn 21. There is no such program for deaf young people, say, at NTID.
She'd also like NTID to agree to consider hiring young people like Kyra for entry-level office jobs when there are openings. Kyra had a two-week summer job experience at NTID two summers ago and received a glowing assessment from her West Irondequoit district job coach.
"Just give her a chance," Cathy says. "If she doesn't work out, she doesn't work out." NTID would be a great place for young people with her limitations — a place where they'd be supported, where they share the language. The existing alternatives, Cathy says, don't guarantee the language support.
NTID President Gerard Buckley says he's sympathetic, but the school, which depends on a federal grant, has a specific and limited mission: "to provide technical and professional education programs for deaf students in a postsecondary setting." Jobs training or employment for deaf adults with disabilities is not part of that mission.
Cathy understands it, but she doesn't accept it. She's lobbying right now for a change in the federal grant for NTID (which is up for renewal in two more years) to allow the school to offer work experience or employment. It won't benefit Kyra, who will have aged out by then, but she hopes to network with other parents who share her concerns (she can be reached at ernvi@frontiernet.net). There must be a way in this community to find alternatives for Kyra and other deaf young adults.
Cathy just wants the system to bend a little. Together, parents like Cathy should be able to find a way.
"She's a miracle," Cathy says of Kyra.
Language made it possible.
DD - while I don't know for myself whether this person has a cognitive disability or has a learning disability, you are quite correct in that the two are VERY different things and so many times people tend to lump them together, even social service and other "expert" providers.