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Neptune summit hosts hearing impaired children from throughout state | The Asbury Park Press | APP.com
Although Greg Huska, 17, of Brick has been swimming since middle school, the Neptune High School senior Wednesday was able to fulfill a longtime wish to scuba dive through the school’s regional deaf education program.
For the third year in a row, the district hosted a Deaf Education Summit that brought deaf education students from Toms River North and East high schools, Governor Livingston High School in Berkeley Heights, the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf in Trenton and Newark Technology High School together.
On Wednesday, the second day of the summit held at different sites in the district, Huska and close to 100 other students had the opportunity to try leadership tasks, rock climbing and kayaking, but his focus was on scuba diving with Divers Two experts Steve Diguiseppe of Wall, Sharon Patterson and Anthony Certa, both of Howell.
“We just want the kids to experience what it’s like to breathe under water,” Diguiseppe said. “We use sign language to communicate underwater, but a challenge might be the pressure they feel in their ears.”
Huska, a member of the school’s varsity swim team who participated this year in the NJSIAA state tournament, said he felt no such challenges.
“I had no problem with ear pressure or learning how to breathe under water,” said Huska, whose cerebral palsy limits him to the use of one arm and one leg with which to swim.
Huska is among the district’s 55 deaf education students who travel from throughout Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex and Mercer counties to attend the 40-year-old program.
For 17-year-old Reena Banerjee of Middlesex County’s South River, rock-wall climbing in the neighboring gym was a challenge she didn’t want to try again, but she soon changed her mind under the guidance of Commander Tom Atkin of the Navy Junior ROTC program.
“I was trying to push myself up because I don’t have (developed) muscles,” Banerjee said. “It was challenging but it did make me want to do it again.”
And for Almikar Gonzalez, 17, of Newark and Marcus Johnson, 18, of Asbury Park, the shared leadership task of holding one’s breath while trying to construct a replica of a structure that would plug an imagined gas leak meant having to listen to teammates’ suggestions while moving quickly to connect plastic tubes and balls.
“It was hard because you couldn’t hold your breath for too long,” Johnson said.
The fact that teammates gave directions well or showed what to do by example were traits of a good a leader, Gonzales said.
That level of teamwork and camaraderie were among the day’s goals, educator Jessica Swallow said.
“This type of thing is so important because it’s not everyday they have full access to try kayaking or rock climbing with an interpreter, teachers and their peers on hand,” Swallow said. “Because ours is a regional program, at the end of the day, it’s not like they can just go home and hang our with their friends after school.”
The district’s curriculum is based on a student’s individual needs, and everything from an audiologist and interpreters to occupational, physical and speech therapist are on hand for students with multiple disabilities, said Kathy Skelton, director of special services.
Back in the Aquatic Center, Monmouth County Parks System Ryan Kimble and Chuck Ficca were showing students that kayaking “is a sport that can be done by most anyone with any kind of ability,” Kimble said.
But across the pool Huska had fully adapted to underwater swimming, breathing and adventuring.
“I liked it a lot,” Huska said. “I always thought it would be fun to go underwater and look for fish.”
Although Greg Huska, 17, of Brick has been swimming since middle school, the Neptune High School senior Wednesday was able to fulfill a longtime wish to scuba dive through the school’s regional deaf education program.
For the third year in a row, the district hosted a Deaf Education Summit that brought deaf education students from Toms River North and East high schools, Governor Livingston High School in Berkeley Heights, the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf in Trenton and Newark Technology High School together.
On Wednesday, the second day of the summit held at different sites in the district, Huska and close to 100 other students had the opportunity to try leadership tasks, rock climbing and kayaking, but his focus was on scuba diving with Divers Two experts Steve Diguiseppe of Wall, Sharon Patterson and Anthony Certa, both of Howell.
“We just want the kids to experience what it’s like to breathe under water,” Diguiseppe said. “We use sign language to communicate underwater, but a challenge might be the pressure they feel in their ears.”
Huska, a member of the school’s varsity swim team who participated this year in the NJSIAA state tournament, said he felt no such challenges.
“I had no problem with ear pressure or learning how to breathe under water,” said Huska, whose cerebral palsy limits him to the use of one arm and one leg with which to swim.
Huska is among the district’s 55 deaf education students who travel from throughout Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex and Mercer counties to attend the 40-year-old program.
For 17-year-old Reena Banerjee of Middlesex County’s South River, rock-wall climbing in the neighboring gym was a challenge she didn’t want to try again, but she soon changed her mind under the guidance of Commander Tom Atkin of the Navy Junior ROTC program.
“I was trying to push myself up because I don’t have (developed) muscles,” Banerjee said. “It was challenging but it did make me want to do it again.”
And for Almikar Gonzalez, 17, of Newark and Marcus Johnson, 18, of Asbury Park, the shared leadership task of holding one’s breath while trying to construct a replica of a structure that would plug an imagined gas leak meant having to listen to teammates’ suggestions while moving quickly to connect plastic tubes and balls.
“It was hard because you couldn’t hold your breath for too long,” Johnson said.
The fact that teammates gave directions well or showed what to do by example were traits of a good a leader, Gonzales said.
That level of teamwork and camaraderie were among the day’s goals, educator Jessica Swallow said.
“This type of thing is so important because it’s not everyday they have full access to try kayaking or rock climbing with an interpreter, teachers and their peers on hand,” Swallow said. “Because ours is a regional program, at the end of the day, it’s not like they can just go home and hang our with their friends after school.”
The district’s curriculum is based on a student’s individual needs, and everything from an audiologist and interpreters to occupational, physical and speech therapist are on hand for students with multiple disabilities, said Kathy Skelton, director of special services.
Back in the Aquatic Center, Monmouth County Parks System Ryan Kimble and Chuck Ficca were showing students that kayaking “is a sport that can be done by most anyone with any kind of ability,” Kimble said.
But across the pool Huska had fully adapted to underwater swimming, breathing and adventuring.
“I liked it a lot,” Huska said. “I always thought it would be fun to go underwater and look for fish.”