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Speech school offers gift of hope | The Clarion-Ledger | clarionledger.com
At first, family and friends laughed at Melissa Bosserman and her husband because of their plans to move from Missouri to Mississippi for their daughter Elle's education.
"People looked at us and went, 'Are you kidding?' " Bosserman recalled.
Now, Bosserman said, they cry when they see the progress 6-year-old Elle has made.
Elle has severe apraxia and aphasia, disorders that hinder her ability to speak. She learns easily but cannot always recall information because of those disorders, Bosserman said.
She has attended Magnolia Speech School in Jackson for almost a year.
"It's one of those things that unless you have a child in that situation and you see the transformation ... you can't possibly understand the magnitude that this school has for children," Bosserman said.
Sending Elle to the private school requires commuting from the family's home in Madison.
Other families across the state spend hours traveling to and from the Magnolia Speech School, but that could soon change.
Magnolia Speech School has been working since October with the University of Mississippi Medical Center to offer early interventions for families with children who have speaking or hearing disorders.
The details of the partnership are being ironed out.
The overall aim is to get Mississippi in compliance with a national goal of having children screened at 1 month old, diagnosed by 3 months and getting help with their hearing or speech disorders by 6 months, said Dr. Ian Windmill, chief of the Division of Communicative Services at UMC.
Getting a child screened early enough is "one of the key factors for successful outcomes, if not the key factor," Windmill said. It's critical to have an intervention in the first three years of a child's life, he said.
"The brain is not as pliable as the child gets older," Windmill said.
The university handles the diagnosis and screening. Magnolia Speech School offers in-home help to families. With the partnership, the two can work together in clinics around the state, maybe starting in the fall.
Fewer commutes
One immediate benefit would be fewer families having to commute to Jackson.
It gives parents "great hope" to visit the school and see children talking who have profound hearing loss, said Anne Sullivan, the school's executive director.
Through another partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi, specialists are trained to provide in-home care and other interventions of families of children with speech and language disorders.
Ninety-four of deaf children are born to hearing parents, said Christina Perigoe, project director of Speech and Hearing Science at USM. And with help, profoundly deaf children can learn to speak in a "natural voice," she said.
"These children are ready to go to regular schools," she said.
At Magnolia Speech School, children learn to speak in a natural voice and are prepared to mainstream into regular classes.
Sacrifices
Eva Johnson of Carrollton and Twyla Lovern of Philadelphia said they wake up at 4 a.m., and spend at least three hours on the road taking their children to and from Magnolia Speech School. Both women also work at the school.
They say the sacrifices are worth it.
Johnson's son, Keiyhaun, wears hearing aids on both ears. At first, he couldn't speak.
Johnson wanted to hear her son say her name. "That was my joy right there," she said.
Before going to Magnolia Speech School, "he couldn't say a word," Johnson said. "Now, he talks too much," she joked.
Each night, the children have between 30 minutes to an hour or more of homework.
"Our kids have to work harder than anyone else just to be able to express themselves, to be able to understand the world around them, to take in language and to be able to retrieve it and use it properly to communicate," Lovern said.
At times, that is emotionally and physically draining, she said. But the children sense they are behind their peers and need to catch up, she said.
Speak or sign?
One percent of the population understands sign language, Lovern said. She wanted her daughter to be able to compete against her speaking peers.
Claire Hasselle of Meridian plans to have her daughter, Katie, mainstreamed into regular classes in her local district.
Katie was born premature and has brain damage that affects her ability to communicate.
The family is divided over sending Katie to Magnolia Speech School, Hasselle said.
"Some don't understand why in the world you put your child in a car" for three hours a day, she said. But she explains what Katie has learned.
"She wouldn't be speaking without this place," Hasselle said.
Parents can decide whether their child should learn to speak, sign or both.
One option is the state-funded Mississippi School for the Deaf. The school has services for children ages 0 to 3, then 3 to 5 and for grades K-12, said Wendy Polk, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.
Transportation is provided for students no matter where they live in the state, Polk said. Deaf adults working in the school and in the dorms, "serve as role models for these deaf students," she said.
At the state school, students can learn to speak and American Sign Language, said Daphne Buckley, deputy superintendent of the Department of Education's Office of Quality and Professional Schools.
There is also focus on English, listening skills, speech and the state curriculum, she said.
'She just beams'
The state school and Magnolia Speech School are like apples and oranges, said Joe Fiello of Pearl. Joe and Kandice Fiello sent their son, Giovanni, to the private school before transferring him to Mississippi School for the Deaf.
"Really, all along I've known that I've wanted signing for him," Joe Fiello said.
"We want him to be proud of who he is, and he will always be deaf," he said of Giovanni.
Giovanni developed a sore on his head and could not wear his cochlear implant. For awhile, he had no way of communicating.
Now that he is learning to speak and to sign, Giovanni "goes out into the hearing world and is more accepting and understanding," Kandice Fiello said.
The Bossermans had paid three different specialists in Missouri $300 to $500 (at $50 to $125 twice a week) to help Elle speak, but there had been no progress.
Before the move, the girl knew one letter, E. Now, a year after the family moved to Mississippi, Elle now knows up to 26 sounds. She has more than 22 nouns that she can read and write in cursive, Bosserman said.
"This child who could not speak is now not only speaking, but she is glowing with self-confidence," Bosserman said. "She just beams."
At first, family and friends laughed at Melissa Bosserman and her husband because of their plans to move from Missouri to Mississippi for their daughter Elle's education.
"People looked at us and went, 'Are you kidding?' " Bosserman recalled.
Now, Bosserman said, they cry when they see the progress 6-year-old Elle has made.
Elle has severe apraxia and aphasia, disorders that hinder her ability to speak. She learns easily but cannot always recall information because of those disorders, Bosserman said.
She has attended Magnolia Speech School in Jackson for almost a year.
"It's one of those things that unless you have a child in that situation and you see the transformation ... you can't possibly understand the magnitude that this school has for children," Bosserman said.
Sending Elle to the private school requires commuting from the family's home in Madison.
Other families across the state spend hours traveling to and from the Magnolia Speech School, but that could soon change.
Magnolia Speech School has been working since October with the University of Mississippi Medical Center to offer early interventions for families with children who have speaking or hearing disorders.
The details of the partnership are being ironed out.
The overall aim is to get Mississippi in compliance with a national goal of having children screened at 1 month old, diagnosed by 3 months and getting help with their hearing or speech disorders by 6 months, said Dr. Ian Windmill, chief of the Division of Communicative Services at UMC.
Getting a child screened early enough is "one of the key factors for successful outcomes, if not the key factor," Windmill said. It's critical to have an intervention in the first three years of a child's life, he said.
"The brain is not as pliable as the child gets older," Windmill said.
The university handles the diagnosis and screening. Magnolia Speech School offers in-home help to families. With the partnership, the two can work together in clinics around the state, maybe starting in the fall.
Fewer commutes
One immediate benefit would be fewer families having to commute to Jackson.
It gives parents "great hope" to visit the school and see children talking who have profound hearing loss, said Anne Sullivan, the school's executive director.
Through another partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi, specialists are trained to provide in-home care and other interventions of families of children with speech and language disorders.
Ninety-four of deaf children are born to hearing parents, said Christina Perigoe, project director of Speech and Hearing Science at USM. And with help, profoundly deaf children can learn to speak in a "natural voice," she said.
"These children are ready to go to regular schools," she said.
At Magnolia Speech School, children learn to speak in a natural voice and are prepared to mainstream into regular classes.
Sacrifices
Eva Johnson of Carrollton and Twyla Lovern of Philadelphia said they wake up at 4 a.m., and spend at least three hours on the road taking their children to and from Magnolia Speech School. Both women also work at the school.
They say the sacrifices are worth it.
Johnson's son, Keiyhaun, wears hearing aids on both ears. At first, he couldn't speak.
Johnson wanted to hear her son say her name. "That was my joy right there," she said.
Before going to Magnolia Speech School, "he couldn't say a word," Johnson said. "Now, he talks too much," she joked.
Each night, the children have between 30 minutes to an hour or more of homework.
"Our kids have to work harder than anyone else just to be able to express themselves, to be able to understand the world around them, to take in language and to be able to retrieve it and use it properly to communicate," Lovern said.
At times, that is emotionally and physically draining, she said. But the children sense they are behind their peers and need to catch up, she said.
Speak or sign?
One percent of the population understands sign language, Lovern said. She wanted her daughter to be able to compete against her speaking peers.
Claire Hasselle of Meridian plans to have her daughter, Katie, mainstreamed into regular classes in her local district.
Katie was born premature and has brain damage that affects her ability to communicate.
The family is divided over sending Katie to Magnolia Speech School, Hasselle said.
"Some don't understand why in the world you put your child in a car" for three hours a day, she said. But she explains what Katie has learned.
"She wouldn't be speaking without this place," Hasselle said.
Parents can decide whether their child should learn to speak, sign or both.
One option is the state-funded Mississippi School for the Deaf. The school has services for children ages 0 to 3, then 3 to 5 and for grades K-12, said Wendy Polk, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.
Transportation is provided for students no matter where they live in the state, Polk said. Deaf adults working in the school and in the dorms, "serve as role models for these deaf students," she said.
At the state school, students can learn to speak and American Sign Language, said Daphne Buckley, deputy superintendent of the Department of Education's Office of Quality and Professional Schools.
There is also focus on English, listening skills, speech and the state curriculum, she said.
'She just beams'
The state school and Magnolia Speech School are like apples and oranges, said Joe Fiello of Pearl. Joe and Kandice Fiello sent their son, Giovanni, to the private school before transferring him to Mississippi School for the Deaf.
"Really, all along I've known that I've wanted signing for him," Joe Fiello said.
"We want him to be proud of who he is, and he will always be deaf," he said of Giovanni.
Giovanni developed a sore on his head and could not wear his cochlear implant. For awhile, he had no way of communicating.
Now that he is learning to speak and to sign, Giovanni "goes out into the hearing world and is more accepting and understanding," Kandice Fiello said.
The Bossermans had paid three different specialists in Missouri $300 to $500 (at $50 to $125 twice a week) to help Elle speak, but there had been no progress.
Before the move, the girl knew one letter, E. Now, a year after the family moved to Mississippi, Elle now knows up to 26 sounds. She has more than 22 nouns that she can read and write in cursive, Bosserman said.
"This child who could not speak is now not only speaking, but she is glowing with self-confidence," Bosserman said. "She just beams."
