The "Mainstreaming" Experience: "Isolated cases"?

I will never say that a deaf school is ALWAYS a better option for a deaf child...as I explained in another thread, many deaf schools do have flaws. But I can say that if you put a deaf child in a mainstreamed environment, it's really important to make sure everything is addressed to meet the WHOLE child's needs, not just merely academics.

For a short time, I was a sign language interpreter coordinator for public schools (a temp. position because the coordinator was on an extended medical leave and she really wanted me to take her place while she was gone)...and I STILL get sick to my stomach when I realize that there are FEW, and I mean it, FEW interpreters who are certified AND qualified to be interpreting in the educational setting. One "interpreter" was using a made-up sign system that she invented. Another one was only fingerspelling and didn't even know all of the correct signs of the alphabets. And the pay for interpreters? It's so embarrassing! I made more money during my college years doing odd jobs than most of the interpreters WITH college degrees interpreting in schools.
 
I will never say that a deaf school is ALWAYS a better option for a deaf child...as I explained in another thread, many deaf schools do have flaws. But I can say that if you put a deaf child in a mainstreamed environment, it's really important to make sure everything is addressed to meet the WHOLE child's needs, not just merely academics.

For a short time, I was a sign language interpreter coordinator for public schools (a temp. position because the coordinator was on an extended medical leave and she really wanted me to take her place while she was gone)...and I STILL get sick to my stomach when I realize that there are FEW, and I mean it, FEW interpreters who are certified AND qualified to be interpreting in the educational setting. One "interpreter" was using a made-up sign system that she invented. Another one was only fingerspelling and didn't even know all of the correct signs of the alphabets. And the pay for interpreters? It's so embarrassing! I made more money during my college years doing odd jobs than most of the interpreters WITH college degrees interpreting in schools.
 
deafbajagal said:
...One "interpreter" was using a made-up sign system that she invented. Another one was only fingerspelling and didn't even know all of the correct signs of the alphabets....
Click to expand...
:jaw:
 
deafbajagal said:
Everyone told me I was the poster child of a profoundly deaf child who was on the honor roll and top of her class at a public school with very minimal accommodations and no modifications. I was in many clubs (Beta, FHA, FBLA, etc.) and I had a good number of friends. I was voted for many things - homecoming court, Miss this, Miss that. But I was very, very lonely. Angry. Failed several suicidal attempts. I was really good at masking my frustration, anger, resentment, and sadness. One day I quit. 4.0 gpa meant nothing. I finally broke. And it was months before my parents could get through to me.

Going to the deaf school saved me. Just in time.
Click to expand...

Where did you attend before going to the deaf school? I'm curious. :cool2:
 
faire_jour said:
Wirelessly posted



p and t are distictly different.

a person without a hearing loss hears just as well with their eyes closed, or from behind.

you are absolutly wrong.

you can look up and read about the acoustical differences in each sound.
Click to expand...

HALT THE FIREPOWER!

I think you guys are both right. Sound is auditory. Oral language is auditory.

But...guestures, signs, cues, and lipreading (somewhat) are a part of spoken language, because oral isn't the only part of the communication process. We can infer context and tone. I think that's what dd was trying to say...? Maybe? I really don't need to hear every phenome to know what you're saying - I can pick it up because of the context.

I would ASSUME that the same goes for lipreading Chinese. It would be harder but not impossible...if you have a one word sentence, then it's easier to get conufsed, but just like we differentiate between "butt" and "but" or "too" and "two" and other homophones, don't you think lipreaders would just take it in context?

Although learning to speak Chinese as a prelingual deaf person would be a headache...but possible.

From what I know of Chinese culture (at least HK culture), CIs are probably the norm.
 
deafbajagal said:
One "interpreter" was using a made-up sign system that she invented. Another one was only fingerspelling and didn't even know all of the correct signs of the alphabets. And the pay for interpreters? It's so embarrassing! I made more money during my college years doing odd jobs than most of the interpreters WITH college degrees interpreting in schools.
Click to expand...



WTF

Ugh. What a way to perpetuate the myth that ASL is a "dumbed down" language.

People who are those kinds of "interpreters" clearly don't care about their jobs. At least, not in the way they should.
 
Last edited:
Wirelessly posted

TheOracle said:
faire_jour said:
Wirelessly posted



p and t are distictly different.

a person without a hearing loss hears just as well with their eyes closed, or from behind.

you are absolutly wrong.

you can look up and read about the acoustical differences in each sound.
Click to expand...

HALT THE FIREPOWER!

I think you guys are both right. Sound is auditory. Oral language is auditory.

But...guestures, signs, cues, and lipreading (somewhat) are a part of spoken language, because oral isn't the only part of the communication process. We can infer context and tone. I think that's what dd was trying to say...? Maybe? I really don't need to hear every phenome to know what you're saying - I can pick it up because of the context.

I would ASSUME that the same goes for lipreading Chinese. It would be harder but not impossible...if you have a one word sentence, then it's easier to get conufsed, but just like we differentiate between "butt" and "but" or "too" and "two" and other homophones, don't you think lipreaders would just take it in context?

Although learning to speak Chinese as a prelingual deaf person would be a headache...but possible.

From what I know of Chinese culture (at least HK culture), CIs are probably the norm.
Click to expand...

nope, she has and is saying that there are actually SOUNDS that can only be lipread in english. That is wrong. Speech is an acoustic event and spoken language is 100% disernable through audition alone.
 
faire_jour said:
Wirelessly posted



nope, she has and is saying that there are actually SOUNDS that can only be lipread in english. That is wrong. Speech is an acoustic event and spoken language is 100% disernable through audition alone.
Click to expand...

There's a differnece between listening and understanding. You hear a sound (or feel it). You don't see sound. You can, however, see words and imagine sound.

I think she is trying to point out that some languages are so phonetically changed now (however you want to phrase it?).

ie "loop" and "foot" have the "oo",yet they sound different in American English, with "foot" having an "uh" sound. Put it in an accent and they don't. In British English, they both make more of the "oo" sound like in "boot".

Also, I have a hard time understanding rapid Spanish. People don't enunciate. Gahhhhh some languages really don't mind if you drop off half of the phenomes! Hebrew, on the other hand? Man, you gotta CHHH when you say it! :birthday:
 
Wirelessly posted

TheOracle said:
faire_jour said:
Wirelessly posted



nope, she has and is saying that there are actually SOUNDS that can only be lipread in english. That is wrong. Speech is an acoustic event and spoken language is 100% disernable through audition alone.
Click to expand...

There's a differnece between listening and understanding. You hear a sound (or feel it). You don't see sound. You can, however, see words and imagine sound.

I think she is trying to point out that some languages are so phonetically changed now (however you want to phrase it?).

ie "loop" and "foot" have the "oo",yet they sound different in American English, with "foot" having an "uh" sound. Put it in an accent and they don't. In British English, they both make more of the "oo" sound like in "boot".

Also, I have a hard time understanding rapid Spanish. People don't enunciate. Gahhhhh some languages really don't mind if you drop off half of the phenomes! Hebrew, on the other hand? Man, you gotta CHHH when you say it! :birthday:
Click to expand...

you misunderstand. She is claiming that there are phenomes in spoken english that are acoustically the same but that can be lipread differently and that all people use lipreading to discriminate those sounds all the time, because they actually sound the same. Her example was p and b. That is straightout wrong. There is no wiggle room.
 
p and b sound differently, but can sound the same when blended. and it looks the same on lips. yeah, "p" is "p" in the English language. the slightest infraction of the lower lip makes a difference!

some languages have even MORE phenomes...like two, three times English.
 
deafbajagal said:
I will never say that a deaf school is ALWAYS a better option for a deaf child...as I explained in another thread, many deaf schools do have flaws. But I can say that if you put a deaf child in a mainstreamed environment, it's really important to make sure everything is addressed to meet the WHOLE child's needs, not just merely academics.

For a short time, I was a sign language interpreter coordinator for public schools (a temp. position because the coordinator was on an extended medical leave and she really wanted me to take her place while she was gone)...and I STILL get sick to my stomach when I realize that there are FEW, and I mean it, FEW interpreters who are certified AND qualified to be interpreting in the educational setting. One "interpreter" was using a made-up sign system that she invented. Another one was only fingerspelling and didn't even know all of the correct signs of the alphabets. And the pay for interpreters? It's so embarrassing! I made more money during my college years doing odd jobs than most of the interpreters WITH college degrees interpreting in schools.
Click to expand...

When my brother got transferred to my elementary school in 5th and 6th grade because he was curious to see what it was like, he had a terp. Guess what? The terp wrote everything down because she didnt know any sign language. I dont know how he tolerated that for 2 years...but he did before he got fed up and said he wanted to return to the deaf school.
 
TheOracle said:
how can they DO that? how can anyone's parents be OK with that?
Click to expand...

The parents usually dont know any better. My own parents didnt and so did many of my friends' parents. It is very common knowledge in the Deaf community that a large number of highly qualified interpreters ARE not interested in being educational interpreters because of the low pay knowing that they will get paid $60 an hour working somewhere else.
 
shel90 said:
The parents usually dont know any better. My own parents didnt and so did many of my friends' parents. It is very common knowledge in the Deaf community that a large number of highly qualified interpreters ARE not interested in being educational interpreters because of the low pay knowing that they will get paid $60 an hour working somewhere else.
Click to expand...

:gpost: :gpost: Good posting, Shel! :wave:
 
Bajagirl, I know. There are some decent 'terps, but others......Seriously that's another reason why deaf schools are a good idea....they consolidate limited resources for a low incidence population.
 
shel90 said:
When my brother got transferred to my elementary school in 5th and 6th grade because he was curious to see what it was like, he had a terp. Guess what? The terp wrote everything down because she didnt know any sign language. I dont know how he tolerated that for 2 years...but he did before he got fed up and said he wanted to return to the deaf school.
Click to expand...
Man, where do these so-called interpreters come from, and who is hiring them? :shock:
 
Back
Top