No asl for deaf baby?

What language should be taught to deaf/hoh babies?

  • Verbal only

  • ASL only

  • Verbal and ASL at the same time

  • Verbal first, ASL second

  • ASL first, verbal second

Results are only viewable after voting.
deafdyke said:
Oh that sounds neat! Would you recomend Cued Speech as a "piece of the puzzle?" I know her baby is young, and most CS is present in a purely educational context ...meaning she won't have to worry about it for a few years yet, but when it comes time for reading, would CS be helpful?
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It's possible. I knew a family back in the late 1990s who had a 2 year old deaf kid- he had hearing aids. His parents were using Cued Speech with him but were ALSO learning ASL at the same time. At one time they had someone who had a CI, knew both CS and ASL staying with them so some tutoring going on. Later found out the young lady got rid of her CI. Can't recall how old she was when she did get it but it went in the drawer when she was around 21 or so.
 
deafdyke said:
Oh that sounds neat! Would you recomend Cued Speech as a "piece of the puzzle?" I know her baby is young, and most CS is present in a purely educational context ...meaning she won't have to worry about it for a few years yet, but when it comes time for reading, would CS be helpful?
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My situation was kind of unique. I lost my hearing after I learned to speak English, but obviously not in an advanced capacity. I hadn't learned to read yet either. Also keep in mind this happened in like 1993-1994. I wasn't a candidate for CI because I was deafened by a major temporal bone fracture worsened by minor brain damage.

I was about to start kindergarten the fall after my accident, I was in the hospital so long I was held back a year. When I went back to school I was solely in a special ed classroom. Our district was rural mountain district so all our special needs were provided by something called Mountain BOCES stands for Board of Cooperative Education Services (http://www.mtnboces.org/modules/tt/staffList/staffListSimplified.phtml) They tried but it wasn't specifically Deaf/HoH education. I had hearing aids and an FM system so they used cued speech with me as they taught me to read, and that's how I learned sign at first. I quickly tested out of the special ed class and went back to regular classes with an aid. I continued to use my FM system and the cued speech became signed English. When my aid was with me alone she used cued speech. My family never learned beyond the basics of sign, although my mo0m later took classes. I was too old to qualify for the in home system our state uses from birth-age 3 to work with deaf/HoH children and their families and teach them ASL first hand.

Anyway I kept using my FM system and cued speech and a signed English terp through school. I went to Aspen Camp for the Deaf every summer and that was my main interaction with other deaf/Deaf/HoH kids. We all had different communication styles for the most part, some kids were CODAs also and were fluent in ASL, others had CIs and didn't sign and then there were in between kids like me. When I got older I wanted to meet more Deaf people I felt isolated in some ways being the only in my small mountain town. However I learned that I was limited having used cued speech and signed English ONLY. That is why I am now taking ASL. I am so lucky to have a professor who despite being hearing, knows what she's doing and does in home work for the state with deaf kids and families like I mentioned before. She is helping me transition from signed English to ASL. I am seriously considering getting my Masters in Mental Health Counseling (addition counseling specifically) the Jump Start program to be ready for ASL in the classroom before the school year so you stay in the dorms for 2-3 months and are totally immersed in ASL. Compared to my little mountain town that would be great. I transferred down to the Denver area to finish high school and live with my mom, but still.

But back to cued speech. It has a place. I firmly believe in a bicultural bilingual education system now. I believe ASL needs to be taught to young deaf children before age 7 so they cane become fluent in ASL. Cued speech works great in the classroom then for HoH students. There's less lag time, it helps learned English better. But I think making sure a child is fluent in a full natural language like ASL before they started using systems (not languages) to learn other subjects like English. Hope that makes sense.
 
Heres an example of cued speech


audio verbal therapy is torture(says a short after birth brain injured(cerebral palsy) adult who relies on speech and listening every day)
 
zeefour said:
Anyway I kept using my FM system and cued speech and a signed English terp through school. I went to Aspen Camp for the Deaf every summer and that was my main interaction with other deaf/Deaf/HoH kids. We all had different communication styles for the most part, some kids were CODAs also and were fluent in ASL, others had CIs and didn't sign and then there were in between kids like me. When I got older I wanted to meet more Deaf people I felt isolated in some ways being the only in my small mountain town. However I learned that I was limited having used cued speech and signed English ONLY. That is why I am now taking ASL. I am so lucky to have a professor who despite being hearing, knows what she's doing and does in home work for the state with deaf kids and families like I mentioned before. She is helping me transition from signed English to ASL. I am seriously considering getting my Masters in Mental Health Counseling (addition counseling specifically) the Jump Start program to be ready for ASL in the classroom before the school year so you stay in the dorms for 2-3 months and are totally immersed in ASL. Compared to my little mountain town that would be great. I transferred down to the Denver area to finish high school and live with my mom, but still.
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Oops forgot to mention I want to get my MA at Gallaudet but my signing needs to be better!!
 
inmate23 said:
Heres an example of cued speech


audio verbal therapy is torture(says a short after birth brain injured(cerebral palsy) adult who relies on speech and listening every day)
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That's so many surgeries, for what? So he can hear his dad's voice? Why isn't him seeing his dad sign, his dad's face and knowing how much his dad loves him enough? I feel like that about a lot of the "so cute, heartwarming" videos about kids with CI.

I'm not against CI or hearing technology at all (I have a BAHA and use a BTE aid as well). I think supplementing a child in anyway possible, so they have the choice from as many things as they can is a good thing. I just don't get pushing and pushing and doing operation after operation, especially ones that aren't established, just so a child can "hear". They don't actually hear. There's years of speech therapy, and even then, it's a very different hearing. I wonder if parents really understand that all these operations don't make their kids hear like them.
 
zeefour said:
Oops forgot to mention I want to get my MA at Gallaudet but my signing needs to be better!!
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GO for it anyway. Gallaudet has (or at least I hope they still do..) summer programs for new signers or signers who want to beef up their skills. I know they changed the name of the program over the years since I was there but can't remember anymore other than New Signers Program (how catchy...). Anyway- no reason why a graduate student can't. I don't know the guidelines now but NSP was more for deaf/HOH students. There were a lot of Master's degree students who didn't sign that well when I knew some. Some did very well but others not so much.
 
DeafDucky said:
GO for it anyway. Gallaudet has (or at least I hope they still do..) summer programs for new signers or signers who want to beef up their skills. I know they changed the name of the program over the years since I was there but can't remember anymore other than New Signers Program (how catchy...). Anyway- no reason why a graduate student can't. I don't know the guidelines now but NSP was more for deaf/HOH students. There were a lot of Master's degree students who didn't sign that well when I knew some. Some did very well but others not so much.
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I just e-mailed the Counseling department at Gally asking about the MA in Mental Health Counseling program. I also asked if as a Deaf/HoH graduate student who isn't quite yet fluent in ASL, would I be eligible for the Jump Start program (the new name of the summer integration program for new signers)
 
Trying to remember if I knew anyone who graduated in that department.... One friend got her Master's in School Psychology at Gallaudet- but she had already gotten her BS degree there so her signing was already fluent.. though she was like me- mainstream until arriving at Gally lol.

I'd be curious to see what their response is regarding the Jump Start program. I don't see why not. Though I do remember also taking ASL classes during the school year my freshman year (uncredited)- I hope they still offer something like this as well. Two of my friends work at Gallaudet.. or did- one retired back in January.

Crossing my fingers for you. I've toyed with the idea of going back there for a 2nd Bachelor's degree (in Computer Science...) but ..money = non existent and usually can't get financial aid if you already have a Bachelor's (or so I've read).
 
Deaf babies should be introduced to both verbal and ASL and then allowed to choose the one that best suits them as they grow. Would you want someone to offer you options and then allow you to choose what you want, or do you want someone to force one item on you because they thought they knew what was best for you? Options and an open mind are wonderful things.
 
DeafDucky said:
Trying to remember if I knew anyone who graduated in that department.... One friend got her Master's in School Psychology at Gallaudet- but she had already gotten her BS degree there so her signing was already fluent.. though she was like me- mainstream until arriving at Gally lol.

I'd be curious to see what their response is regarding the Jump Start program. I don't see why not. Though I do remember also taking ASL classes during the school year my freshman year (uncredited)- I hope they still offer something like this as well. Two of my friends work at Gallaudet.. or did- one retired back in January.

Crossing my fingers for you. I've toyed with the idea of going back there for a 2nd Bachelor's degree (in Computer Science...) but ..money = non existent and usually can't get financial aid if you already have a Bachelor's (or so I've read).
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Thanks! I've been asking around with my friends too, I have a pretty tight knit group of friends from summer camp. Being mainstreamed in a rural area didn't give me any opportunities to have other Deaf/HoH friends. Any help or advice you can find is soooo appreciated!

I've had that problem with financial aid, I would qualify for tons of grants but I have a bachelors . I originally went to school for Deaf/special education but that became geology. I taught for awhile and loved it, unfortunately, due to all my physical injuries, some untreated mental health issues and some bad choices on my part, I ran into some substance abuse of my own. It led to no longer being able to teach like I was or do work for the government like the USGS or USFS which I at one point wanted to with my science background. I'm back in school to get a behavioral health BS and get my CAC III (CO's certified addiction counseling cert). I'd really like to get my LAC, Licensed Addiction Counselor, which is the highest and requires a masters degree. As a Native, Deaf/HoH, woman, I've seen how the standard addiction treatment model is still based off the 12 step program, which was created by an old, straight, Christian man with no specialized training or experience beyond himself put together. For some people it works and that's great, but there's sooooo many it doesn't and the nature of the program (the really brilliant part, twisted but brilliant) means that it's always the fault of the individual, never the program. You either didn't work it right or work it hard enough, the program is never to blame. I really want to work with these minority groups who are the least served and someday hopefully develop new alternatives that are found to be just as credible.

A professor recommended looking at Gallaudet, and I had no idea they had a clinical mental health masters program let alone a class that's specifically about substance use and the Deaf community, it's definitely on the top of my list now! I just sent the department coordinator an e-mail asking about Jump Start for grad students and what resources they have for Deaf/HoH grad students not fluent in ASL.
 
zeefour said:
I just sent the department coordinator an e-mail asking about Jump Start for grad students and what resources they have for Deaf/HoH grad students not fluent in ASL.
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If you need any help, let me know.. maybe I can cajole my Gally friend to help find resources or a person to get the answers you need. He's good at finding out stuff (as long as I can keep him on track- he tends to have more than he ought to on his plate and ADHD..lol).
 
AVT on it's own sounds like a really awful approach. I can maybe understand it being part of an ongoing varied program. But to use that as the only methodology is setting a child up for failure. Most hearing loss is reverse slope. So what would happen with a child who is learning to use this hearing part of their brain only to have that hearing diminish over time. If you don't give them the tools to adapt and change to a progressive circumstance you'll end up with a child/adult who is no longer able to use the skills they are developing through this process.

As a parent, what you will ultimately have is a child that turns into an adult that hates you. I have talked to quite a few Deaf people who were raised only oral who have such anger and hatred toward their parents because they kept sign language from them. Also, the fact that those certified in this approach are certified by the AG Bell Association does not inspire any additional faith in the program.
 
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