deafabilities-blog

[deafabilities-blog]

Look at what our classmates did!

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“Like much of America, I was raised having minimal to no interactions with the Deaf community and I didn’t give it a second thought. That is, until I took two years of American Sign Language (ASL) in high school and a full year of ASL at the University of Washington. While completing these classes, I discovered that there is a very strong and rich sense of community within Deaf culture. Over the years, I have found myself troubled by how a group of people so large (approximately 1 in 20 people are deaf or hard of hearing) could play such a minor role in America with stereotypes continuously dampening their career aspects. When the opportunity presented itself to create a video aimed to educate hearing people about the Deaf person’s inequality, I took it. I created the “Have We Cured Deafness?” video as part of a class project within my Master’s program (Communication Leadership) at the University of Washington. I designed this three-minute video to both set the stage for and be the first of a series that will further break down stereotypes that plague the Deaf community. I hope you not only take the time to watch “Have We Cured Deafness?” but that you also do the due diligence of looking into Deaf culture and how we can improve our systems to better include these amazing people. As stated in the video, I recommend StartASL.com to learn more about Deaf culture.’ Director - Jacob Christensen Filming Assistant - Leigh Burmesch

[deafabilities-blog]

Students travel from around the state to attend the Kentucky School for the Deaf in Danville.

One student, however, had a long journey before he ever arrived in Kentucky.

A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a refugee residing in Burundi, Ghilain Masudi and his family made their way to Lexington with the help of Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Inc., in July of 2015.

“The refugee service contacted us,” said Soraya Matthews, director of instruction for the high school at Kentucky School for the Deaf. “They had an 18-year-old who was from a refugee camp. They were not sure what his language exposure was, but they knew he had exposure to French and Swahili and possibly sign language. They wanted to know if we could provide some services for him.”

Because of his age, Ghilain is under a time crunch; he must complete his degree before he turns 21. Fayette County, the district through which Ghilain is enrolled, can choose to let him return after his birthday.

Either way, Ghilain remains determined to finish.

[deafabilities-blog]

As someone who works with students who didn’t have access to language until they were older ( any where from age 3 to age 9!). This creates HUGE deficits. Just because the kid has some access to sound does not mean they will develop language on their own. 

[deafabilities-blog]

“For most children, early childhood is the time for language acquisition and development.  What is known is that many DHH enter public education without sufficient language foundations.  What isn’t known is when children are ready for an interpreted education and how parents and educational professionals know when they are. Thinking, in and of itself, is interpretation.  For DHH students, watching an interpretation requires not only cognitive skills (for comprehension, monitoring, etc.), it also requires metacognitive skills to think about the interpretation, think about their own thinking, analyze their own learning and the thinking of others, and so on.  Few public schools educate DHH learners about what EIs do or how to use them, but their roles are unique and vary across grade levels.”

And yet, schools are putting D/HH kids, who may have minimal language skills, into mainstream classrooms with an educational interpreter at age 3 and 5 :/

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This article was written 19 years ago. I thought the perspective and dated information was really interesting. It’s hard to believe that Signed English was used at the university level as the only signing modality.

“While on duty, interpreters are required to wear a dark blue smock which identifies them in the classroom and helps reduce glare for the observer. But beyond the dress code, the job requirements get more difficult.”

“At CSUN, interpreters use a language called Signed English to translate classroom lectures. In Signed English, every word, including conjunctions and articles, is communicated using the grammatical structure of speech.”

[deafabilities-blog]

A little light reading :) Happy belated Birthday to myself.

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I’m actually laughing right now because when I was trying to get to the link to show the source… it’s taking forever to open (and I still can’t get it). Yet the ASL related links, are so fast in opening. I’m thinking it’s my internet connection, nope! It won’t even open on my mobile phone.

FINALLY GOTTEN THE SOURCE!

Clearly, Spoken Language isn’t the BEST ONLY option for deaf/hoh children. Yes it’s unfortunate how people think spoken language and medical perspective is the best only option when in reality it’s visual language. People believe that Sign Language will ‘decrease language acquisition”  When in reality, it (ASL) flourishes tremendously and that individual. Giving the option of BOTH can be beneficial to a Deaf/HOH child/adult. Bilingualism is best too, Sign Language and English can be amazing. Focusing on Literacy instead of “becoming like a hearing person, learn to speak!” Many Deaf/HOH children feel isolated and are delayed within social interaction because of the many outings for speech therapy.  Also, many Deaf/HOH individuals I now don’t say “I am so thankful for my parents to teach me spoken language!” many say “I wish I knew Sign Language as a child because it would have helped me so much. Gain my confidence, social interaction, and understanding of my surroundings”

Also, our ears aren’t something to be a cure for and can be cured. No matter if we have the assistive technology, it doesn’t mean it “restores our hearing”. We will still forever struggle within the environment and surrounding. They assist but they do not “restore” what we don’t have. 

[deafabilities-blog]

My students have to do this too and that section drives me nuts. I have to sign the story and was told to do so with limited inflection and expression so that it models the spoken voice track (which I never had access to)…WTF

They only get to see the story twice and it is a huge struggle for students who are new to sign language and/or do not have strong auditory skills. 

[deafabilities-blog]

“Beyond Inclusion is a short fictional film that takes place in the near future. The word “disability” has been replaced with “human diversity,” and innovations in technology make it possible for meaningful connections between all people. Even with these advances in laws and technology, it may not be enough. Will our culture change? Will certain groups of people still be “cured” or removed? Or are we strong enough to stand together, to fight for and preserve all kinds of human diversity?”

[deafabilities-blog]

“April 15 is celebrated as National ASL Day and marks the last day of Deaf History Month. On April 15, 1817, the first school for the deaf in the United States opened and the language we know as ASL began to form— born from a mix of Native American Signs, French Signs, and Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language.

ASL is a language created right in America by deaf Americans for deaf Americans. It is the key to a visual culture that has its own folk tales, stories, and sense of humor. Offering yet another tool to figure out this crazy world, sign language is the birthright of every deaf child.”