Endeavor Winter 2012

INSIDE

ENDEAVORThe ENDEAVORThe

WINTER 2012

A Publication for Families and Professionals Committed to Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Hands Waving Advice p. 15Child First Campaign p. 28

Summer Camps p. 37

Children First

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www.deafchildren.org

A Look InsideTHE ENDEAVORAmerican Society for Deaf Children

#2047800 Florida Avenue, NE

Washington, D.C. 20002-3695Fax: (410) 795-0965Toll-Free Help Line:

(800) 942-ASDC (2732)[email protected]

THE ENDEAVOR STAFFEditor

Tami [email protected]

Managing EditorAnita Farb

Avonne Brooker-Rutowski

Publication ServicesT.S. Writing Services, LLC

www.tswriting.com

ASDC STAFFDirector of Advocacy

Cheri [email protected]

© 2012 ASDC. The Endeavor is ASDC’s news magazine published three times a year. Pub-lished articles and advertisements are the personal expressions of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of ASDC. The Endeavor is distributed free of charge to ASDC members.

ADVERTISINGFor advertising information, contact [email protected].

ASDC is a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation.

EVERY ISSUEASDC Board 2

A Note From the Editor 3

President’s Column 4

Websites of Interest 44

Membership Form 52

FEATURESA Light at the End of the Tunnel 6

Instructional Technologies for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing 9

Grace Under Pressure 11

Hands Waving Advice...Deaf/Special Needs Child and Hearing Mom 15

Happiness is a Deaf Bilingual Child 19

Strategies to Support Communication at Home and in the Community 20

CEASD Launches “Child First” Campaign 28

How Important Are Student Life Programs for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students? 30

I Deafinitely Can! Tova Stewart Shines in Sundance Film 33

It’s Not Too Early to Think About Summer Camps! 37

Deaf History Sails Into All Educational Settings 45

Building Literacy Through Schema and the Grand Canyon 46

Going Green!Would you like to help save trees and costs by receiving an online version of The Endeavor instead of a hard copy? If so, send an e-mail [email protected].

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Past PresidentBeth Benedict, Ph.D.Germantown, MD [email protected]

Peter Bailey, M.A.Framington, [email protected]

Jeff Bravin, M.A.West Hartford, [email protected]

Tom D’AngeloFrederick, [email protected]

Carrie Davenport, Ed.S.Columbus, [email protected]

John EgbertHam Lake, [email protected]

Lisalee Egbert, Ph.D.Sacramento, [email protected]

Stefanie Ellis-Gonzales, M.A.Pleasanton, [email protected]

Robert Hill, M.A., M.Ed., Ed.S.Tucson, [email protected]

Tami Hossler, M.A.Miromar Lakes, [email protected]

Erin Kane, M.A.Rochester, [email protected]

Tony Ronco, P.Eng.La Mesa, [email protected]

Avonne Rutowski, M.A.Austin, [email protected]

Council on Education of the Deaf RepresentativesBeth BenedictJodee Crace

ASDC BOARD

PresidentJodee Crace, M.A.Indianapolis, [email protected]

Vice PresidentJoe Finnegan, M.S., M.A., Ed.S.St. Augustine, [email protected]

TreasurerTimothy Frelich, M.A.Jessup, [email protected]

Executive SecretaryKristen DiPerri, Ed.D.Falls, [email protected]

Executive Council Board of Directors

Members at Large

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A Note From the EditorAlthough this issue was

put together in January, our bulk snail mail takes quite a bit longer for it to reach your hands. There-fore, Happy belated New Year!

The theme of this issue is Children First. This issue is packed with great stories, resources, and information on what is going on across the country when it comes to helping us put our “children first.” More importantly, the Confer-ence for Educational Administrators of

Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD) is bring-ing to the forefront chang-es. Specifically, CEASD is working to change national legislation in regards to the Individuals with Disabili-ties Education Act (IDEA) and least restrictive envi-ronments so that our chil-

dren’s needs come first. It is going to be a year that we all

can assist in this effort. You can keep abreast of how you can help by going to www.ceasd.org.

Tami Hossler

DID YOU KNOW?

The International Association of Parents of Deaf was founded in 1967 by concerned parents of deaf and hard of hearing children. The organization changed its name in 1985 to the American Society for Deaf Children. Today:• ASDC is the oldest national organization founded by and

governed by parents of deaf and hard of hearing children. • ASDC depends solely on donations, memberships, and

proceeds from conferences for operations.• ASDC’s board is a “volunteer” board with members who

pay their own travel and lodging expenses for all ASDC events.

Become a part of this innovative organization by joining today! See membership form on page 52.


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Happy New Year! I believe that we have all been enjoy-ing our journey as parents and are inspired to be catalysts for our children’s successes. Our ASDC advo-cacy director, Cheri Dowl-ing, stays busy answering inquiries from parents who want to know more about adoptions, American Sign Language (ASL) classes, IEPs, funding for cochle-ar implants and hearing aids, inter-preting in the classrooms, how to get equal resources and access, and to just to share their experiences. Likewise, the ASDC board members have kept each other on their toes reaching out to further ASDC’s mission.

In the last issue, I expressed a senti-ment: The word “difference” can also mean “diversity.” With diversity comes unique characteristics. With unique char-acteristics come wholehearted respect and love for the person who he or she is meant to be. With all these “links” come a healthy family. A healthy family creates a thriving community. It becomes a “full circle.”

We have seen much interest in how we define success for a child who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH). A variety of best practices and rules have been developed to guide parents, profes-sionals from different specialties, and stakeholders. With this thought, we come across another unique thought:

Child First. What does Child First mean to you?

When a baby is identi-fied as D/HH, every effort is provided to support the family in a variety of ways. The support could be an avenue of what the norm in society is. On the other hand, the support could be

an avenue of what is best for the child. The parents are the loving primary caretakers who deliver and infuse the support (information/resources) to their child. It can be rewarding, because the parents are empowered and mind-ful of the infant’s interpersonal world.

What is meant by that phrase, “mind-ful of the interpersonal world of the infant”? Immediately, I think of how we are to be attuned to the needs of the baby, especially to how the baby responds to the stimuli and delivery types from other people and them-selves (via real objects or vibes/atti-tudes).

Do babies really know what they are receiving? Will these experiences be embedded and nurture the wholesome development of the child? What about the parents’ values and expectations? Isn’t that what “parent choice” means? What about the skill of letting the child lead in letting you know their needs?

Recently, I was browsing the Inter-net, looking for information on healthy parenting and healthy children

Jodee Crace

President’s Column

Putting Children First

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within two cultures. I came across a book, Keepers of the Children. Native American Wisdom and Parenting (Laura M. Ramirez, 2004). I peeked inside the table of contents to see if the book was interesting enough for me to look further. Sure enough, it was, so I bought the book, which just arrived in the mail a few days ago. In Ramirez’s preface, she described the intention of “underscoring the basic gulf in think-ing that has long divided the native culture from the white” (p. 12). That’s an intriguing question for hearing parents raising D/HH babies, and even more so for Deaf parents raising hear-ing babies: are there “gulfs”?

There shouldn’t be. It’d be a perfect world if we had a shared vision and world view for balance and acceptance for who a D/HH child is. In retrospect, as Ramirez continues in her preface, “what I offer in these pages is not an

either-or perspective, but a blend of two cultures that celebrates the best of both” (p. 13). This healthy, wholesome and blended thinking, the original principle of Child First is illuminated.

The ASDC board and a variety of members and interested stakehold-ers will be dialoguing more about the Child First theme. We’ll mention bits and pieces in the monthly e-mails that you receive from ASDC. Please remem-ber to open these e-mails regularly. We count on you to be knowledgeable and empowered advocates for your child.

I’m happy to be of service to you as the ASDC president, and the board members are as well. Please continue to e-mail ASDC with questions and comments so that we can best meet your needs, wants and interests.

For more on the CEASD Child First campaign, visit www.ceasd.org.

ASDC’s Monthly E-MailsThe ASDC monthly e-mail is full of information about

ASDC, member news, updated conference news, book reviews, websites, and more.

If you are a member and are not receiving the e-mail blast, we may not have your correct e-mail address. Please keep ASDC informed about any address or e-mail changes by e-mailing [email protected].

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A Light at the End of the TunnelBy Kimberly McGuiness

Julia was diag-nosed with a severe to profound hearing loss when she was 13 months old. I was devastated. I remem-ber holding her in my arms in the doctor’s office wait-ing for him to come back in the room with the audiological results. This doctor was a very compas-sionate and peaceful man. For him to tell me Julia had a hearing loss was almost as difficult for him as it was for me to hear it. Even though he was as gentle as he could be with the news, I felt like someone had picked me up and thrown me against the wall. From that moment forward I knew our lives would never be the same.

The turmoil of the emotional roll-er coaster was terrible. I was mad at myself, my friends, the doctors, the world and even the Lord above. I couldn’t understand why my first and only child had these challenges. Was it something I did, something I didn’t do? There were even days I didn’t care if I took another breath no matter the cost. But I knew I had to be strong for myself and for Julia. When Julia started in the educational

system, I was still asking myself, Lord, why her? Why me? I don’t understand. It’s not supposed to be like this. Little did I know that this miracle of life was as exactly as it should be.

When Julia was in preschool, I went to a parent meeting with others who had children similar to Julia and were also seeking answers. Her teacher facilitat-

ed these monthly meetings and it was at one particular meeting I was able to tell my story for the first time without crying. Afterwards, a mother came up to me and said, “Thank you for sharing your story. It has given me hope there is light at the end of the tunnel.” As I left and walked to my car, I felt a peace come over me and a light bulb go off in my head: This is what you are supposed to do now. Start sharing your journey!

When it was time for Julia to transi-tion to middle school, she was placed in a classroom with 16 students who had varying exceptionalities. Her behavior was becoming diffi-cult to handle. Her teacher was the only person in the entire school who could communicate with her in her language, sign language, so you can imagine Julia’s frustrations. Although

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we used sign language in our home, Julia’s behavior carried over from the classroom. My husband and I couldn’t understand and we became frustrated in finding answers.

In January 2002, we packed up everything we owned and set out on the road with our last paychecks in our pockets. We had no jobs lined up and we really didn’t know where we were going to stay, but we knew we would have a roof over our heads. Some friends and family thought we were crazy, but we knew we had to do this for Julia. The new school we had chosen for her was awaiting her arriv-al. We took a huge leap of faith, and I don’t mind telling you I was scared to death. My husband tried to comfort me the best he could, but we both felt a sense of calm as we stayed focused on the goal, which was getting Julia to where she needed to be and getting her enrolled at the Georgia School for the Deaf.

Once Julia started attending her new school, her behavior issues escalated for a short time. This was the first time Julia was exposed to a 100%-signing environment, so her mind was over-whelmed. The visual language her mind

was starting and needing to process was every-where. Once she start-ed being taught in her l a n g u a g e , the behavior

problems began to go away—at least those associated with language. Once this was eliminated, we saw character-istics of autism. Evaluations and test-ing were conducted and Julia’s support team determined she was also living with autism. She received a medical diagnosis shortly thereafter confirming the evaluations.

Autism is a lifelong communica-tion disability that impacts language, social interaction, and access to life opportunities. Besides autism, being deaf is an important part of this equa-tion. In the past, we often inadver-tently overwhelmed her by making too many changes in her routines and schedule. We would to try to explain these changes and communicate with her as she became upset about the unanticipated and unknown. We did not realize that her reactions were in response to how change added fuel to the fire as her brain struggled valiant-ly to process all of this new stimula-tion at once.

Julia’s challenges include difficulty in dealing with the unexpected, bouts of anxiety, a reluctance to do things on demand; an inability to move forward once “stuck” on a particular topic of interest, a tendency to be easily over-stimulated, difficulty retaining previ-ously learned information or skills, inappropriate social interaction; displays of physical aggression when frustrated, anxious, or over stimu-lated, processing new information, sensory integration, and the impact of her disabilities on the development of life skills.

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Julia graduated in May 2011 from the Georgia School for the Deaf. She received the Ray A. Kroc Award, creat-ed by the founder of McDonald’s to honor students who are the unsung heroes of the class. Julia received this most prestigious award in part for her citizenship in community involve-ment, for her lead-ership in a commu-nity organization, for her academic performance to the best of her abili-ties, and for her sportsmanship.

Everyone benefits from the oppor-tunity to spend time in activities that bring joy. We nurture ourselves by balancing our lives; we find happiness and fulfillment with a steady diet of

work, growth and play.

Julia reminds me of this balance each day. She is a great blessing in life and to all she meets. Through her we have come to understand trust, honesty,

patience and the power of a constant infectious smile and a loving heart.

Through her we have come to understand trust, honesty, patience and the power of a constant infectious smile and a loving heart.

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Instructional Technologies for Students Who Are Deaf orHard of Hearing

By Kelly Booz, M.S., and Deborah S. Stryker, Ph.D.

As technology improves, we experi-ence more opportunities to use it in daily life. At the same time, inclusion of children who have disabilities in the general classroom is a more common occurrence.

Assistive technology (AT) is referred to as “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired, commercially modified, or customized, used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities” (Cavanaugh, 2002, p. 11). These devices can include hear-ing aids, Frequency Modulated (FM) systems, webcams, or a specifically designed computer program. The types of AT include sound-based, text-based, and facility- based.

The most common types of sound- based AT are hearing aids or cochlear

implants (CI). An FM system is an option that can be used in conjunction with a hearing aid or a CI. An FM system is a microphone connected to a transmitter worn by the speak-er, which transmits directly to a hearing aid. The teacher’s voice is the only sound picked up, avoiding the interference of typical classroom noise (Hearing Impairments, 1989, p. 2). Like an FM system, a

sound field system amplifies the teach-er’s voice, but rather than transmit-ting directly to the child’s hearing aid, it transmits through speakers installed within the classroom for everyone to hear. This sound field system can help all students, including those without hearing loss.

Text-based AT such as comput-er programs used to teach foreign languages have been shown to improve literacy rates. These programs may be beneficial to use with students who are deaf or hard of hearing to help teach English as a second language (McKe-own, 1997). Closed captioning (CC) is a common and easily accessible form of assistive technology easily adapted and used in the classroom in special situa-tions.

A newer and more common facility- based technology is the videophone,

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Conference Schedule Wednesday Registration and Opening “Sample Our City” Family Fun Night! Families will sample menu items from Frederick area restaurants, learn about Frederick cultural venues, shop at local merchant booths, and enjoy activities such as face painting, a petting zoo, games, and more.

Thursday through Saturday – Parent Workshops: Three full days of concurrent workshops on issues, choices, consequences, and the many available resources that can profoundly impact the development of deaf or hard of hearing children. Professionals will present in each of the five key areas covering such diverse topics as family dynamics, cochlear implant effective use, language development, secondary conditions, education choices, community support options and access, and many more.

Children’s Program: A comprehensive three-day program of planned, supervised activities for children and teens ages 0 to 21 in four age groups. The informational needs and

unique experiences of deaf youth and siblings will be addressed through art, drama, and team building activities; sibling workshops; and games, field trips, and more.

Evening Activities: Family oriented activities each evening offer family and social time. On one evening, participants will explore Frederick’s sights, shops, galleries, and parks; enjoy dinner on their own; and experience living history through Ghost Tours.

Exhibit Hall: Sponsors, businesses related to any of the conference key areas, educational institutions and organizations, and local agencies and vendors will display information and products in the Exhibit Hall.

Museum: MSD’s Bjorlee Museum is packed with historic information and artifacts relating to the school, Frederick, the Hessian Bar-racks, multiple wars, and more.

Sunday morning – Final breakfast and Conference Wrap-Up; airport transportation provided.

















which connects to a television or monitor and uses a high-speed Internet connec-tion to make outbound calls. Such calls can go directly to another person or get routed through a video relay service where an interpreter appears onscreen and interprets the phone call. A videophone can give a child with hearing loss the abil-ity to call home or family members if a situation warrants it. Additional adjust-ments within a facility could include installing special lights that flash (like a strobe light) to signal a classroom change. These indicators can also be used for a fire alarm or if someone knocks on the door.

Many assignments outside of the classroom or projects often require a comput-er or some other form of technology. Incorporating technology into assignments can help students overcome obstacles to working together and to building rela-tionships with one another.

ReferencesCavanaugh, T. (2002). Assistive Technology Basics in Education. Special Needs [SITE 2002 Section] (pp. 11-12). Retrieved from ERIC database (ED472248).

Hearing Impairments. (1989). Tech Use Guide: Using Computer Technology(pp. 2-4). Retrieved from ERIC database (ED324849).

McKeown, S. (1997). Supporting the Learner: Introducing ILT Issues and Teach-ing Strategies To Meet Individual Needs (pp. 2-36). Bristol, UK: Further Educa-tion Development Agency. Retrieved from ERIC database (ED416375).

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Grace Under PressureBy Zachery R. Román

It’s not every day a life-changing event occurs. In fact, in most of our lives, there might be a handful of moments that you can vivid-ly recall where the course of your life dramatically changed, whether for the best or worst. Some of these events can be explained, while many cannot. Many times we explain it away as either good or bad luck, but how you view the situation determines how you ultimately deal with the serendipitous moment.

For my wife and me, one of our life’s defining moments of change was on January 14, 2010. That was the day our second daughter was born.

Looking back to during the pregnan-cy, there were two events that seemed non-related at the time, but now seem to have relevance for us. They could have eerily foretold the future of our daughter.

The first came as we talked about and prepared for the newest member of our family. During pregnancy, my wife attended all of her prenatal visits and received the utmost of care from the medical professionals. The regu-lar prenatal tests were done, always with excellent results. The sonogram showed that the baby had two legs, two arms, and had a regular heart rate. There was no evidence to show anything was abnormal with the excep-

tion of one comment my wife made while looking at the side profile of the baby’s head from the sonogram.

“Her chin looks a little small,” I recall her saying. But it was a passing comment as we continued with the preparations of our daughter’s arrival.

The second occurred one day as my wife was at the

mall. She noticed a young mother walking a stroller with infant twins. Nothing unusual about that, except that these two babies were wearing eyeglasses. As this is not a common sight, my wife approached the young mother to inquire about the glasses.

“Are those real glasses?” she ques-tioned.

A look of annoyance and somewhat tiredness of always being asked this question seemed to be expressed on the young mother’s face.

“Yes, they’re real,” she replied.“How did you know that they need

them?” my wife asked. Once again, the young mother’s face

looked as if she’d been asked this ques-tion several times before.

“Just like they check adults’ eyes.” She responded.

The conversation was short, but my wife could tell by the look on the young mother’s face that she was used to receiving looks of curiosity about her children and responding to people’s inquiries.

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How odd to think that now my wife and I share that same experience as that young mother.

As the day of the baby’s arrival approached, we began talking about what name we would bestow upon our daughter. I wanted her first name to be Zacharina (only in jest) in honor of her father, but we opted for a name less conspicuous. We struggled to find a middle name to compliment her first. But as my wife tells it, our daughter’s middle name was impressed upon her by God himself. It occurred one night while my wife was thinking about the pregnancy. The baby didn’t kick as much as our firstborn had. For some reason, she was concerned about this child. A word popped into her head: Grace. She felt that with this child a lot of “grace” was to either be shown to her or shown by her. Nonetheless, her middle name was chosen.

We arrived at the hospital ready for our daughter’s long-awaited appearance. We had a few hours to wait until the contractions came and the birthing process began. There was no way that we could have prepared for what awaited us on the other side of that moment.

I sensed that something different from our experience with our first daugh-ter was occurring. The baby’s heart rate had slowed and there was a question about whether she was receiving enough oxygen. The answer to that question was evident when she arrived with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. She

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had been strangled while coming out of the canal. The nurses quickly cut the cord and unwrapped it from around her neck.

I wondered if this was the reason why she appeared so swollen. It was so uncharacteristic of what I expected. Something inside the pit of my stom-ach told me something was wrong, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. Her specific facial features seemed some-what recognizable. I used to be a social worker and worked with developmen-tally disabled adults. I could usually tell who had Down’s Syndrome by look-ing at the shape of their eye folds and neck. Our daughter had those similar facial features.

As the medical staff began to clean our daughter up, my wife asked me if the baby was okay. Thinking that I might be overreacting, I mustered the confidence to say that the baby was fine, but something lingered within me.

As the nurses placed our daughter on my wife’s chest to nurse, the baby would not take to it. Upon further inspection by the doctor, it was discov-ered that the baby had a cleft palate. Also, her chin was unusually small.

The doctor excused himself. A few moments later more medical staff was present wanting to inspect our newborn. At that moment, I knew for a fact something was amiss. I could see the concern on my wife’s face. This wasn’t something we had prepared for.

We were taken to the newborn section of the hospital as the doctors readied various medical exams for our daugh-ter. Apparently, the pre-diagnosis was

that she had DiGeorge Syndrome. Neither my wife nor I had ever heard

of such a thing. Questions swirled around our heads. What was this syndrome? What were the physical and, more importantly, mental effects of this syndrome? Would she be all right?

I’ve traveled the world by myself, I’ve been threatened with death on various occasions, I’ve almost been paralyzed, and I’ve been in some horrid situations as a social worker, but those things don’t compare to the amount of fear I experienced that night by daugh-ter was born. Not knowing what was happening with her frightened me. It frightened my wife as well. Even as I think about it today, tears well up in my eyes.

In the darkness of the room, all we could do was pray and ask God for His mercy and grace for our daughter.

Blood was drawn from our daugh-ter’s little body until she couldn’t give any more. Various tests on her heart and kidneys were done. During one of these tests a nurse must have seen the concerned look on my face.

“Don’t worry,” the nurse said. “Your daughter will be a blessing to many people.”

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A “blessing,” I thought. My child who appears to have special needs will be a blessing? A sense of doubt over-whelmed me. If only the nurse knew. If only she could see the fear and anger rising within me. What kind of “bless-ing” comes with a disability? What kind of hope comes with not being “normal”?

The shock of a lifetime came as the hearing test was conducted. Our daughter was deaf.

More questions began to enter my mind. What kind of life will she lead without being able to hear? How will she communicate to us? How will we communicate to her? The list of worries grew.

One possible diagnosis was presented to us. It appeared that our daughter had Stick-ler’s Syndrome, which is a rare genet-ic disorder due to a lack of collagen. Collagen is used to develop cartilage in our bodies. Due to this deficiency, not only was our daughter deaf, but she was extremely nearsighted as well. She would need eyeglasses as an infant.

Because our daughter was diagnosed with a hearing impairment, our name was placed on a registry for children who were deaf or hard of hearing. Thankfully, there is a system within the state that provides information and direction to parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

It’s been 22 months. Our daughter, Kara Grace Román, is receiving various types of therapy and services to assist with her communication and devel-opment. She now wears hearing aids, and without exaggeration, everywhere we go, people stop us to ask about the little red glasses she wears.

Kara is a true blessing to many people. Because of Kara, my wife has found her calling in life to be a sign language interpreter and is now attending

school to obtain her interpreting certifi-cate. My parents, our oldest daughter Ava, and I are also learning Ameri-can Sign Language (ASL).

Oddly enough, I find that I can thank God for Kara’s Stickler’s

Syndrome. We’ve met so many nice people who we’d never would have the pleasure of knowing if it hadn’t been for Kara. She brings a smile to people’s faces whenever they see her. In a sense, she lights up the room. She has shown me what really matters in life and serves as a reminder to appreciate each day for what it is: a gift.

There was no good or bad luck in the way she was born, it was by divine design. In some way, I feel that we were chosen to be her parents. Knowing this does not make the road any easier to travel as we move forward, but I know that hope is there and so is grace.

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By Jean Fontana

I’m sure you can all relate to a child arriving with an unexpected diagno-sis and what may seem at first to be an uncertain future. Our son, now 18, has a few more years at California School for the Deaf, and the journey continues. Looking back to the beginning, I gratefully remember the most helpful information and actions that worked for us. I am happy to pass these on, and maybe save some tears and frustration for other families.

Although my son has an undiagnosed syndrome, including severe cardiac anomalies that were repaired in infancy, he shares many characteristics of autism such as ADHD, compulsive behaviors and what I call his love of schedule. Born hard of hearing, he became Deaf from medications for complications from his third cardiac surgery. Here are some of my hottest tips; enjoy!

Stay MarriedYour marriage/partnership/core fami-

ly is vital to your child’s future. We had a great pediatrician who warned us that a medically fragile child like ours could

double the divorce rate, and it was already high in California! Good-humored advice for a serious topic. Your baby needs a loving home, so don’t let the stress tear you apart.

Think TeamI really wanted to

raise our son in a more private and traditional

way. That was just not possible or practi-cal. We needed more help than I wanted to accept—I actually felt guilty. Then I realized he was creating jobs for many people. The concept of building teams around him and his needs was born. Be the leader of your child’s teams: medi-cal, educational, behavioral and social. I have had to remove players who were not acting in the best interest of my child.

Navigate AgenciesLearn the difference between fund-

ing organizations where you will advo-cate for support services where you can get hands-on help. Examples of funding organizations include regional centers, school districts, and state chil-dren’s services; they are set up to fund specific needs. Strong and respectful advocacy wins the day. When I had to

Hands Waving Advice... Deaf/Special Needs Child and Hearing Mom

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disagree with some of these agencies at times, they knew it was about my child, not me. When I needed to cry into my coffee, I learned to head to the nearest parent support group or really wonder-ful friends.

Preserve the JoyDon’t let anyone take away the fun

of childhood. Forget normal and mile-stones when you are parenting. Profes-sionals and assessments can really get you down sometimes when they compare your child to charts. You are going to celebrate every little gain, every joyful moment—and these strides forward may not occur on a tradi-tional timeline. For a long time I really felt as though I was operating off the grid until a wise friend pointed out that the world is a bigger grid than I could imagine, with room for all.

Modify Your EnvironmentHere is where you can really have

some fun and think outside the box. Catch the positive and “headed-in-the-right-direction” behaviors and praise and support the heck out of them! Some things we did were: • Installed a “ballet bar,” a sturdy

pole down a long hall, to help him learn to walk since he was a delayed walker.

• Used blue painter tape for mak-

ing labels since it doesn’t damage surfaces. We labeled everything! Hot and cold water, all his clothing storage, the kitchen cupboards. If you include ASL vocabulary as well, everyone can learn, especially those coming into your home. Education and awareness all in one kit (I love kits!)

• Put up a whiteboard in our kitch-en—a great tip from a Deaf friend who grew up with a chalkboard used by the whole family to com-municate. We still use ours. Non-signers can easily communicate

and we finessed the need for sched-ule as well, detailed at first, then build-ing in more flexibil-ity over the years, enabling choice, i n d e p e n d e n c e , consequences, and earning.• Created a pho-to album of friends

and family. We kept this on the cof-fee table. It helped explain relation-ships and identify the people in our lives for our little visual learner.

Learn ASLI know it’s hard to focus on all the

needs, and a language need can be so hidden at first. Just consider that by making this commitment, you will perhaps do the one of the most effective things you can do to make a lifetime of posi-tive difference for your child. Then think of all the tasks, learning, focus you are

Just consider that by making this commitment, you will perhaps do the one most effective things you can do to make a lifetime of positive difference for your child.

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demanding of your child. Does that real-ly seem fair expect all the accommoda-tions to be a one way street? You can do this; resources abound and you can take things at your own pace.

I was quite shy about signing in public—it felt so awkward and lonely and my son was not signing much at first. We grew more skilled together and now go out and about in the sign-ing bubble. I don’t voice or try to facili-tate more than is necessary for him. We are just ourselves enjoying life like everybody else. More recently I hold back and let him lead in all possible ways.

Your child will be working hard to reach his or her full potential, and how many people can truly say they have maximized all their gifts? It can really

make you proud to see what your child has accomplished. Also invite Deaf adults into your home, make friends and venture into the community. You will get the fastest comprehension of the power of sign and how important it is for your child. Sprinkling your child’s early development with a few signs as though they are extra vitamins is not adequate. Sign is the meal itself, and a Deaf child cannot be language-nour-ished without it.

Enjoy the path you find yourself on. It’s a challenge—but also a beauti-ful journey where you will meet some amazing people! Whenever things got hard and really frustrating we never failed to meet some wonderful person who helped, sometimes unexpectedly. I wish you all the joy of that journey.

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By John Egbert My wife, Shirley and I visited a

particular Deaf school during our vaca-tion and met some of our former class-mates. During our visit to the elemen-tary school, we saw many happy Deaf children. In the hallways and in the classrooms, children were eager to talk to us, and asked many questions that were typical: “Are you Deaf?” “Do you have any children in this school?” The children also loved showing us what they did in class and explaining how they did it.

These were bilingual Deaf children using American Sign Language (ASL) and English. And these bilingual Deaf children are lucky to attend this Deaf school because its program and the education is one of the best in the nation.

We learned that on Fridays it was mandatory for all of the Deaf children to go home on the weekend. Some would fly 200 to 300 miles and others would ride on buses or trains to get back home. A good friend, who works as a counselor at this school, explained that some children struggle when it is

time to go home because of the lack of communication at home. At school, everything is accessible to them. They have teachers, staff, and peers who communicate fluently with them. They are socially connected. Without acces-sible communication, the home envi-ronment becomes isolating. This isola-tion in the family environment puts a lot of stress on the Deaf child and each child copes with this in different ways.

Deaf children need to communicate. They need family interaction. They need to feel valued and loved. A family that does these things is putting their child “first.”

I am always glad to see parents learning ASL. Becoming a bilingual parent is the first step in connecting with their Deaf child. Happy children make happy parents.

ASDC board member John Egbert is a parent of two Deaf children and four Deaf grandchildren. He is also the founder of Deaf Bilingual Coalition (www.dbcusa.org).

Happiness is a Deaf Bilingual Child

For resources, stop by ASDC’s website at

www.deafchildren.org!

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Strategies to Support Communication at Home and in the CommunityBy Raschelle Theoharis, Ph.D., Deborah Griswold, Ph.D., and Christina Yuknis, Ph.D.

Approximately 1 in 76 children who

are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) has autism (Gallaudet Research Institute, 2007; Szymanski & Brice, 2008). Other research reports that the incidence of autism in children with a hearing loss is greater than that found in children who do not have a hearing loss (Conn-Wesson et al., 2000; Nadol, 1993; Rutter, 2005). Although this dispropor-tionality is recognized, there is still little research that focuses on the coexistence of hearing loss and autism (Gillberg & Streffembirg, 1993; Gordon, 1991; Jure, Rapin, & Tuchman, 1991; Malan-draki & Okalidou, 2007).

Diagnosis and Characteristics of Autism and Deafness

The diagnosis of autism for children who are D/HH generally occurs one year later than for children who are hearing (Mandell, Novak, & Zubritsky, 2005). For example, one research study found D/HH children were diagnosed with autism between the ages of 5 and 16, compared to hearing children who were diagnosed between the ages of 4 and 11.

Despite the age differences in diag-nosis, D/HH children often exhibit the same characteristics as hearing chil-dren with autism (Steinburg, 2008).

While no two children who have autism are alike, all are affected in three areas: communication, socialization and behavior (American Psychiatric Asso-ciation [APA], 2000). Understandably, these three domains are intertwined. Communication, social interaction, difficulty attending to social stimuli, atypical body movements (hand flap-ping or rocking), struggles in transi-tioning from one activity to another, and a need for structure and predict-able routines are a few of the common characteristics of children with autism (APA, 2000; Dawson, Melzoff, & Oster-ling, 1995).

One commonality between deafness and autism in children diagnosed with both is the difficulty with communicat-ing and conveying wants and needs to others. “However, the cause of the diffi-culty in an individual who is just deaf is different from that in an individual who is autistic” (Vernon & Rhodes, 2009, p. 5). For individuals who are deaf and

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have autism, communication is even more of a challenge, as they will have communication difficulties of much greater severity than with either single condition alone (Rosenhall, Nordin, Sandorstrom, Ahlsen, & Gillberg, 1999).These communication difficulties make diagnosing, assessing, treating, and providing strategies to students complex for school systems (Steinburg, 2008; Szymanski & Brice, 2008).

D/HH children who have autism also pose extreme challenges for families. This article presents an overview of six strategies families and service providers can use at home and in the community with D/HH students who have autism. Future articles in this series will delve deeper into each of the individual strat-egies, providing detailed informa-tion about the strat-egy, how to use the strategy with your child, and different examples for modifying the strategy. Visual schedules, social stories, power cards, Picture Exchange Communica-tion System (PECS), video modeling, and personal passports are the strate-gies shared in this article. These strat-egies were selected because of their visual nature and the aid they provide to communication.

Strategies for Home and CommunityModifying the strategies education-

al systems are using to fit home and

community environments help provide the consistency and structure D/HH students with autism need. Modifi-cations also help students with the generalization of skills from one envi-ronment or setting to another. It is important to remember that children are not going to master and incorpo-rate the strategies independently on the first or second attempt or perhaps not for several attempts; therefore they will need to have the strategy modeled and used repeatedly. Since the need of each child and his or her family is unique, it is important to remember that each

strategy presented here can be adjusted to meet the whole family’s lifestyle.

Visual SchedulesVisual Schedules

use pictures or text to share the plan for the day, a section of the day, or a specific event or task (as

a step-by-step guide). The number of activities, amount of time, pictures, or text displayed depends on the child’s individual needs. Visual Schedules may take the form of a list using pictures or text, a book with removable pieces, or even an iPad or iPhone application. Visual Schedules can also be used as a prompt to encourage children to tell about their day. One of the benefits of this strategy for D/HH children with autism is that it does not rely on audi-tory input, so it is fully accessible for the child. The Child-Autism-Parent-Café

One commonality between deafness and autism in children diagnosed with both is the difficulty with communicating and con-veying wants and needs to others.

22

website provides practical suggestions for families to manage daily life with children who have autism (see the list of Internet resources on page 23).

Social StoriesThe use of social stories helps support

appropriate behaviors and social skills for children with autism. This strategy is particularly popular in schools. A social story is a short simple story written from the child’s perspective. It describes the social situation, and through text and visual supports, it provides instruc-tion on positive and appropriate social behaviors (Gray & Garand, 1993). Since most children with autism are visual learners (regardless of hearing status), social stories haven shown to be effec-tive. It is used for social activities such as greetings, turn-taking, and wait-ing. Polyxo.com provides families with resources, templates, and sample social stories (for use in different settings).

Power CardsThe Power Card Strategy is a visual aid

that uses the child’s interests to teach

appropriate social interac-tions or skills, behavior, and expectations that children with autism may not learn without direct instruction (Gagnon, 2001). The first step of the power card strategy is to present a simple scenario using a person or charac-ter the child really likes. For example, if the child really loves SpongeBob, then you might have a scenario about SpongeBob waiting his turn

and encouraging the child to imitate SpongeBob’s actions. The child is given a small card, the Power Card, that summarizes the steps that SpongeBob or the character takes to be successful at the focus skill (Gagnon, 2001). This is another strategy that does not rely on auditory input. It is a visual strategy that encourages reading and promotes social skills.

Picture Exchange Communication System

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) allows individuals with autism to use pictures to communicate. It focuses on self-initiated communica-tive behavior (Malandraki & Okalidou, 2007). This method of communica-tion, though originally developed for young children, works well for people of varying ages and developmental levels (Malandraki & Oklidou, 2007). The basic idea of PECS is so that an individual has a means of communicating and inter-acting with others to make their needs and desires known. It is a way to teach

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the learner how to approach another person and exchange the picture of a desired item for the item itself. By doing this the student learns to initiate spon-taneous communication within differ-ent social contexts and environments and allows him or her to join in cause-effect act of conversation (Malandraki & Oklidou, 2007). This communication system is concrete and does not require spoken language.

Video ModelingSince television is an engaging medi-

um that does not require social interac-tion during learning, research suggests video modeling may be effective for students with autism (Daneshvar, Charlop-Christy, Morris, & Lancaster, 2003). Video modeling involves show-ing a video of an ideal scenario of a situ-ation or behavior for the student to imitate. This strategy can be combined with other strategies to teach social, conversational, behavior, and self-help skills. Video modeling may also result in faster generalization of skills (Daneshvar, et al., 2003). The purpose, benefits, and uses of video modeling will be discussed in a later article. In addition, there are a variety of websites providing videos of different situ-ations and environments that can be purchased as a DVD or down-loaded; however there are only a limited number of videos that use ASL or are captioned. Families can collaborate with teachers to create their own videos working

on specific skills the child needs.

Personal Communication PassportsPersonal Communication Passports

provide families, service providers, and students themselves with a positive way of presenting information about senso-ry and communication difficulties. Personal passports are similar to regular passports in that they provide an over-view of a child’s important information and his or her “travels” to the present time. The passports contain pictures of the child and important information. For younger children, the passports can serve as a communication tool between families and service providers, and for older children and youth personal pass-ports are a way for families to teach self-advocacy and safety skills to their children.

Internet Resources

Child-Autism-Parent-Café: http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/visual-schedules.htmlPolyxo: http://www.polyxo.com/socialsto-riesIllinois State University: http://autismspectrum.illinoisstate.edu/resources/factsheets/power-card.shtmlPersonal Communication Passports: http://www.communicationpass-ports.org

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ConclusionWith a dual diagnosis of deafness and autism comes many challenges. A common

struggle for the children and their families is communication. Finding ways to modify and use strategies at home and in the community that are similar to those being used in the classroom setting is beneficial to providing the consistency that is necessary for these children.

Future articles in the series will discuss each of these strategies in more detail. Each article will share the research supporting the strategy, provide directions on how to create and implement the strategy, show examples, and list additional resources specific to the strategy. For a full list of references, contact [email protected].

Professionals in Deaf EducationASDC seeks articles from professionals who work with Deaf children or students. If you have articles that may benefit families with Deaf children, please submit the articles and accompanying photographs by May 1, 2012, to Editor Tami Hossler at [email protected].

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27


ASDC Extends Gratitude to MSD for Hosting 2011 ASDC Conference

(L-R): Conference Co-Chair Erin Buck, ASDC Director of Advo-cacy Cheri Dowling, Maryland School for the Deaf Superinten-dent James Tucker, and Conference Co-Chair Lori Bonheyo.

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By James Tucker, SuperintendentMaryland School for the Deaf

The Conference of Education-al Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD) recent-ly launched its “Child First” campaign. The goal is to educate the U.S. Congress, the White House, the U.S. Dept. of Education, and the general public about the original intent of the landmark special education law, Indi-viduals with Disabilities Act (IDEA); to raise issues relating to the misapplica-tion of the Least Restrictive Environ-ment (LRE) clause for certain groups of disabled students; and to affect chang-es in IDEA language during its upcom-ing reauthorization.

CEASD is committed to the principle that the Individualized Educational Program (IEP) and the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) are central and fundamental to the IDEA. Each and every disabled child is unique in his or her individual abilities, back-ground, experiences, and needs; and this identification of abilities and needs must happen before the discus-sion of educational placement begins. CEASD’s position paper on the upcom-ing reauthorization of IDEA is posted at www.ceasd.org/idea/downloads/ConceptPaperChildFirstIEP10-19-10.pdf.

The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) clause in IDEA has grown like a malignant cancer over the years and

unfortunately has become the lead-ing measuring stick used by individual states to determine if disabled chil-dren may be placed in local neighbor-hood schools. The states’ State Perfor-mance Plans (SPP) and companion Annual Performance Reports have quotas for placing disabled students in neighborhood schools. This “one size fits all” approach can be detrimental to the academic well being as well as the social well-being of thousands of disabled students, especially deaf and hard of hearing students.

A typical IEP meeting for a deaf child would first focus on placing the child in a local neighborhood school. This would mean discussions on procuring an educational interpreter, a notetak-er, itinerant teacher, and so forth. This is wrong.

IEP meetings should always first identify the abilities and needs of a

CEASD Launches “Child First” Campaign

29


disabled child before an educational placement is discussed. For deaf and hard of hearing children, language acquisition, qualified personnel, direct language access, academic progress, membership in a language commu-nity, and participation in after school programs must be discussed and quan-tified. Then, and only then, the educa-tional placement discussion may begin with a full review of the continuum of all educational placement options. Ultimately, the needs of the child must always drive placement decisions.

CEASD has hired Connie Garner, Poli-cy Director in the Government Strate-gies Practice Group, as its chief strat-egist for the “Child First” campaign. There will be many meetings with key legislators and policy makers during the IDEA reauthorization process. Garner was a former Policy Director for Disability and Special Populations for late Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (who was Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions), and she was a lead Democratic staffer for the reau-thorization of IDEA in 2004.

CEASD has asked the National Asso-ciation of the Deaf (NAD) and the American Society of Deaf Children (ASDC) for support. NAD delegates at the NAD conference last summer in Philadelphia declared the upcom-ing reauthorization of IDEA as their number one priority. The “Child First” campaign is now in its early stages and continues to be very fluid in its shape and form. It is expected that many more organizations (local, state and

national) will join this campaign in the next 12 months.

It is with hope that this campaign will also galvanize the parents of deaf and hard of hearing who have experienced frustrations with the misapplication of the LRE rule with their children.

Although the “Child First” campaign received its initial spark from CEASD, this campaign belongs to all disabled students and their families and advo-cates. It is time to stop the madden-ing push to place all disabled children in local neighborhood schools. It is time to stop arbitrary and destruc-tive quotas that force local education-al agencies to place more and more disabled students in local schools. It is time to go back to the original intent of IDEA where each and every child was the driving force behind the develop-ment of his or her IEP and the eventual educational placement.

The educational placement should always follow the needs of the child. The needs of the child should never be manipulated or twisted to fit the place-ment of the child in local schools. Let’s all look at the child first. Let the child lead the way! Child First!

Parents and guardians who wish to share their stories may contact CEASD Executive Director Joseph P. Finnegan, Jr. at [email protected]. Individ-uals who wish to donate to this cause may mail checks (payable to CEASD – “Child First” Campaign) to CEASD – Child First Campaign, P. O. Box 1778, St. Augus-tine, FL 32085- 1778. Donations are tax deductible.

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By Peter L. Bailey

As the former Director of Student Life and the current Associate Execu-tive Director at the Learn-ing Center for the Deaf, in Framingham, Mass., I continue to look for differ-ent ideas and ways to expand programs by iden-tifying their strengths and weaknesses. I gathered input from students, staff, and parents to develop after-school program goals and objectives in order to measure the progress of our program. Many parents, students, and staff appreciate being involved in the development of a new program within the school and, as a result, the program is more likely to succeed.

The need for programs has continued to increase over the years for many schools for the Deaf in this country. Unfortunately, these same schools are starting to see fewer deaf and hard of hearing students participating in after-school activities.

What conditions contribute to low enrollment and difficulty in attracting students to after-school programs? I decided to focus my graduate research project on this topic. I gathered input

from students, staff, and parents to determine the factors contributing to this problem by conducting this study at several schools. I chose schools that had student life departments.

In addition to identifying the need for funding, this study also identifies the reasons why not enough participants join programs offered through the Student Life Department at schools for the Deaf, and suggests ways to incor-porate the social (network), physical (well-being), Intellectual (cognitive), communicative (language access) and emotional (comfort zone) needs. This is also known as the SPICE philosophy. Currently, most local districts fund deaf and hard of hearing students’ academic placements through their Local Educational Authority (LEA).

How Important Are Student Life Programs for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students?

31


This funding, however, does not cover after-school programs, and this is our biggest challenge.

Schools for the Deaf have noticed that deaf and hard of hearing students have more opportunities to partici-pate in their residential schools’ extracurricular activities without feeling intimidated by communica-tion barriers they may experience in their neighborhood schools’ activi-ties. Many parents prefer that their deaf and hard of hearing children be part of activities at schools for the Deaf because they feel their children are more comfortable at these schools. Students who graduate from schools for the Deaf have expressed that they continue to feel a sense of belonging

at their schools after they leave. They feel more comfortable in communica-tion with teachers and residential staff and have full access to school extracur-ricular activities.

I hope that we, as parents and educa-tors, can convey the significance of after-school programs for deaf and hard of hearing students, to raise awareness of the barriers and benefits, to develop strategies for taking action, and to find the resources for additional funding.

Peter Bailey serves on the ASDC board, and can be contacted at [email protected].

How far can you run, when you can’t run far enough?

In Flying to the Light by Elyse Salpeter, 17-year-old Michael Anderson and his kid brother Danny, who is deaf, find themselves in mortal danger after their parents are kidnapped by ruthless biophysi-cist Samuel Herrington. Michael discovers Danny has a powerful gift—he knows what happens after a person dies—and now others want to know, too. The brothers must outwit and outrun Herrington, the FBI, and even fellow Americans in a harrowing cross-country chase. Whoever gets to Danny first will have

the power to control the fate of every person on earth.The book is a young adult spiritual thriller and available from Amazon at

www.amazon.com or Cool Well Press at www.coolwellpress.com.

Spiritual Thriller Has Deaf Character

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By Julie and Terry Stewart

Tova Stewart is our eight-year-old Deaf child. We are Deaf parents. Tova was given a once in lifetime opportuni-ty to be in a movie when she was six years old. A memo from Ohio School for the Deaf (OSD) Superintendent Dr. Ed Corbett was given to me; it announced the search for a four-to-six-year-old deaf girl for a role as a daughter of two leading characters. I contacted Tyler Davidson, the producer, and arranged a meeting with him and the director, Jeff Nichols.

They came to OSD to meet with me first for questions. I took them over to meet Tova during her recess. They asked Tova questions such as what her favorite movie was (How to Train a Dragon). Immediately after meeting Tova, they wanted her to come up to the production office in Chagrin Falls, near Cleveland, for a screen test.

The point of the screen test was to see how well Tova could take and follow the directions and interact with the other actors. It was a long week before they e-mailed me to offer Tova the role. Jeff and Tyler came down to our house with an interpreter to finalize the informa-tion and details. The filming took 24 days with about 42 locations, which is pretty quick for filmmaking. Everyone

was amazed with Tova.For Tova, it was way better than send-

ing her to a movie camp. Everyone was so nice and loving towards Tova. We have a list of nannies/mannies if we ever need one in the future. The hours were crazy—filming in the morning, and then the next day, filming late into the night—but it all was good. Tova really enjoyed herself and never complained about being on the set, except for the times she wanted to see her friends back home.

We were amazed by how Tova inter-acted with her movie parents and the director, as well as the crew. The language barrier wasn’t even there thanks to the interpreter, Melissa, who was constantly at Tova’s side to provide communication access. It was like Tova had been doing movies her whole life!

I was bit concerned about Tova being afraid because of the storyline. We would talk about the scenes that would

I Deafinitely Can!

Tova Stewart Shines in Sundance Film

34

be filmed that day and how it is related to the story. There were some scary scenes she had to be in with Michael Shannon pertaining to his character’s dreams. She handled it all very well. I remember one night when Michael had to do an intense scene and he was concerned about Tova being afraid of him. After filming the

scene, he came to me asking how to sign, “I’m okay, you okay?” I watched him and Jessica Chastain checking in with Tova to be sure they all were okay, signing, “ME OKAY, YOU OKAY?” They developed a wonderful relationship, which I felt really showed in the movie. I still get goose bumps remembering that night.

The movie was selected to be shown to the world for the first time at Sundance 2011. We took a family trip out there, and Tova got to see Jessica, Michael, Jeff and some of the crew once again. Seeing each other again was one of the best moments! It was like they never lost in touch. Jessica remembered signs she picked up during the filming seven months before! Tova remained humble throughout the movie premieres. It was really odd for us to see her on the big screen and her sitting next to us! She enjoyed the cast party afterwards, and had a fun time playing and laughing with the crew members.

We are proud of Tova for having a movie making experience under her belt and being so very humble about it. She does want to be in more movies—what kid wouldn’t want to?

I Deafinitely Can! The Endeavor is excited to feature stories of deaf and

hard of hearing individuals who test and go above their limits. If you know of someone with a story to

tell, e-mail the editor at [email protected].

35


Early Hearing Detection and Inter-vention Conference Scheduled for March 5-6 in St. LouisEarly Hearing Detection and Interven-tion (EHDI) will hold the 2012 EHDI conference on March 5-6 in St. Louis at the Union Station Marriot. For more information, visit www.ehdiconfer-ence.org.

Save the Date: March 3The National Summit on Deaf Educa-tion will hold a pre-conference session in St. Louis on March 3. This full-day working meeting will review the Na-tional Agenda goals and identify mea-surable outcomes. Small and large group discussions will focus on iden-tifying appropriate indicators and the resources, timelines, and benchmarks needed to address each goal.

5th Biennial Deaf Studies Today! Conference to be held April 12-14The fifth biennial Deaf Studies Today! Conference will be held at Utah Valley University on April 12, 13, and 14. To get more information, visit www.deaf-studies.org.

Final Part C Regulations IssuedFinal regulations governing the Ear-ly Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities were released on Sept. 28, 2011. The IDEA Part C final regulations became effec-tive on Oct. 28, 2011. For more, visit www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-09-28/html/2011-22783.htm.

2012 DeafNation Expo ScheduleDeafNation is entering its 10th year of DeafNation Expos with yet another exciting lineup for 2012. As always, registration and admission to DeafNa-tion Expos are free! DeafNation Expo’s schedule is as follows:

March 17: Orlando, FLMarch 31: Dallas, TXApril 14: Atlanta, GAApril 21: Denver, COMay 5: Pomona, CAJuly 29-Aug. 1: DeafNation World Expo, Las Vegas, NVOct. 13: Pleasanton, CAOct. 20: Seattle, WANov. 3: Chicago, IL

Details are at www.deafnation.com/dnexpo.

In the News...

Described and Captioned Media

ProgramFree-Loan Media

for Educational Accessibility

The DCMP library provides over 4,000 captioned educational me-dia titles to teachers, family mem-bers, and others who work with K-12 students who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind.

www.readcaptions acrossamerica.org

37


AlabamaCamp Shocco for the Deaf216 North St. EastP.O. Box 602Talladega, AL 35161www.campshocco.org

Space Camp/Aviation Challenge U.S. Space & Rocket CenterOne Tranquility BaseHuntsville, AL 358051-800-63-SPACEwww.spacecamp.com/deaf

CaliforniaCamp Grizzly July 29–August 44708 Roseville Rd. #112N. Highlands, CA 95060916- 349-7500 V916-993-3048 VPwww.norcalcenter.org

Calif. Lions Camp, Inc. Camp PacificaMail Box 110257 Belle Vue Rd.Atwater, CA 95301www.californialionscamp.org

Camp Hapitok3360 Education Dr.San Luis Obispo, CA 93405805-593-3125www.camphapitok.org

Lions Wilderness Camp P.O. Box 195

Knightsen, CA 94548www.lionswildcamp.org

ColoradoAspen Camp of the Deaf and Hard of HearingP.O. Box 1494Aspen, CO 81612970-923-2511 V970-315-0513 VPwww.aspencamp.org

ConnecticutCamp Isola Bella139 North Main St.West Hartford, CT 06107860-570-2300www.campisolabella.org

GeorgiaCamp JulienaGA Council for the Hearing Impaired, Inc. 4151 Memorial Dr. Suite 103-B Decatur, GA 30032404-292-5312

www.gachi.org/camp/camp.htm

IllinoisCamp Lions of Illinois2814 DeKalb AvenueSycamore, IL 60178800-933-3937www.lionsofillinoisfoundation.org

Stan Mikita Hockey SchoolJune 9 – 16, 20121143 West Lake St.Chicago, IL 60607773-445-7033www.ahiha.org

IndianaIndiana Deaf Camps, Inc.July 15 – 20, 2012100 West 86th St.Indianapolis, IN 46260317-846-3404 ext. 305www.indeafcamps.org

It’s Not Too Early to Think About Summer Camps!

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KansasThe St. Joseph SERTOMA ClubsSummer Camp for theDeaf or Hard Of HearingJuly 8–13, 201214928 West 126th St. Olathe, KS 66062 913-324-5203 VPwww.sertomadeafcamp.org

MarylandLions Camp Merrick3650 Rick Hamilton Pl.P.O. Box 56Nanjemoy, MD 20662301-870-5858www.lionscampmerrick.org

CueCamp FriendshipP.O. Box 9173Silver Spring, MD 20916 800-459-3529 www.cuedspeech.org

Deaf Camps, Inc.417 Oak Court Catonsville, MD 21227 443-739-0716www.deafcampsinc.org

MichiganCamp Chris Williams586-778-4188www.michdhh.org

MinnesotaCourage Center Camps 3915 Golden Valley Rd. Minneapolis, MN 55422 866-520-0504www.couragecenter.org

MissouriCamp Barnabas 901 Teas Trail 2060 Purdy, MO 65734 417-886-9800www.campbarnabas.org

New HampshireWindsor Mountain Intl. One World Way Windsor, NH 03244 800-862-7760 www.windsormountain.org

New MexicoApache Creek Deaf and Youth RanchP.O. Box 260 Reserve, NM 87830

575-533-6820 www.apachecreek.us

National Leadership & Literacy CampJuly 7–25, 2012New Mexico School for the Deaf402-206-2527www.nllcamp.com

New YorkCamp Mark Seven144 Mohawk Hotel Rd. Old Forge, NY 13420 315-357-6089www.campmark7.org

Cradle Beach Camp8038 Old Lakeshore Rd. Angola, New York 14006716-549-6307www.cradlebeach.org

Rochester Institute of Technology National Technical Institute for the Deaf Steps To Success: Aug. 3-5Techgirlz: July 28–Aug. 3TechBoyz: July 28–Aug. 3 52 Lomb Memorial Dr. Rochester, NY 14623 585-475-6700 www.ntid.rit.edu

North CarolinaCamp Sertoma June 17–22, 20121105 Camp Sertoma DrWestfield, NC, 27053336-593-8057 www.campsertomaclub.org

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OregonNAD Youth Leadership ProgramCamp TaloaliJuly 23–August 19, 2012P.O. Box 32Stayton, OR 97383971-239-8153www.nad.org/ylccamperwww.taloali.us

Northwest Christian Camp for the DeafJuly 22–27, 2012P.O. Box 21011Salem, OR 97307503-390-2433www.gmdeaf.org

PennsylvaniaCamp HEROP O Box 810

Millville, PA 17846570-458-6530www.campvictory.orgLions Camp Kirby1735 Narrows Hill Rd. Upper Black Eddy, PA 18972610-982-5731cp2.enter.net/~c63587x1/

TennesseeBill Rice Ranch Deaf Camp627 Bill Rice Ranch Rd. Murfreesboro, TN 37128615-893-2767www.billriceranch.org

Camp Summer signBrentwood Baptist Deaf Church7777 Concord Rd.Brentwood, TN 37027615-290-5156VPwww.brentwooddeaf.org

TexasIsaiahs Place231 HCR 1207Whitney, TX 76692254-694-7771www.isaiahsplace.org

Texas School for the Deaf Summer Programs1102 South Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78704 512-462-5353www.tsd.state.tx.us/sum_prg/index.html

VermontAustine Green Mountain Lions Camp209 Austine Dr.Brattleboro, VT 05301 802-258-9513www.vcdhh.org

WisconsinCenter for Communication Hearing & DeafnessFamily Learning Vacation10243 West National AvenueWest Allis, WI 53227414-604-2200www.cchdwi.org

Wisconsin Lions Camp3834 County Rd. ARosholt, WI 54473715-677-4969www.wisconsinlionscamp.com

Do You Have a Story to Tell?The Endeavor wants stories from you. These stories can be about your

experiences finding out your child was deaf, early intervention, educa-tion, socialization, advocacy, or anything else that can help other fami-lies on their journeys.

The deadline to submit stories for the next issue of The Endeavor is May 1, 2012. Send stories and photographs to Editor Tami Hossler at [email protected].

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Council on Education of the DeafThe Council on Educa-tion of the Deaf (CED) is an organization spon-sored by Association of College Educators – Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Al-exander Graham Bell As-sociation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Ameri-can Society of Deaf Chil-dren, Council of American Instructors of the Deaf, Conference of Educational Administra-tors of Schools and Programs for the Deaf, National Association of the Deaf, and Council on Exceptional Children/Division on Communication Disorders and Deafness. CED maintains high standards for persons working with deaf and/or hard of hearing students in the education process by certifying professionals according to established guidelines in specific areas of training and experience. ASDC member Cathy Rhoten serves as CED president.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing AllianceThe Deaf and Hard of Hearing Alliance (DHHA) focuses on public policy relat-ed to improving the quality of life for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Members include Alexander Graham Bell Association, American Academy of Audiology, American Academy of Oto-laryngology-Head and Neck Surgery,

American Society for Deaf Children, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Conference of Educa-tional Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf, Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf, Cued Language Network of America, Hearing Loss Association of America, National Association of the Deaf, National Court Reporters Association, National Cued Speech Association, Telecommunica-tions for the Deaf, Inc., Testing, Evalua-tion, and Certification Unit.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN) is a coalition of, by, and for deaf and hard of hearing Americans working to im-prove access and opportunities for the nation’s 28 million citizens with hearing loss. DHHCAN members in-

ASDC Advocacy Coalitions and Partnerships

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clude the American Association of the Deaf-Blind, the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association, the Asso-ciation of Late-Deafened Adults, the American Society for Deaf Children, the Conference of Educational Admin-istrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf, Communication Service for the Deaf, Deaf Seniors of America, Gal-laudet University, Gallaudet University Alumni Association, National Associa-tion of the Deaf, National Black Deaf Advocates, National Catholic Office of the Deaf, Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc., USA Deaf Sports Federation, and The Cap-tion Center/WGBH.

Described and Captioned Media Project The mission of Described and Captioned Media Project (DCMP) is to provide all persons who are deaf or hard of hear-ing awareness of and equal access to communication and learning through the use of captioned educational media and supportive collateral materials. The CMP also acts as a captioning informa-tion and training center. The ultimate goal of the CMP is to permit media to be an integral part in the lifelong learn-ing process for all stakeholders in the deaf and hard of hearing community: adults, students, parents, and educa-tors. ASDC serves on the DCMP Advi-sory Board.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Partnership The Individuals with Disabilities Educa-

tion Act (IDEA) Partnership is a collab-orative effort of more than 55 national organizations, as well as technical as-sistance providers and State and local organizations and agencies. Together with the Office of Special Education Programs, the partner organizations form a community to transform the way we serve students and families through IDEA implementation.

National Leadership Consortium in Sensory DisabilitiesThe National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities (NLCSD) works to increase, through specialized doctoral training, the number and quality of leadership personnel competent in the areas of higher education and research to improve education services for in-fants, children and youth who have sensory disabilities (deafness/hard of hearing, blindness/low vision, and deafblindness) including those with multiple disabilities.

Sensory Disabilities Roundtable The Sensory Disabilities Roundtable Coalition was revitalized to bring to-gether organizations to advocate and educate on issues related to the educa-tion of children who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. The coalition will focus its efforts on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as well as the Individuals with Disabili-ties Education Act (IDEA). Coalition members include: A.G. Bell, American Association of the Deaf-Blind, Ameri-can Society for Deaf Children, Confer-

ASDC Advocacy Coalitions and Partnerships

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ence of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf, Helen Keller National Center, National Association of the Deaf, and the Na-tional Federation of the Blind.

State Leaders Summit on Deaf EducationThe mission of the National Summit on Deaf Education is to promote and advance knowledge and leadership through professional and parent stake-holder partnerships that result in col-

laborative state education systems and improved outcomes for children and youth who are deaf or hard of hearing. The National Summit on Deaf Educa-tion joins leaders in education and ad-ministration with parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing for the purpose of designing educational sys-tems and services that will successfully launch every deaf or hard of hearing student from birth to young adulthood to his/her highest academic and social potential.

The Phi Kappa Zeta Sorority, Inc., announced on Jan. 15 the selection of Tami Hossler as its 2011 Woman of the Year.

A hearing mother of a deaf daughter and a hearing daugh-ter, Hossler is an untiring and fierce advocate for the rights of Deaf children to a bilin-gual education. She became involved in deaf education when she learned her daughter, Erica, was deaf. At that time they lived in Indiana, and were referred to the Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD) by a knowledgeable audi-ologist where she witnessed her daugh-ter blossom in the school’s bilingual program that used both American Sign Language and English in the classroom.

Tami has worked for deaf children all over the country, from Florida to Alaska

to California to Washington, D.C.

Tami serves on the Deaf Bilingual Coalition (DBC) board and also is DBC’s outreach coordinator. Addi-tionally, she is on the ASDC board and edits the ASDC’s quarterly publication, The Endeavor. She is on the Education Committee for

the Florida Association of the Deaf, now heavily involved in passing a bill of rights for Deaf children, and is a member of the coalition for the Indiana School for the Deaf.

As a role model for many hear-ing parents with deaf children, Tami spends hours on the phone talking with parents on advocacy, language and cultural topics. A new grandmother, Tami lives in Florida with her husband.

Tami Hossler is Phi Kappa Zeta’s 2011 Woman of the Year

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Deborah & Andrew AdlerBrianne AlbertsAllstate Giving CampaignJeff & Amy AmundsenJane BarnettDolores & Alan BartelWilliam Becker (in memory of Jennifer Marie Folz)Beth & Dwight BenedictRuby Bowden (in memory of Vivian Roop)Bubbling Brooke DesignDean CampbellJody CaseiroGuillaume & Margaret ChastelJon ChildCathy CorradoBeth CowanJames & Jodee CraceKristin & Stephen DiperriJohn EgbertLisalee & Stephen EgbertJames EpsteinJeffrey & Debra EricksonSally EstradaJoe & Margaret FinneganMr. & Mrs. George Folz (in memory of Jennifer Marie Folz)Michael FrameTimothy FrelichMelvin & Linda Fuelner (in memory of Jennifer Marie Folz)Stephen GilchristMervin & Carol Garretson

Hannah HardyRichard & Jane HenderVandora HendersonJeff & Tami HosslerKaren HuanScott HuanConnor HuntT. Alan & Vicki HurwitzLorna IrwinDathaniel JonesJohn JunJenifer KastenNathan KatzRichard & Debrar Knight (in memory of Jennifer Marie Folz)Lisa KornbergRozanne LandersVladmir LeonidasJacqueline LevineDr. Eric LundMark & Tracy MacGregor (in memory of Jennifer Marie Folz)Chris MajorNancy MassaroniDr. Cheron MayhallBraelynn McDanielJulie MitchinerIrene Muensterman (in memory of Jennifer Marie Folz)Lawrence & Betty NewmanLauren NukesLynn Ober

Continued on next page

Donors to ASDC’s Annual Appeal

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Interacting with Deaf people will provide opportunities for ASL de-velopment for the family and the child. Below are some websites for learning ASL.

Signs For Intelligencewww.signsforintelligence.com

Everyday ASLwww.everydayasl.com

Signing Timewww.signingtime.com

Baby Signs www.babysigns.com

Sign 2 Me www.sign2me.com

ASL Universitywww.lifeprint.com

ASL Prowww.aslpro.com

Babies and Sign Languagewww.babiesandsignlanguage.com

DawnSignPresswww.dawnsignpress.com

Harris Communicationswww.harriscomm.com

Websites of Interest

Continued from previous pageGina OlivaMai PhamChristopher & Yolanda PierreDr. Jeanne PrickettRiolo FamilyJean RitcheyDennis RodriguezKayla RodriguezLiz RosenbergJack SchwalbKathleen SetzerSheila SheaSign Crafters Inc. (in memory of Jennifer Marie Folz)Mr. & Mrs. Mel Singer (in memory of Jen-nifer Marie Folz)

Nancy SimmonsAngela Smith (in memory of Jennifer Marie Folz)Michael SuchyScott & April TaylorToys R Us Children’s FundUnited Jewish Endowment FundUnited Way of the Capital RegionGeralda VigilVisualize ASLJoseph WeisenauerMark & Annette Werner (in memory of Jennifer Marie Folz)Richard & Teresa WickstromNicholas WilhiteAlan & Martha WismerStuart Yamartino

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Laurent Clerc and Thomas H. Gallau-det are the most impor-tant figures in American Deaf history, having c o - f o u n d e d the American School for the Deaf in 1817, the first permanent school for the Deaf in North America. Their work allowed for the proliferation of American Sign Language, and its acceptance as an important element in Deaf education and culture.

In the American K-12 social stud-ies curriculum, history books are filled with information about notable lead-ers like President George Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr. But what about Clerc? Deaf learners deserve to learn about Clerc in their history classes as early as they learn about Washington and Martin Luther King. There are texts that already feature Clerc as an impor-tant historical figure, such as Have You Ever Seen…? An American Sign Language (ASL) Handshape DVD/Book (HYES), and Emily McCully’s My Heart Glow: Alice Cogswell, Thomas Gallaudet, and the Birth of American Sign Language. These texts are designed with Deaf learners in mind. So why is it that Deaf children are not being educated on their own culture

and history? The omis-sion of Deaf culture and history from Deaf learn-ers’ educa-tion impedes understanding of their own identity as Deaf people,

and strips them of the ability to under-stand their experience and culture with-in the continuum of other historical figures and events.

ASL Rose makes the following recom-mendations to provide opportunities for all students to learn about Deaf history:

A plethora of Deaf historical informa-tion should be made available through books and DVDs. Educational programs for the Deaf should recognize Deaf history as an integral component of the curriculum.

Technical scholarly work should be “simplified” in order to create age-appropriate Deaf history materials for students. For example, Harlan Lane’s scholarly When the Mind Hears, about Clerc’s life journey, has been abridged into a children’s version, Laurent Clerc: The Story of His Early Years, by Cathryn Carroll.

Deaf history materials should be inte-

Deaf History Sails Into All Educational Settings

Continued on page 47

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By LisaLee Egbert, Ph.D.

When I was 18, my parents announced that we were taking a trip to the Grand Canyon. Coupled with the arrogance of my age and the fact that I had never seen the Grand Canyon in person, my excitement for the trip was nil. I grew up between California and Texas. I was in awe of the vast ocean and the vistas from the mountaintops of California. Unlike the tumbleweeds of the movies, Texas skies took my breath away as I drove through the hill country. I did not want to go on a fami-ly vacation to “a big hole in the ground!”

I had no schema for the Grand Canyon, no real prior knowledge of the “big hole in the ground.” Schema is prior knowl-edge, understanding and experience of an event, place, feeling, and more. In terms of life skills, schema enriches us. When we arrived at the Grand Canyon, my parents forced me out of the van. “It’s just a hole,” I muttered and rolled out of the vehicle. As I walked closer to the cliff, tears began forming in my eyes. When I reached the edge, I could scarcely see through my water-filled eyes. The Grand Canyon was not a “big hole in the ground.” It was layer upon layer of sculptured earth that was as enormous as the California mountains and ocean and as immeasurable as the Texas skies.

Schema, in terms of building literacy, is critical. We expect children to have some experiences when they get to school (such as, What is a TV? Where do you live?). As adults we might be able to transfer schema from one topic to another topic. For example, one might have a schema for working on a Mac computer. The knowledge of the Mac might help us on a PC or vice versa. If children are never exposed to some-thing, it is extraordinarily difficult for them to talk about it, let alone read and write about it.

Building a literacy base in terms of schema will empower and scaffold all children in their voyage to grade level reading and writing. Schema develop-ment can happen spontaneously or be planned. If you and children happen upon a praying mantis in the yard, take time to talk about it: What color is it? Is the torso long or short? How big is it? Compare and contrast the “arms” and the “legs” of the insect. Later, you may want to jump on the Internet with

Building Literacy Through Schema and the Grand Canyon

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your child and look up the bug or go to the library to get a book about insects. When insects are introduced at school or in a general conversation, the child will have an understanding of the topic.

Or you may plan a family vacation to a different state or geographical loca-tion. You may take the train, the car, the subway, or plane... you may go to grandma and grandpa’s house or visit Mickey Mouse. Schema building can also occur within the act of reading and writing itself.

The more a child can experience life, the more schema the child builds; the more prior knowledge the child can call upon for understanding, the better chance the child has for comprehen-sion. The more schema that is banked in a children’s minds, the more they can relate to what is being read to them or what they must write.

A “simple” trip to the zoo is not so simple after all. Allowing a child to see the grandeur of the elephants, the visu-al playfulness of the monkeys, and the feeding of the hippos enables the child to relate to the story.

Equally important as exposing the child to something is discussing what transpired. Conversing solidifies the experience for the child. Giving words to smells, feelings, locations and people allows schema to be even richer. Pictures allow the child to revisit the experience.

Literacy, reading and writing, is more than words on the page. Literacy is understanding, comprehending and grasping what is being read and writ-ten. Building schema is essential to building strong readers and writers.

grated into the larger context of Ameri-can history and social studies.

Deaf history should be offered in the school curriculum as early as preschool.

Historians and educators should develop partnerships to incorporate preschool-12th-grade-level contents on Deaf history in their curriculum.

Deaf history teachers should meet with professionals for dialogue, collabo-ration, and development of standards to measure curriculum and student progress.

Deaf learners should have access to a variety of texts and media, includ-

ing magazines (i.e. Deaf Life), e-maga-zines (i.e. KISSFIST), newspapers (i.e. SigNews), newsletters (i.e. ASLTA), e-newsletters (i.e. Deaf History Inter-national), e-journals (i.e. Digital Jour-nal Deaf Studies) and vlogs/blogs (i.e. “Deafhood Discussions”).

Collaboration should occur between scholars of Deaf cultural studies and Deaf historical studies, so that both groups have greater access to important sources of information.

A centralized collection of instruc-tional media on Deaf history should be made available for the distribution of materials to Deaf educational programs.

Excerpted from www.aslrose.com. Reprinted with permission.

Continued from page 45

Deaf History Sails

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Alabama School for the Deaf205 South St. EastPO Box 698Talladega, AL 35161(256) 761-3214(866) 936-0016 VP(256) 761-3278 Faxwww.aidb.orgwww.asdsilentwarriors.comAlabama School for the Deaf is an accredited school program celebrating over 150 years of serving children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

American School for the Deaf139 N. Main St.West Hartford, CT 06107(860) 570-2304(860) 570-2301 Faxwww.asd-1817.org

Arkansas School for the Deaf2400 W. Markham St.Little Rock, AR 72203(501) 324-9506 (501) 246-8452 VP501-324-9559 Faxwww.arschool-forthedeaf.orgArkansas School for the

Deaf was founded in 1850. Since that time, ASD has become a tradition in the state, and a leader in the field of Deaf education na-tionwide. Its mission is to create learning opportu-nities for academic excel-lence and personal inde-pendence.

Maryland School for the Deaf101 Clarke Pl.Frederick, MD 21705(301) 360-2000(240) 575-2966 VP(301) 360-2001 TTY Since 1868, Maryland School for the Deaf has been at the forefront in shaping educational trends for deaf and hard of hear-ing children and youth. Today, MSD is interna-tionally acknowledged for educational leadership that embraces innovative instruction and emerging technologies. An MSD edu-cation is available to deaf and hard of hearing Mary-land children from birth to age 21. MSD also offers comprehensive educational programs fully accredited by the Middle States As-

sociation of Colleges and Schools and serves children across a broad spectrum of intellectual and physical abilities, including those with mild to severe ad-ditional disabilities. Ad-ditionally, MSD provides extraordinary support to children and families and is FREE to Maryland resi-dents.

Nebraska Regional Programs for Stu-dents who are Deaf or Hard of HearingESU#91117 S. East St.Hastings, NE 68901(402) 463-5611 nrpdhh.esu9.orgThis program was devel-oped to support the concept of regional programs and cooperative relationships with the school districts, educational service units and consortium of school districts in order to:• Maximize resources in providing programs and services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing;• Provide a network of sup-port and services that will serve as the state infra-

ASDC’s Renewing Educational and Organizational Members

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ASDC provides a very special membership option for schools and organizations. If your school or organization would like to join ASDC as an Educational Member, ASDC will provide your school or organization with:• A free one-year membership for all of your families • A special thank you in the next monthly e-mail blast• A special thank you in The Endeavor• A special thank you in the news section of the ASDC website• A link to your school or organization’s website • A post of your contact information on ASDC’s Educational/Organizational

Membership webpageMembership is only $250.

If you would like more information, e-mail [email protected] or call (800) 942-2732.

Membership Package for Schools/Organizations

structure to link programs together and assist in the enhancement of a child’s educational program;• Contain costs now in or-der to assure future fund-ing;• Provide continued sup-port to quality educational programs, which may in-clude center-based options;• Reinforce the belief that children who are deaf or hard of hearing benefit from education with hear-ing and deaf or hard of hearing peers;• Continue state leadership and support for a full con-tinuum of placement op-tions for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Pennsylvania School for the Deaf100 W. School House Ln.Philadelphia, PA 19144(215) 951-4700www.psd.orgThe Pennsylvania School for the Deaf provides qual-ity education and enriching life experiences to prepare deaf and hard of hearing students for life-long par-ticipation in the commu-nities of their choice. PSD believes given an early, consistent and accessible language-rich environment and challenged by high ex-pectations, learners will attain: academic and tech-nological competence, the ability to think critically

and creatively, and a strong sense of positive self-iden-tity. Effective instruction links learning to life and fosters successful indepen-dence through academic, social, physical, cultural and self-reflecting personal experiences. Language ac-cess is the center of learn-ing and literacy and levels the «playing field» for opti-mal achievement for all. An appropriate ASL/English bilingual program includes signed, written and spoken languages for deaf and hard of hearing learners. Each learner is unique. Valuing and respecting differences enriches the quality of life for everyone. Meaningful

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partnerships with families and diverse communities provide the foundation for personal growth and character development. Students flourish when engaged in safe and caring communities with which they identify.

St. Rita’s School for the Deaf1720 Glendale Milford Rd.Cincinnati, OH 45215(513) 771-7600 www.srsdeaf.org.A Catholic day/residential program whose primary mission is to educate in-fants and students who need communication and technological support. St. Rita’s is committed to providing a safe, value-oriented environment that facilitates the educational, social and spiritual devel-opment of each student. It believes the best way to educate deaf and hard of hearing children is through comprehensive commu-nication. This philosophy offers a child every avail-able stimulus for human interaction, including sign language, lip-reading, as-sistive listening devices, visual aids and technology. St. Rita’s believes every

student is different and has his or her own way of learning and communi-cating. Through the phi-losophy of comprehensive communication, teachers and students are able to choose which method of communication works best for them. This approach to communicating promotes an accepting and positive classroom environment, allowing students to focus their attention on what is really important, learning. Speech therapy and audito-ry training are major parts of the comprehensive com-munication philosophy, as well as using sign language and speech simultaneously. Each student receives ther-apy from the staff of certi-fied speech therapists. In addition, unless a child has a cochlear implant, he or she is offered an auditory trainer through the sixth grade to take advantage of any residual hearing.

The Learning Center for the Deaf848 Central St.Framingham, MA 01701(508) 879-5110www.tlcdeaf.orgThe Learning Center for the Deaf (TLC) serves deaf and

hard of hearing students from infancy through high school. Founded in 1970 with several basic princi-ples in mind, the following continue to be prevalent within their philosophy.TLC fosters respect for each of their students, for their families, and for every staff member. TLC faculty shares the firm belief that learning is a life-long pro-cess which can be exciting and fun. TLC creates an environment where com-munication and language are continuously accessible.TLC provides academic opportunities and high standards for all deaf and hard of hearing students. Throughout its history, TLC has been a leader in Deaf education. It was the first school in Massachu-setts to depart from the “oral” method of education and to advocate the use of sign language in addition to spoken English. In 1988, TLC became a bilingual and bicultural school.

Dawn Sign Press6130 Nancy Ridge Dr.San Diego, CA 92121(858) 625-0600(858) 768-0428 VP(858) 625-2336 Faxwww.dawnsign.com

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Invest in Our Future!

�e NAD joins hands with ASDC in investing in the future of deaf and hard of hearing children

National Association of the Deafwww.nad.org/join

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[email protected] Information and Referral Line:

(800) 942-ASDC (2732)

MEMBERSHIP FORM

Name:__________________________ E-mail: ___________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________

City: ___________________________ State:____________ Zip:__________

Phone: Voice/TTY/Videophone

Membership Type Individual memberships _______$40 per year: Individual/Family Membership _______$100 per year: Three-year Individual/Family Membership _______$5,000 one-time fee: Lifetime Membership _______First-Year Free Membership (Families with deaf or hard of hearing children are eligible for a FREE one-year membership. Just fill out this form and mail, e-mail or fax it back to us.)Deaf or Hard of Hearing Child’s Name: ___________________________________ Date of Birth: ___________________________________

Group memberships _______$250 per year: Parent Affiliate Group ( ____ Number of Parent Members) _______$125 per year: Library Membership _______$250 per year: Educational Membership _______$250 per year: Organizational Membership

I would like to send more than my membership dues. Enclosed is a tax-deductible donation: $10 $25 $50 $100 _______OtherTotal Enclosed: $__________ Make checks payable to American Society for Deaf Children. Please charge my Visa or MasterCard:Card Number:_________________________________Expiration Date:______________

Please return to:American Society for Deaf Children #2047

800 Florida Ave. NE, Washington, D.C. 20002-3695FAX: (410) 795-0965 • Phone: (800) 942-2732 • E-mail: [email protected]

ASDC

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OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE.

Consider joining ASDC today, and receive The Endeavor three times each year, discount admission to the ASDC biennial conference, access to invaluable resources from the ASDC media library, and access to speakers for your parent support group or event. You will also join forces with thousands of other families across the country, and support an organization that advocates for crucial national legislation and services for deaf and hard of hearing children.

American Society for Deaf Children #2047 800FloridaAve.NE•Washington,D.C.20002-3695

(800)942-2732•[email protected]•www.deafchildren.org

Mission StatementThe American Society for Deaf Children supports and educates families of deaf and hard of hearing children and advocates for high-quality programs and services.

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Endeavor Winter 2012

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