hemdeaf.org

About two weeks ago, I received an email from a D/HH teacher at a local high school.  He said “his kids” were getting ready to participate in the annual Global Awareness Week during the early part of March, and wanted to know if I could meet with them and help in some way.

So, I met with him and the kids this week.  What a great bunch of kids!  They were 15-17 years old, Deaf with and without CI, hard of hearing, one hard of hearing with low vision; some oral and some signing.  It was just a bit of a challenge to communicate, but we found ways and the oral kids actually participated just as much as the ASL kids.  When we each introduced ourselves, I could see the oral kids being somewhat defensive, but as the meeting went on, they saw that I was sincerely interested in their input just as much as the Deaf kids.

Now, during this meeting, I observed some things about the kids.  Today I want to talk about two boys in particular.  They are brothers.  They are also two different entities, like the sun and the moon.  One is outgoing, social, active, and seems to be doing well with the CI, but also signs - not fluently, but he can communicate.  His brother clearly does not have language.  He doesn’t speak well, doesn’t sign well.  He is not showing the same outgoing, motivated, go-getter attitude of his brother.  He doesn’t have any real dreams for his future.  I’d like to spend more time with him, see if there is a spark we can light in him, and give him the natural, visual language he deserves.  His post-high school plans are just to go to the local tech, and find work somewhere.  He doesn’t have the grades to go to NTID or Gally, where he could thrive in a visual learning environment.  His teacher wanted a job coach for this boy - perhaps if he could be exposed to different jobs that Deaf people do, he might get fired up about his own future and be motivated to achieve more in school.  His brother hasn’t decided what he will do yet, but he doesn’t show the same malaise about life; he’s checking things out and thinking, just hasn’t decided yet.

It was so clear to me.  Language is everything.  It doesn’t just give meaning to words or ideas.  It gives meaning to life, and without it there can be no sharing, no growth, no FUTURE.  Not having language is so isolating.  This kid I met - his parents must care about both boys.  They were willing to spend thousands to give them cochlear implants, but clearly that’s not enough.  Deaf kids don’t need to hear and speak so much as they need to communicate, which can’t happen in the absence of the chance for cognitive development and access to natural, visual language like American Sign Language.  I experienced that in my early years and I see this in the kids I met at the high school this week.  Some of them seem to be doing okay, but really, they’re just doing what is expected of them by the people around them, and they are capable of so much more…

Got to wake ‘em up!