Making people aware of what deaf kids can do

We spend lots of time doing things that involve deafness. Taking care of Chance's needs, trying to make services that deaf children receive better, and making people aware of what deaf children are capable of. Awareness of deafness and what it means is sorely lacking. I did not know much until I had Chance, and I see now that most people out there are not very aware either.

It is not a bad thing to be the means to educate people about deafness, but that is harder than it seems sometimes. For instance, this past week end I had a man ask me about my deaf son.
"So, you have a deaf son?" He asked me.
"Yes." I replied.
"You have a deaf son that signs?" He asked.
"No, I have a deaf son that talks." I said.
"So, you have a deaf son that signs and talks?" He asked.
"No, I have a deaf son that talks." I responded.

The man was very nice and I appreciated his interest. But even after that conversation, the last thing he said to me, and I know he meant it as a nice thing, was, "I have seen deaf people sign to songs and it really touches me."

Sigh. This is pretty indicative of how many conversations go when you tell someone that you have a deaf child. Someone will ask me about my deaf son and no matter how I tell them that he talks, the person always assumes that he must sign and maybe talks on the side. Unless Chance is with me; then he proves himself when he talks to me and doesn't use any sign.

I am not against sign. It is just difficult to get through to people that deaf children can talk. That they do talk and they go to mainstream schools and they talk to peers on the playground.

These perceptions about what deaf means and what deaf kids do, has become very apparent during the legislative session in our state.

There is a bill moving its way through the legislature that will allow children who are non-verbal to attend the School for the Deaf. These would be kids that do not talk of course. Several parents have been trying to explain to the legislators that many deaf children talk and that introducing kids who have other issues besides deafness, will weaken the specialized attention that needs to be given to deaf children so that they can reach their potential. Spending time now in specialized education for deaf children with qualified teachers opens up the world to these kids. If they are in classrooms with kids with a wide variety of disabilities that have nothing to do with deafness, the School for the Deaf ceases to be the School for the Deaf. It becomes the School for the disabled. No longer will classrooms and teachers be able to focus on deafness because some of the kids are not deaf and have other needs entirely.

We the parents of deaf children are seen as the bad guys, being against this bill. We are seen as wanting to shut other kids out who have needs that their parents are trying to get met. I fully understand trying to get your child’s needs met. I spend a lot of time trying to meet the needs of my child. But since many people do not understand deafness and that many deaf children are fully capable of being on grade level with their peers and doing things that peers their age can do, you have bills that can move their way through the system that would put non-verbal children with all kinds of special needs with deaf children. Many see them as one and the same.

I think that any child should get the help that they need. School for the Deaf is not the answer to every disability. It is not fair to the deaf kids or the non deaf kids. School for the Deaf teachers are trained to work with deaf children. They will not be able to offer the services that children with other disabilities need, just as a teacher specializing in blind children would not be able to give Chance what he needs.

In my mind, it all comes back to education about deaf children. I think that if people really understood what deaf children do in school, and what literal miracles can be wrought with teachers who are specially trained to teach them, this issue would not have come up. So, much of our time will continue to be spent educating people about deaf children and what being deaf means. And when Chance is a little older, he will spend a great deal of energy showing people what he is capable of and shattering perceptions.

My sincere hope is that 10 years from now, when a child is diagnosed as being deaf, the road will be well traveled with sign posts to point the way to the services that are needed. And, instead of deaf children having to prove that they are capable, people will know that deafness is a part of who you are, but not the defining factor in what you are capable of.