| Subject: Re: I would like to help this site |
Author:
atlanticgreen
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Date Posted: 11:27:01 01/09/04 Fri
Author Host/IP: 173.237.27.24.cfl.rr.com/24.27.237.173
In reply to:
Cody Wang
's message, "I would like to help this site" on 09:32:38 12/18/03 Thu
My opinion on a deaf/autistic child in a public school program can be summed up like this: Good luck. I am the parent of a deaf/autistic child, age 14, and I am also a parent advocate for special ed in two counties. The problem with the counties trying to appropriately serve a deaf autistic child is that there ARE no programs for deaf/austistic children! They will either "recommend" the hearing impaired program that is already in place, or one of the autism programs already in place. Bet your bottom dollar that they will NEVER recommend the hearing impaired program, as heaven forbid they should ever require a teacher of the hearing impaired to have any skills in behavior mod and do anything other than just be a special ed teacher who "signs". Bet that bottom dollar that they will feel the most "appropriate" program for your child is the autism program. That program will ultimately be the downfall of your child, and I will explain why. First, any child who has a language problem needs LANGUAGE MODELS -- these models include PEERS. The "models" the county thinks will be sufficient is either just the teacher who "may" know some rudiment signs and maybe an aide who knows a "few" as well. That means that ALL your child will learn about language around them is what that teacher and/or aide signs directly TO them, when they feel like it, and WHAT they feel like signing. This will boil down to "go to bathroom", "clean up", "get lunch", "sit down", "be quiet".... need I go on? They are putting a CAP on your child's ability to learn freely the language that they should be taught, which is sign. Children learn from each OTHER -- not just what one or two adults at best in a room want to teach them when they want to teach it. Expressive language means your child should have the ability to tap anyone around them on the shoulder and ask them a question whenever your child feels like it, the privilege that HEARING kids have. Yet -- your child will know right off the bat that the other kids in the room do not respond to their requests (because, frankly, they have the same problem!). It won't be long before your child realizes that it is fruitless to attempt to communicate with others in the room, because the other kids may not even sign, and if they do, it will likely be just the few repetitive phrases that mean something to THEM, and not be the modeled appropriate response that your child NEEDS TO KNOW and EXPERIENCE. Here's an example: Your child taps another child on the shoulder and signs "where truck?"... and the other child responds with no eye contact and repetitively signs "rubberbands are cool.....rubberbands are cool" LOL... this is an ACTUAL SCENE that I saw happen, and I have seen countless scenes just like this. So, if your child was in the hearing impaired program, and you switch that second child with a strictly HI child, you child would get the response "truck is under your chair!" and that would be APPROPRIATE. The HI kids have a much better chance of understanding what your child is saying, because it's watered down simple (where truck?), and they will obviously be able to tailor that response to your child ("truck under chair") even though they may say to a different HI child who asked that "well gee, you always lose your truck, you goofy! Look under where you just sat a minute ago!"...... this is why if you have to pick ONE program out of the two -- Deaf vs. Autistic -- you can't pick the Autism program, because you child will LEARN NOT TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS AROUND THEM, BECAUSE THESE OTHERS JUST SIMPLY CAN NOT. Your child's experience with language role models shouldn't be running to the teacher (that's even IF they have that initiative to do so consistently) and signing "restroom" or "hungry".... and that, frankly, is what your child's life is going to be reduced to: Making rudiment, basic language requests to one person in the room, an adult, and being spoken TO by that one same adult. I fought for 5 years to keep my son in the HI program, and did it successfully.. of course, that didn't come without the lovely pleasures of meeting with the county every time I turned around LOL, but they knew ME and who I knew, and very well knew if they tried to shove my son in the Autism program and not allow him the RIGHT to be around those who spoke his native language as peer models, they would be in for the biggest due process hearing the county had ever seen. However, the only reason I took my son out after 5 years is because I felt the first year of middle school was a disaster, and the teacher did not nearly have the drive and skills and success that the wonderful elementary teacher had -- and I LOVED HER, and that's the reason I fought so hard to keep him there! However, the middle school teacher was pretty much the worst DUD I had ever seen in my life, and would run away calling up the security cards on the phone if she didn't know what to do just because the child was tapping her on the shoulder too much and she was trying to ignore him. My point was, DON'T ignore him! You're only ignoring him because you just don't want to DEAL with him and don't even want him in the classroom! Which, of course, was true, as I won't get into the details, but I knew everything that went on in the room because my 15 y/o (just) deaf son was in the same classroom and told me everything that happened every day, so she started to completely despise my 15 y/o! With this situation in mind, and even thought the behavior mod specialist couldn't teach her ANYTHING (he tried!!), I had the opportuntity to enroll my son in private school for free (since I live in the state of Florida) and then I asked to be hired by the school as my son's interpreter and tutor! So, now, the county and state get to foot the bill for paying every cent of the expense while I get to be involved with my son at the school and have free reign and complete acceptance of my methods and direction by the school, and they are WONDERFUL! My son has never been happier his whole life with a school, and for the first time since 1992, he has not bitten his nails down to the bone and ripped the skin off out of nervousness! I can't wait until next week when I have my doctor's appointment to show this guy my son's completely beautiful grown-out nails that he even had to call the school about and say "leave the kid alone, people WILL bite their nails" LOL!!!!! The stress is off my son so much that I can NEVER go back to a public school AGAIN, EVER. I only wish that the McKay Scholarships of Florida were available years ago, but this law only came into effect about 3 years ago, so I'm at least comforted by that fact. I certainly wish they would make the McKay Scholarships available nationwide, but I do believe that people are working on hopefully making that happen, as the success of the McKay in Florida was so overwhelming that they are using it as the model state to make their point that school choice vouchers and scholarships should be an option for EVERY parent, not just Floridians. Well.....I hope this wasn't too depressing, but "been there, done that," if you know what I mean.... and I guess there's ALWAYS an option for a family to move to the sunny state of Florida is that is at all feasible :).... in any event, I hope the information about how counties think and what they will try to do and why was a help and will make you aware of just why they will ALWAYS try to shove the deaf/autistic child in the Autism program.... and that's because it's cheaper for them to take care of behaviors all day with someone who is already in the classroom (who "supposedly" is good at that!) rather than serve the child in a classroom of their primary language and have "behavior mod" as a SERVICE on the IEP and not the PRIMARY DISABILITY. Deaf is NOT a service, it's a culture and a way of life with it's own language....just as English is. And the AUTISM is a SECONDARY DISABILITY, and if they need to get your child their own behavior mod aide to accompany him or her in the classroom to monitor that, so BE it, and that PERSON/AIDE is a SERVICE under IDEA law..... bottom line, Deaf is not a service.....behavior mod IS.... and your child should have on their IEP "Hearing Impairment" as the primary disability... and if they don't, and county puts down "Autism", you'll know WHY ..... and if they're DID put down HI as primary, and they're serving your child in an Autism class, that's the tool you NEED to take that county to a due process hearing and demand that your child be in a classroom where ALL kids sign something other than the 5 few words they will say ALL day long. If you need an attorney and qualify, you can call your local county bar assocation and ask for the number for the local legal aid society, and they often have an educational attorney on staff or can get you one pro bono through the county bar assocation voluteer programs, depending on how many categories you qualify under, and they will take you for free and accompany you to the IEP meetings and fight for you to get your child into the program that is most appropriate for them. Good luck!
atlanticgreen
>Hi,
>Like many others, I am glad and exited finally found
>this site and forum. I hope that I can help to
>maintain this site to let more people to join the
>forum and share the life or teaching experience since
>I am a computer programmer. My son is 3 years old now
>and has hearing impair pround and server on both ears.
>He also has obivous autistic behavior like aviod eye
>contacts, arching back, and head rocking but he has
>not diagnosis autism yet because we are not sure until
>we saw TV show autistic children on TLC or Discovery.
>We are trying to get help from county program now, but
>not really sure that what can I do as a parent. I am
>going to read every message so I can ask you some
>questions if you don't mind. Again, I am really happy
>that I found this site.
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