Houston Deaf Network » Education

Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz visiting TSD Graduation.

Billy Koch — Sat, 29 May 2010 18:04:23 +0000

Come one, come all! See attached. We are hosting Gallaudet President Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz who will be in town for TSD’s graduation! Let’s show him what Austin’s GUAA chapter is made of…and let’s have fun while we’re at it.

GUAA – Austin Chapter invites you and your immediate family to brunch with Dr. Hurwitz

June 5, 2010 – 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Austin Deaf Club – 8818 Cullen Ln, Austin

Torchy’s Tacos served – $5.00 Cash per person

RSVP by 6/3 (Thursday) - AustinGUAA@gmail.com

Bring extra cash for drinks. Questions – email jdbusenbark@yahoo.com

No children except for infants and high school age.

Deafness in Africa & Haiti

leyelhudson — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:27:02 +0000

Are you curious about Deaf Education and teacher training in other countries? Their culture, their language, their day to day lives? Dr. Victor Vodounou, professor of Deaf education and missionary to the Deaf will give a presentation about his recent visits and work with the Deaf in Haiti, South Africa, and West Africa.

Victor A. Vodounou Short Biographic Note
Victor Alihonou Vodounou was born in the village of Dovi-Dove in the district of Zagnanado in the Central region of Zou, province of the Republic of Benin in West Africa. After completing his elementary education at the village’s public elementary school, he was admitted to secondary school in the nearby city of Cove, but he could not complete his education due to a bilateral degrading hearing loss.

In 1975 he was introduced to the late Dr. Andrew Foster and his wife Mrs. Berta Foster, who invited him to attend a rehabilitation program for the Deaf at their Christian Center for the Deaf in Ibadan, Nigeria. There he learned American Sign Language used by the Fosters and their African Nigerian students and members of the Deaf communities. He also studied the Scriptures, became a born again Christian, and was baptized by Dr. Foster. After two years in Nigeria, Dr. Foster sent him to Senegal to help establish the first school for the Deaf there before he returned to Benin to help start the school for the Deaf in Cotonou in 1977. He has also trained the first francophone teachers of the Deaf in collaboration with Dr. Foster in the 1970s and 1980s.

Victor completed his secondary education by correspondence in the distance education programs at Toulouse and Vanves, France. In 1985 he won the Rotary International Scholarship to study special education at the University of Moncton, New Brunswick, where he completed a Bachelor of Science in education in 1989. Dr. Vodounou came to the United States of America to complete an internship in higher education and a Master of Science in Deaf Education at the Joint Educational Specialist Program between the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, in 1993. After doing his student teaching at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, he moved to El Paso, Texas, to work with Deaf children and adults. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy in curriculum bilingual education and school administration from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, in 2001.

In 2006, Victor and his wife Benoite founded Live Ear Ministries, a 501(c) nonprofit organization to serve Deaf children in developing countries. Since then they have been going to Benin and Niger to train teachers of the Deaf and started a rural elementary school in 2008 in Benin.

Victor has written five sign language booklets and an autobiography titled “The Incredible Journeys of Victor Vodounou: Africa, Deafness and Christianity.

Victor has traveled to almost all west and central African countries, South Africa, Mexico, and Haiti training teachers of Deaf and members and leaders of the Deaf communities. A naturalized American in 2001, Victor and his wife Benoite live in Texas with their four children, Irene, Andre, Flavie, and Bonou-David.

Friday, April 30, 2010
6:00-9:00 pm
Lone Star College-CyFair
Technology 102
9191 Barker Cypress Rd,
Cypress, TX 77433

Workshop Presentation Program at Lone Star College-CyFair

Introduction
Map of Africa and Historical Dateline
Deafness in Africa: Causes and Effects. AIDS toll on the Deaf
Deaf Education in Africa: Dr. Andrew Foster
Victor’s Personal Life Experience
Deaf Culture in Africa v. Deaf Culture in America
Folklore and African dance demonstration
What we are doing with Live Ear Ministries and what you can do to help Deaf
People in Haiti and Africa:
Volunteer in School
Volunteer for Health Education
Volunteer to build Community based economic and social program (goat ministry, library need, VP and Text Message development)
Sign Language Research and Improvement
Interpreter training program
Questions and Answers Session
Book signing session

For more information contact:
Leyel Hudson
Leyel.M.Hudson@lonestar.edu
832-326-3367 (voice/text)

Deafness in Africa & Haiti 4-30-10 (PDF)
Deafness in Africa & Haiti – Program & Bio (PDF)

My child is deaf…What do I do?

Free English Literacy Class

Longster — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:19:36 +0000

Want to improve your English Skills? Want to be able to read and write better? We can help! Join our fun-filled classes or individual tutoring. We work to meet your schedule!

Contact us now!
Kathy Walter, Manager
Deaf&Hard of Hearing Services
Career Recovery & Resources, Inc
2525 San Jacinto
Houston, TX 77002
kwalters@careerandrecovery.org
VP: 214.960.2905 or 832.431.3785

Does ASL hinder development of English / Literacy?

Longster — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:21:39 +0000

For a long time, I have always wondered about that question. I’m not an educator nor have I ever taught the art of language. I did however receive the research paper from someone who wanted to share their findings based on what they have learned in school. I am not going to copy word for word, but I’ll interpret the best of my ability on what I have read.

The citation was originally written by R.B. Wilbur who wrote an article, “The Use of ASL to Support the Development of English and Literacy” in Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. The article explains the importance of using the first language, ASL, with deaf students to develop their English skills. Wilbur made the comparison of “English and ASL as natural languages for similarities and differences”. It was an argument based on the use of ASL as the first language to develop English and how first language contributes to developing cognitive skills.

Wilbur believes that ASL is a natural language for deaf people. The article explains the two factors to define a natural language, which includes a community of users and babies that can learn from birth. Here’s Wilbur’s comparision with hearing and deaf people’s similarities of natural languages…

“It must be a perfect fit with the perception and production characteristics of the human user, and over time, natural languages evolve to fit the modality in which they are produced and perceived. Obviously, spoken languages are designed to be communicative with ease by people who speak and hear. Similarly, signed languages are evolved to provide easy communication for people who sign and see” (Wilbur, 2000, p. 95).

Other researchers, Susan Easterbrooks and Sharon Baker, also believe that ASL is the most competent visual language for deaf students. With the support of research studies, Wilbur indicates that using ASL as the first language is helpful in developing the proficiency of English with deaf students. It also states that acquiring English is a lot easier for deaf students when they have the first language developed.

According to Wilbur, ASL does have the advantages in performance of cognitive, linguistic, and social skills. Another findings indicate that those deaf children with deaf parents, exposed to ASL, are advanced than deaf children with hearing parents in academic, literacy, English, social, and emotional development (Easterbrooks & Baker, 2002). Shawn Mahshie who is also another researcher had mentioned that children who do not have early first language competence may lack their cognitive and academic language proficiency to do well in school.

Mahshie who specifically quotes, “Sign Language is no longer regarded as a threat to the normal development of deaf children, but rather the best possible guarantee for normal development” (cited as Ahlgren in Mahshie, p. 15). Mahshie clearly emphasizes that the language access is the fundelmental key to developing English.

Another theory by Cummin from Freeman & Freeman, students are able to transfer to the second lanugauge when they are fluent in their first language. Chomsky also theorized that we are born with universal language that we can adapt. This too applies to the fact that, in general, deaf people are born with the natural language.

“The focus should be on the child’s education, which requires communication in a natural language, on which all advanced learning is built. Early knowledge of ASL is a critical part of the solution, not part of the problem” (Wilbur, 2000, p. 100).

Looking back throughout my childhood, teachers had used speech and signed English to develop my first language. I didn’t develop my English proficiency at that time. However, I did gain skills in speech where I could communicate verbally, but my English was nowhere near where I should have been. Majority of deaf students in my classes went through similar situation and they still weren’t able to develop their proficiency in English. It wasn’t until later that I started mainstreaming in regular classes with certified interpreters that used ASL. From that point on, I was able to pick up the concepts and structures of English throughout the classes. Since then, my English had improved dramatically. To this date, I do on occasionally struggle to find the right words to express in proper English. However when it comes to expressing in ASL, I find it liberating since it is my natural language.

Reference

Easterbrooks, S. & Baker, S. (2002). Language learning in children who are Deaf and hard of hearing: Multiple pathways. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Freeman, Y. S. & Freeman, D. E. (1998). ESL/EFL teaching: Principles for success. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Mahshie, S. (1997). A first language: Whose choice is it? Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Pre-College National Mission Programs.

Parents of Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children/Youths

Longster — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:21:43 +0000

The Seattle Quality of Life Group at the University of Washington is studying the quality of life of children and youth who are deaf or hard of hearing D/HH). Based on interviews with youth (ages 11-18 year) who are D/HH and parents of children (ages 5-10 years), we have created new questionnaires to measures quality of life specifically for children (parent report) and youth (self report) who are D/HH. We need you to help in the development process by completing the questionnaire. We hope that this new measure will help researchers in a variety of fields (health, audiology, education, social work, and public policy) and ultimately help children and youth who are D/HH. In order to create this new questionnaire with standardization and normative data on deaf and hard of hearing children and youth, we need your help!

So far, over 300 youth and parents have taken part in the study, but we need YOUR help! We especially need participants who have mild to moderate hearing loss. As a thank you for taking part in the study we will give you $25 for your completed questionnaire.

It is easy to participate in the study. You can either call one of our study coordinators at 1-800-283-5827 who will provide you with additional information and ask you a few questions to determine your eligibility OR you can go to our website and complete our on screening form:https://depts.washington.edu/projhql/FAQ/index.htm Look in the left yellow column for the group you are in (parent or youth) and click on parent or youth. When you get to the login screen use the custom Id “platypus2009” to gain access to the form. If you have more than one child who is D/HH, you must fill out separate form for each child. This takes less than 5 minutes to complete.

If your child is eligible, a research staff will mail you a packet of forms to sign and return. After we get the forms, a research staff will give you a password to begin filling out the survey form online. For parents of children ages 5 to 10, the survey will take less than 30 minutes. For youths ages 11 to 18, it will take about 45 minutes. If you or the youth prefer ASL administration, we can mail you a DVD. The English print is available online and in paper form if you prefer this.

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 866-758-9568 (VP) or poornak@u.washington.edu.

Contact Info:
Poorna Kushalnagar, PhD
poornak@u.washington.edu
https://depts.washington.edu/projhql/
VP or Telephone No: 866-758-9568

My child is deaf…What do I do?

Jay Jackson — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:49:48 +0000

When I was in college, I went home to visit my parents for the summer. There, they had a couple who just found out their child was diagnosed with deafness. It was a surprise to them and they turned to the closest people they knew that had been in the same situation. Out of curiosity, I accompanied them on a trip to a nearby town to meet them.

They were faced with several options: to send him off to a school for deaf in another town, to teach him sign language, or send him to an oral school. They were daunted by the tasks all equally. As it was their first child, they were faced with an enormous responsibility: the education and mental growth of their child. I remember that we discussed my experiences growing up. I had grown up with sign language as my first language (not exactly ASL, but it was more of a mix between ASL and SEE depending on my interactions with family and friends). My parents were set on learning from the onset when they found out about my deafness as they believe it to be a best way of communication between me and them. I started out in a local deaf program before mainstreaming in second grade and above.

Looking back, I see my experience as a very positive one as my parents were very active in their role in my education. I know there are many school of thoughts on how to bring up a deaf child. Some are for Oral tradition only. Some are for full ASL only. There are also some who believe in hybrid. Not to say that I would recommend teaching sign language to child solely. I have friends who attended oral schools and they grew up to be fully functional and vital members of the community. Some of them learned sign language later in life and used it to enrich their lives. I have friends who attended schools for the deaf and they themselves have become important parts of the community.

I believe that there are many approaches to how to raise a deaf child, and they can all work depending on the willingness of parents and child to be involved in each other’s lives. For instance, instead of sending a child off to deaf school in a distant town, parents could move closer. If the parents decide to lean towards the oral route, they should also be involved in the education and be open to what their child wants. If the child wants to learn sign language, they should be allowed to. After all, we encourage our children to learn Spanish, French, Italian, German, and many other languages to enrich their lives.

I don’t know what route the couple took. I think they decided on the oral route, but were open to possibilities as, later in life; their son may want to learn sign language. I am for all approaches as long as the child really gains a value out of it and the parents are really involved in the education. After all, their childhood only happens once. Let’s make sure they remember it as a happy one.