hey guys,
sorry i wasn't able to address any additional information.
i'm his tutor, and i help him with his english.
he knows asl enough to communicate his ideas, thoughts, and feelings. he's proficient in that area. english, he knows the words well, but he doesn't seem to be able to grasp the english grammar. i'm still working on that.
but what's really hard is that he has a hard time concentrating because he tends to put all his focus, frustration, energy and emotion on him being deaf, and how unhappy he is. i try to encourage him to stay happy and that there are many people who are deaf and are happy, and that that's not what determines happiness.
his parents know this, and they have already arranged a counselor and possibly a psychiatrist later this year. but they want me to help him out in the mean time and during the process. she also wanted me to ask around the web, which is what i'm doing now, to see if anyone else has any tips for situations like these.
he's 22, i'm 21. his personality and attitude, very immature. but mainly because of how stubborn he is. if i try to get him to focus on his assignment or homework, he constantly stops in the middle about every 3-5 minutes and complains about him being sad because he's deaf. and that he's lazy and dumb and boring and lonely because of it. of course i encourage him because again, being deaf doesn't mean any of that. but he tells me that's his decision and not mine to make. his decision being that he wants to be hearing and that conditions of the deaf is sadness.
i do like the idea of being friends with him and hanging out with him. i've been taking him out a bit so he's not so bored at home all the time but he's always embarrassed being out in public because he doesn't like the attention he gets when we are signing back and fourth.