Mom of a Teen who needs some answers...

Just heard of another mother who is sending her HOH kid to a Deaf School! YES!!!!! YES!! YES!!!!!
Educationally speaking the line between deaf and HOH IS beginning to blur. Most Deaf Schools and Signing Deaf ed programs tend to have very good auxillary HOH supports and or a range of kids from across the Dhh spectrum from severe/profound unaided/unimplanted to audilogically HOH and everything in between!
Yes, there are still Deaf kids who may not have oral skills, but did you know there are HOH (and mentally normal HOH) kids who aren't orally skilled too?
Parents are beginning to realize the value of specialized schools/placements, (and the joy of not fighting with a clueless school district that has NO IDEA how to educate dhh kids)and exposing their HOH kids to ASL and Deaf culture.
Wanna know something amusing? I have friends who have kids who are low incidence sped/IEP but still very academicly orientated. Guess what? They say that if their kid was deaf or hoh, they would attend a School or program for the Deaf!
 
CSign said:
Actually, most of the schools for the deaf are in fact voice off. And no, not many bilateral audiologically HH students attend because majority of the time they don't meet the criterion.

I'd love to see anything that supports your assertion that hearing kids get admitted to schools for the deaf because to be frank, that sounds like a whole bunch of malarkey.

When was the last time you were a part of the IEP process, or worked directly with a family with a DHH child? I don't mean on an anonymous Internet forum- I mean truly provided direct support for, and advocated (in real life) for a deaf child...

Things are not at all as you perceive them to be.
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deafdyke
I can't find your answer to the questions CSign posed in the paragraph I have added the bold to. How about answering it?
 
My son has a cochlear and he is in a deaf school. He is brilliant. With an interpreter he could easily excel academically among a group of any hearing kids. I have no doubt that if we sent him down the street to the public school he'd graduate #1. However, on our street the hearing kids won't socialize with him, and if they interact it is in meanness. He has many friends at his deaf school.

I am a hearing parent. It would be "socially cool" to be able to say my deaf child is mainstreamed at the public school and excelling. That's the stuff of Lifetime channel movies. I get a lot of social peer pressure from family/peers to mainstream because he is so intelligient, but I don't think that's best for my kid. His social development is just as important as his intellect and even more important than what society thinks.

By the way, my son's CI failed. He is completely deaf.
 
deafdyke said:
Csign, just did quite a bit of research on which state schools admit HOH kids.
Florida School for the Deaf and Blind: http://www.fsdb.k12.fl.us/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/enrollment_criteria.pdf

New Mexico School: New Mexico School for the Deaf: Enrollment

South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind: Eligibility / Overview

Washington School for the Deaf. In this report it says that 11% of the students are HOH. http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/WSD.pdf
Oregon School for the Deaf: Admission Criteria and Process | Oregon School for the Deaf

Mississippi School for the Deaf. MS School for the Deaf

Colarado School for the Deaf and Blind....
Austine School for the Deaf...Admissions
servicing children and young adults from the ages of 3 through 21 who have an educationally

The Maryland Schools admit HOH kids. I know of some students there who are HOH.(friend works there)
Arizona State Schools mentions serving HOH kids
Hawaii School doesn't mention any criteria but the student pages identifiy themselves as HOH.
Eastern North Carolina mentions HOH
Indy School mentions HOH
Kansas State admits HOH kids (I personally know HOH kids who have gone there)
Lousinana School
Kendall Demonstration
Kentucky School
Western PA School for the Deaf, not only admits HOH kids it admits hearing kids with non hearing related disabilities
West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind admits HOH kids (and again it admits hearing kids with other disabilities)
Minnisota School.......
Model Secondary School admits HOH kids
Montana School for the Deaf and Blind admits HOH kids
There are also many others that don't mention if they serve HOH kids or not.
However the ONLY schools that I could find that specified a level of loss were
North Dakota School:
North Dakota School for the Deaf/Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing | About •
Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind. VSDB - Department for the Deaf

and of course the New York Schools for the Deaf which admit severe and profound kids.
So it's not true that Schools for the Deaf do not admit HOH kids. Many state governments recognize that dhh kids can't always get a good education/services at their neighborhood schools.....I mean there are still tons of kids from places like Indian Reservations, really rural and poor communitees and so on. Not everyone lives in a really good suburban area with lots and lots of services.
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In your extensive research you only listed a handful of schools for the deaf in America. You'll note that each of the ones you posted, the student must have an "educationally significant" hearing loss, the parameters do vary from school to school. You'll also note, that not a single one of the links you posted state that hearing students are welcome.

Your research is not enough to affirm your assertions, as you've barely covered even 10% of the schools.

I'm not going to spend my time right now researching other schools, but I will tell you again that no- not all schools for the deaf welcome students who don't have a profound hearing loss along with a primary category of eligibility deafness.

California being the 3rd largest state but with the highest population (for example) will not admit students who are HH. California isn't the only one either.
 
Jane B. said:
deafdyke
I can't find your answer to the questions CSign posed in the paragraph I have added the bold to. How about answering it?
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It is an important question, which has been asked and went unanswered before. I am curious about the answer to the question. It makes a difference.
 
CSign said:
In your extensive research you only listed a handful of schools for the deaf in America. You'll note that each of the ones you posted, the student must have an "educationally significant" hearing loss, the parameters do vary from school to school. You'll also note, that not a single one of the links you posted state that hearing students are welcome.

Your research is not enough to affirm your assertions, as you've barely covered even 10% of the schools.

I'm not going to spend my time right now researching other schools, but I will tell you again that no- not all schools for the deaf welcome students who don't have a profound hearing loss along with a primary category of eligibility deafness.

California being the 3rd largest state but with the highest population (for example) will not admit students who are HH. California isn't the only one either.
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I should clarify that things can and do vary from case to case to a certain extent, although certainly not as much as some might try to lead you to believe.

A theoretical example of an audiologically HH student attending one of the CSD might have a sibling who is already attending one of the schools for the deaf, and the IEP team changes the primary category of eligibility to deaf would likely get in.

An individual student however, with a primary category of eligibility of Hard of hearing would not be eligible. The IEP team would have to agree to change the category of eligibility to deaf- which they aren't necessarily going to do. Even if the child uses ASL along with spoken language as their primary modes of communication. If the IEP team won't agree to change the category of eligibility, the student wouldn't even have a chance of getting in.
 
CSign said:
In your extensive research you only listed a handful of schools for the deaf in America. You'll note that each of the ones you posted, the student must have an "educationally significant" hearing loss, the parameters do vary from school to school. You'll also note, that not a single one of the links you posted state that hearing students are welcome.

Your research is not enough to affirm your assertions, as you've barely covered even 10% of the schools.

I'm not going to spend my time right now researching other schools, but I will tell you again that no- not all schools for the deaf welcome students who don't have a profound hearing loss along with a primary category of eligibility deafness.

California being the 3rd largest state but with the highest population (for example) will not admit students who are HH. California isn't the only one either.
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Csign, my point is that audiogram criteria (for admission) is not set in stone, especially with the fact that a lot of severe/profound kids can be functionally HOH.....and not just with CIs either. They are just hoping that parents won't find out the secret of State Deaf Schools or dhh programs, so the public schools don't have to pay for them to send them there. Yes, it's not widely common for HOH kids to attend Deaf Schools in HUGE numbers, but they ARE there, especially in the larger schools. It is more common for HOH kids to be seen in the regional dhh programs for example...I never said that all schools for the Deaf accept HOH kids. Just that many do, and that the dividing line between HOH and Deaf is very fuzzy nowadays.
 
I'm sorry for the hijack but... I would like to bring up an issue that kind of pertains to the discussion. My wife and I are having problems with our school district right now. We live in Pflugerville, 22 miles away from TSD. Not far enough for residential services and too far for local services. Basically, a rock and a hard place... we're wedged between them.

PISD does not have any services for the Deaf whatsoever. They ship all their students to the Round Rock Regional day program for the Deaf. We lived in Del Valle and then entered our son into TSD at the age of 2. We moved to Pflugerville a little under 3 years ago and our problems and threats began...

PISD told us in our last ARD that they will no longer be recommending Cage for TSD as it is considered the most restrictive environment for our son and they are pulling their support for him. Now... our only options right now... parent placement at TSD or have him enroll at RRRDPD.

The problem for us with parent placement is that we would then be responsible for our own transportation as bus services will no longer be offered. Living 22 miles away and driving through the heart of Austin is a burden on us.

FYI, this is a school district in the SAME county as TSD. They do NOT want you to send your kids there and make it obtusely difficult to work with them.

We are considering legal action if we can find the right lawyer (those we've talked to are $750+hr. I mean we'll pay whatever they want but that's not manageable for us so we're still looking). We have even considered moving but we paid for our house upfront. We own it outright so relocating isn't a very easy avenue to pursue for us as we have much invested into it.
 
deafdyke said:
Csign, my point is that audiogram criteria (for admission) is not set in stone, especially with the fact that a lot of severe/profound kids can be functionally HOH.....and not just with CIs either. They are just hoping that parents won't find out the secret of State Deaf Schools or dhh programs, so the public schools don't have to pay for them to send them there. Yes, it's not widely common for HOH kids to attend Deaf Schools in HUGE numbers, but they ARE there, especially in the larger schools. It is more common for HOH kids to be seen in the regional dhh programs for example...I never said that all schools for the Deaf accept HOH kids. Just that many do, and that the dividing line between HOH and Deaf is very fuzzy nowadays.
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You are back peddling and sidetracking.

The audiogram absolutely does make a difference.

I will repeat myself. This myth that school districts "keep secret" the option of attending a school for the deaf for an eligible student is wrong. School districts are legally obligated to provide a continuum of placement options for the student.

Also, having any degree of hearing loss does not qualify a student to attend a school for the deaf.

You also didn't address the question posed to you on a few seperate occasions.

What experience do you have working directly with, and advocating for DHH students in a real life setting? When was the last time you attended an IEP or IFSP meeting?
 
CHerri said:
My son has a cochlear and he is in a deaf school.

..................

By the way, my son's CI failed. He is completely deaf.
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Interesting first and last sentence.. What happened in between?
 
CHerri said:
My son has a cochlear and he is in a deaf school. He is brilliant. With an interpreter he could easily excel academically among a group of any hearing kids. I have no doubt that if we sent him down the street to the public school he'd graduate #1. However, on our street the hearing kids won't socialize with him, and if they interact it is in meanness. He has many friends at his deaf school.

I am a hearing parent. It would be "socially cool" to be able to say my deaf child is mainstreamed at the public school and excelling. That's the stuff of Lifetime channel movies. I get a lot of social peer pressure from family/peers to mainstream because he is so intelligient, but I don't think that's best for my kid. His social development is just as important as his intellect and even more important than what society thinks.

By the way, my son's CI failed. He is completely deaf.
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Originally Posted by CHerri
My son has a cochlear and he is in a deaf school.

..................

By the way, my son's CI failed. He is completely deaf.
Click to expand...
Cloggy said:
Interesting first and last sentence.. What happened in between?
Click to expand...

here you go, the filled words as above. :)
 
CHerri said:
My son has a cochlear and he is in a deaf school. He is brilliant. With an interpreter he could easily excel academically among a group of any hearing kids. I have no doubt that if we sent him down the street to the public school he'd graduate #1. However, on our street the hearing kids won't socialize with him, and if they interact it is in meanness. He has many friends at his deaf school.

I am a hearing parent. It would be "socially cool" to be able to say my deaf child is mainstreamed at the public school and excelling. That's the stuff of Lifetime channel movies. I get a lot of social peer pressure from family/peers to mainstream because he is so intelligient, but I don't think that's best for my kid. His social development is just as important as his intellect and even more important than what society thinks.

By the way, my son's CI failed. He is completely deaf.
Click to expand...

As to the bolded above, in your opinion it's "socially cool" to send a child to a mainstream school?

Certainly the first time I've heard that.

Too bad the kids aren't nice. Perhaps it has less to do with the fact that your child is deaf, than it is another reason "hearing kids" are mean to him.

My son has lots of friends- deaf and hearing alike. Hearing status seems to make no difference amongst the children in our area. Sounds quite odd to me that all the hearing children your child socialized with have been mean to him.
 
CSign said:
As to the bolded above, in your opinion it's "socially cool" to send a child to a mainstream school?

Certainly the first time I've heard that.

Too bad the kids aren't nice. Perhaps it has less to do with the fact that your child is deaf, than it is another reason "hearing kids" are mean to him.

My son has lots of friends- deaf and hearing alike. Hearing status seems to make no difference amongst the children in our area. Sounds quite odd to me that all the hearing children your child socialized with have been mean to him.
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what are you implying? in the bold as above
 
CSign said:
As to the bolded above, in your opinion it's "socially cool" to send a child to a mainstream school?

Certainly the first time I've heard that.

Too bad the kids aren't nice. Perhaps it has less to do with the fact that your child is deaf, than it is another reason "hearing kids" are mean to him.

My son has lots of friends- deaf and hearing alike. Hearing status seems to make no difference amongst the children in our area. Sounds quite odd to me that all the hearing children your child socialized with have been mean to him.
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Ohhhh...kids can be mean to another child just because that child is deaf. It happened to me. It happened to my best friend. It happened to several of my friends who grew up mainstreamed.

Especially in middle school.

Pls dont doubt her statement because there are many of us who have suffered getting picked on and bullied.
 
CSign said:
I am stating that is the first time I've heard anyone refer to mainstreaming as "socially cool".
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Well, there IS pressure to mainstream deaf children. There has been a social stigma against deaf children who go to deaf schools.

It happened to my mom. She was criticized by her family and peers for not "working" hard enough with my brother.

I really dont think you understand how common it is. Maybe in your world, it doesnt happen but it happens in other people's world.
 
shel90 said:
Ohhhh...kids can be mean to another child just because that child is deaf. It happened to me. It happened to my best friend. It happened to several of my friends who grew up mainstreamed.

Especially in middle school.

Pls dont doubt her statement because there are many of us who have suffered getting picked on and bullied.
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Kids can be mean to other kids in all sorts of situations. If a kid is too short, too tall, has a weight problem, ect. Do you want to segregate those kids, too?

Mainstreaming isn't the best option for every deaf child, but it should be an option. Like it or not, Shel, parents have the right to decide for their child and there isn't really much anyone is gonna do about it. Kids are also resilient. Personally, I think you're selling deaf kids short by having this attitude of gloom and doom all the time. Not every child will have the same experiences you did
. I know plenty of kids who did, but, I also know of plenty of kids who didn't.
 
Oceanbreeze said:
Kids can be mean to other kids in all sorts of situations. If a kid is too short, too tall, has a weight problem, ect. Do you want to segregate those kids, too?
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Shel was not talking about kids that are "too short, too tall, has a weight problem, etc." Yes, they can and do get picked on and bullied. But that's not what this topic was about.

Shel was talking about that it's very real that deaf kids do get picked on and bullied.
 
AlleyCat said:
Shel was not talking about kids that are "too short, too tall, has a weight problem, etc." Yes, they can and do get picked on and bullied. But that's not what this topic was about.

Shel was talking about that it's very real that deaf kids do get picked on and bullied.
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And, my point was that so do other kids in the mainstream. I did also, actually. But, at which point do people move on from the their crappy experiences instead of reliving them over and over again like I've seen on this forum? It kind of paints certain deaf people as being bitter and with a chip on their shoulder.

Just sayin'...
 
Oceanbreeze said:
And, my point was that so do other kids in the mainstream. I did also, actually. But, at which point do people move on from the their crappy experiences instead of reliving them over and over again like I've seen on this forum? It kind of paints certain deaf people as being bitter and with a chip on their shoulder.

Just sayin'...
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And it was a pointless point. We're not talking about other kids in the mainstream. This thread is about parents writing about their deaf child's experience. "However, on our street the hearing kids won't socialize with him, and if they interact it is in meanness. He has many friends at his deaf school."

Nobody's making you stay to read about "their crappy experiences."

Just writin'...
 
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