Miss-Delectable
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Most deaf childrens' parents never learn to sign - Stephen Roldan - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington
Last month, Seth, my 4-year-old, was watching me clean four, bright pink salmon. While relating the yarn of how I caught them, he had a puzzled look on his face and blurted out in a serious tone, "Dad, why aren’t pink salmon pink?"
I looked down at the fish and realized the kid was right. Chrome bright pink salmon aren’t pink. Quickly running inside, I retrieved a book about salmon. Showing Seth pictures and explaining what salmon look like when they spawn satisfied his insightful question and he returned to riding his bike.
At that moment, I remembered one young man I met at work. He was born deaf to hearing parents and was neglected as a child. All his formative years were spent in front of a TV. When he entered school, he had a vocabulary of 100 words.
As I spoke with him, it was clear he was an intelligent young man, but had no foundation on which to build his communication and reasoning skills. He couldn’t ask why pink salmon aren’t pink, or why the sky was blue, let alone comprehend the answer. Without the fundamental learning that hearing children obtain from home, he fell behind and will likely never catch up.
Sadly, this happens far too often.
Professionally, we refer to individuals like this as “low-functioning deaf.” Some low-functioning deaf individuals have other disabilities. However, without having learned how to communicate, deaf individuals who might normally succeed in life are at high risk to become low functioning.
Is there anything that we can do? I believe so, and the foundation begins with language acquisition.
William Stokoe, who pioneered the linguistic studies of American Sign Language once said, “Language isn’t mouth stuff, it’s brain stuff.”
Babies’ brains are programmed from day one to acquire a first language, signed or spoken. Since deaf children cannot hear, they naturally tune into visual cues and signed languages. Shockingly, studies reveal that 98 percent of all parents of deaf children never learn American Sign Language. Partly at fault are doctors and audiologists who insist to vulnerable parents that deaf children should learn to speak and discourage the use of American Sign Language. Only a small fraction of deaf children begin life in an environment where they can thrive and develop.
Regardless of language needs, most deaf kids are mainstreamed. While some manage to succeed, many struggle with the fundamentals of learning. For example, the average deaf student finishes high school reading at the fourth-grade level. Worse yet, many medical professionals and school systems cling to archaic methods that are unreliable and unrealistic. This is a residual effect from the greatest historical enemy of the deaf American – Alexander Graham Bell.
He insisted that the deaf be taught to speak instead of using the already successful sign language method. Through his efforts, American Sign Language was abolished from all schooling systems. He also advocated for strong social reforms such as making it illegal for the deaf to intermarry. As he put it, “Sign language causes the intermarriage of deaf-mutes and the propagation of their physical defect which creates a defective race of human beings.”
As Nazi as his ideas appear today, back in the 1800s, they were received warmly because of his reputation as a scientist. Unfortunately, the impact of these discriminatory policies and stereotyping has continued over one century.
Today, an increasing number of schools are incorporating American Sign Language and English to work in tandem, to broaden the learning opportunities for the deaf. Clearly, the roots to success begin at home and parents have the ultimate obligation to help their children prepare for school.
However, without further educational and medical reforms which focus on adequately meeting the needs of the deaf, how many do we risk leaving behind?
Stephen Roldan, a member of The Olympian’s Diversity Panel, is statewide coordinator of deaf services for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. He can be reached at roldasj@dshs.wa.gov.
Last month, Seth, my 4-year-old, was watching me clean four, bright pink salmon. While relating the yarn of how I caught them, he had a puzzled look on his face and blurted out in a serious tone, "Dad, why aren’t pink salmon pink?"
I looked down at the fish and realized the kid was right. Chrome bright pink salmon aren’t pink. Quickly running inside, I retrieved a book about salmon. Showing Seth pictures and explaining what salmon look like when they spawn satisfied his insightful question and he returned to riding his bike.
At that moment, I remembered one young man I met at work. He was born deaf to hearing parents and was neglected as a child. All his formative years were spent in front of a TV. When he entered school, he had a vocabulary of 100 words.
As I spoke with him, it was clear he was an intelligent young man, but had no foundation on which to build his communication and reasoning skills. He couldn’t ask why pink salmon aren’t pink, or why the sky was blue, let alone comprehend the answer. Without the fundamental learning that hearing children obtain from home, he fell behind and will likely never catch up.
Sadly, this happens far too often.
Professionally, we refer to individuals like this as “low-functioning deaf.” Some low-functioning deaf individuals have other disabilities. However, without having learned how to communicate, deaf individuals who might normally succeed in life are at high risk to become low functioning.
Is there anything that we can do? I believe so, and the foundation begins with language acquisition.
William Stokoe, who pioneered the linguistic studies of American Sign Language once said, “Language isn’t mouth stuff, it’s brain stuff.”
Babies’ brains are programmed from day one to acquire a first language, signed or spoken. Since deaf children cannot hear, they naturally tune into visual cues and signed languages. Shockingly, studies reveal that 98 percent of all parents of deaf children never learn American Sign Language. Partly at fault are doctors and audiologists who insist to vulnerable parents that deaf children should learn to speak and discourage the use of American Sign Language. Only a small fraction of deaf children begin life in an environment where they can thrive and develop.
Regardless of language needs, most deaf kids are mainstreamed. While some manage to succeed, many struggle with the fundamentals of learning. For example, the average deaf student finishes high school reading at the fourth-grade level. Worse yet, many medical professionals and school systems cling to archaic methods that are unreliable and unrealistic. This is a residual effect from the greatest historical enemy of the deaf American – Alexander Graham Bell.
He insisted that the deaf be taught to speak instead of using the already successful sign language method. Through his efforts, American Sign Language was abolished from all schooling systems. He also advocated for strong social reforms such as making it illegal for the deaf to intermarry. As he put it, “Sign language causes the intermarriage of deaf-mutes and the propagation of their physical defect which creates a defective race of human beings.”
As Nazi as his ideas appear today, back in the 1800s, they were received warmly because of his reputation as a scientist. Unfortunately, the impact of these discriminatory policies and stereotyping has continued over one century.
Today, an increasing number of schools are incorporating American Sign Language and English to work in tandem, to broaden the learning opportunities for the deaf. Clearly, the roots to success begin at home and parents have the ultimate obligation to help their children prepare for school.
However, without further educational and medical reforms which focus on adequately meeting the needs of the deaf, how many do we risk leaving behind?
Stephen Roldan, a member of The Olympian’s Diversity Panel, is statewide coordinator of deaf services for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. He can be reached at roldasj@dshs.wa.gov.
I have been there and done that back in the 50's and 60's. 
