Ohio School for the Deaf's preschool programs are apparently booming!

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deafdyke

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I suggested to a friend that she look into seeing if her son (with significent mental disabilty and uses some sign) could attend preschool at Ohio School for the Deaf. Turns out she said that they're too busy with dhh kids to serve mentally handicapped kids! YEAH!!!!! That's AWESOME!
 
Well that makes sense given that the child isn't deaf. What about SH programs in her area where the teachers sign? It could be written into their IEP that they have a teacher or 1:1 aide that signs.
 
deafdyke said:
I suggested to a friend that she look into seeing if her son (with significent mental disabilty and uses some sign) could attend preschool at Ohio School for the Deaf. Turns out she said that they're too busy with dhh kids to serve mentally handicapped kids! YEAH!!!!! That's AWESOME!
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Their enrollment has always been high. Great news for the dhh students.
 
jillio said:
Their enrollment has always been high. Great news for the dhh students.
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Really? jillo, do you think that a law encouraging early childhood kids to attend Deaf or blind schools if they live within 50 miles of the Deaf or Blind school would REALLY increase enrollement? The thing is...I DO strongly believe in continum of placement.....BUT, when you're talking about deaf ed you will not find a better placement then a deaf school for a dhh early childhood kid right?
 
CSign said:
Well that makes sense given that the child isn't deaf. What about SH programs in her area where the teachers sign? It could be written into their IEP that they have a teacher or 1:1 aide that signs.
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CSign, not quite. There are kids with perfect hearing (and normal IQ) who attend Deaf Schools due to having things like tracheostomies/CP/apraxia etc.
I do agree with you that SH kids who use sign do so in more of an augmentive and alternative communication way, rather then as a language the way dhh kids do. Their needs are different from a typical or mild mentally handicapped dhh kid.
 
deafdyke said:
CSign, not quite. There are kids with perfect hearing (and normal IQ) who attend Deaf Schools due to having things like tracheostomies/CP/apraxia etc.
I do agree with you that SH kids who use sign do so in more of an augmentive and alternative communication way, rather then as a language the way dhh kids do. Their needs are different from a typical or mild mentally handicapped dhh kid.
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That might occur in unique circumstances, but it would seem those would be the exception to the rule. If a school district can satisfactorily educate a student within their own district, they would do that rather than put them in a specialized DHH placement.

In the examples you gave, the district could and likely would provide an interpreter to voice for the individual with the trach. It would seem rather unlikely for a person with only a tracheotomy to attend a school for the deaf.
 
deafdyke said:
Really? jillo, do you think that a law encouraging early childhood kids to attend Deaf or blind schools if they live within 50 miles of the Deaf or Blind school would REALLY increase enrollement? The thing is...I DO strongly believe in continum of placement.....BUT, when you're talking about deaf ed you will not find a better placement then a deaf school for a dhh early childhood kid right?
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Right. There is no better placement.

I don't know that we would ever get a law like that passed. It is tricky. But what we can do is educate the mainstream and parents regarding appropriate placement and what LRE actually means for the deaf student. Mainstream is NEVER the LRE.
 
jillio said:
Right. There is no better placement.

I don't know that we would ever get a law like that passed. It is tricky. But what we can do is educate the mainstream and parents regarding appropriate placement and what LRE actually means for the deaf student. Mainstream is NEVER the LRE.
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I know. I just think that a Deaf School/program placement is VERY VERY underutlized.....and a big part of the problem does seem that kids will get enrolled at Headstart or a general Early Intervention preschool, rather then Deaf School. Dhh and blind low vision kids REALLY do need Deaf or blind schools....imagine. I really think that if we did something like that, acheivement levels could REALLY rise.
 
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