Hello, I'm new to this forum. My husband has been lurking these forums for quite a while and have urged me to read some of the threads and post replies. Well, today, I have finally decided to register and put in my two cents.
I would like to give some background of how I was raised. I am Deaf, my parents are Deaf and so are my two older brothers. My mother has one hearing brother, one Deaf brother and two Deaf sisters. My father was born hearing until he became ill from being prescribed the wrong medicine when he was three months old.
Anyway, from birth, I was exposed to ASL and was already quite fluent by the age of three, or so I was told by my grandmother and parents. I do remember several occurences when I was 2 or 3 years old; my parents were discussing what to buy us for Christmas and I could understand everything they were signing. So, when Christmas morning came, I knew what I was getting. I would sign what the presents were before I opened them. My parents were quite flabbergasted, as you could imagine.
I started pre-school at the age of 3 at a hearing pre-school. I didn't have an interpreter and I was the only Deaf student at this school. Later on, my pre-school teacher picked up a few signs from me. Oddly enough, I also learned how to speak by imitating the teacher (keep in mind, I'm profoundly Deaf). I was able to talk to my fellow classmates, but I didn't always understand them.
Finally, I entered elementary school where they had a couple of Deaf Resource teachers. The teachers were fluent in sign, not necessarily ASL, but more like a mixture of SEE and PSE (sign systems). I should also point out that prior to the enrollment of pre and elementary schools, my parents would read books to me in ASL. They would point out some words in the book and show me the sign. I naturally made the connection, similar to hearing children of hearing parents. Those children are told what an item is called by enunciating the object's name.
Obviously, I learned English quite easily. On state tests which were administered annually, I would always score above average in the reading/language portions than my hearing peers. I also scored quite well in other areas such as: mathematics, social studies and science. I was enrolled in the Expanded Learning Program (ELP) for gifted students.
Recently, actually last year, I graduated from McDaniel College (aka Western Maryland College) in the Deaf Education Masters program. The specific educational method this college encouraged was the Bilingual Bicultural Philosophy. I thought this philosophy was the only educational method for Deaf students that made sense compared to Total Communication and Oral/Aural approach. As Rayfus posted below, this is exactly what I learned from my studies at McDaniel College.
Well, If anyone even cares about the studies that have been done on this issue and doesn't try and make a fight between ASL and English, the wisdom is that the important thing is that the child "Master" a language, *any* language, or he will be in danger of not being able to master *any* language. Since a deaf child cannot master English by the age of six, ASL ought to be the exclusive method.
Deaf children
should learn a natural language first, which is ASL. ASL ensures that the Deaf children will have a first language basis. After the age of 2 or 3, or even school age (5 to 6 years old), Deaf children should then be taught English formally, in regards to reading and writing. I would not advise speech therapy until the child has understood the basics of the English grammar and some English words.
Keep in mind, not all Deaf children are able to speak well, clearly, or at all. In my case, I just picked up on speech. My two older brothers are not able to speak clearly as I can. Even though we came from the same family, used the same language methods, etc., they still cannot speak clearly.
I think this is long enough for now. I'm anxious to see what other have to say in regards to this topic.
