Resources for the Family

I just realized I have never posted a blog about all the many resources available to the family with a deaf child! Other than Isaiah's Place being the best place to be, here are some other great resources:

My first recommendation is going to be American Society for Deaf Children. Your first year is free, you just need to ask! They also host a wonderful family conference (aka vacation) every other year. This is a wonderful resource to have.

Hands and Voices will be my second pick. They have state chapters which you can locate on their website. They are an awesome resource for current laws per state and advocating for your child.

Many states offer a telephone assistance program. DARS offers such a program in Texas. We used it and my daughter received a free cell phone for text messaging.

Texas has a great network of deaf events called Deaf Network. It really is the best way to stay informed of what is going on around Texas.

Texas School for the Deaf has an incredible Outreach office. The outreach office offers services to students that do not attend TSD. They also offer a lending library for free! Tell Lisa Crawford that I sent ya!

Deaf Missions and Silent Blessings are awesome Christian resources. They offer fun videos, books, Bibles and more! They also do a family camp every year.

Harris Communications offers tons of resources.

That should get you started! Have fun digging around.

Daily Conversations

I've been reading Literacy and your Deaf Child and have been brought to the table. This week I was reading a chapter about how we communicate with our deaf children vs. our hearing children. We do treat them differently, and we always will, but we need to be careful we don't expect little of them. I caught myself doing this to Short Stuff.

We have done well to let her communicate with her friends and family with a cell phone (texting) and letting her order her meals at restaurants. But I do catch myself condensing what is being said when I interpret for her or do most of her communicating for her with adults. She is almost 11 years old and I need to expect her to do what a 11-year-old can do! And help her achieve those goals.

So with that being said, here are some things I am going to try to do this year:

• Journaling - This can be done conversationally or as a diary. Parents can write back and forth with their child. Or have the child write in the journal once a day about something that happened.
• I am using Reading Milestones for her reading practice again this year. Its a lot of worksheets, but she likes that kind of stuff. :)
• Be patient with her while she tries to read the menu at a restaurant and let her order.
• Create a word book for all the new words she learns.
• Short Stuff loves horses, so we are going to use that this year to learn reading and writing. I found a great book called Junior Master Horseman. It is full of ideas for writing, math, and more.

Communication around the Holiday Table

The holidays are upon us! What do you envision when you hear the words Thanksgiving?

A big oblong table covered in food?

A turkey and ham?

Visiting with friends and family?

Noise?

Football?

Now imagine the Thanksgiving table, but you can't hear anything. You see lots of people. You see lots of food. And you see lots of mouths moving and laughing. You don't know that there is music in the background. You didn't notice that Grandpa just said the dinner prayer. All of a sudden there is a line around the buffet table so you join in to get some food. All the kids jump up and run to the other room, but you don't know why. You carry your plate to the table and find yourself sitting among the adults. Hmm? Where did the kids go? You finish your food and go look for everyone and find them outside playing. You enjoy playing until they all run inside. Now what is happening? So you run inside too and find all in line for dessert! Yum! But by the time you get up there all the ice cream is gone and you have to settle for just a piece of pie. Everyone is laughing but you don't know what is so funny. You wander into the other room and watch the football game for a few minutes. Everyone is having a good time, but no one is talking to you. You can't follow any of the conversations because there are so many people talking at one time. You settle for playing outside or looking at a book until Mom says it's time to go home.

Holidays may be a fun time, but have we stopped to consider what our little special children are "seeing"? Here are some ideas to be sure our deaf children are included in the festivities:

1. If you can provide a round table, this is best for following a conversation.
2. Signing every conversation would be difficult and would probably bore your little one, but make a point to sign the funny things being said.
3. Pay attention to you child and make sure he/she is having fun and not being left out. Children are wonderful at getting around the language barrier. Let them play, just make sure your child is not being left out.
4. Give your child an opportunity to tell family members about his/her year.
5. And make sure that your child is aware when announcments are made - like when it is dessert time!!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

Schedule Dilemma

A while back I wrote an article on the importance of scheduling with children, especially deaf children. You can check that out here.

I wanted to share how we are using schedules in our home. Shelby will be 10 years old in a couple of weeks! Wow! She is a busy little thing, but really likes having that schedule. She likes to know what to do next and what everyone else will be doing. I've tried all kinds of schedule charts that I spent hours trying to create. I've even made picture cards of each job for each child. That was cool, but so much work! Because I also had to remember to change the cards out every evening.

So I got the bright idea to let the kids make their own schedule. What a concept! Not only did they have fun drawing all the pictures of each job, they remember their schedule much better. I made it real simple, but you could make it more elaborate. I took a piece of printer paper and folded it until I had 16 blocks. They numbered the blocks so that they would know which order to go. Then I told them what to draw in each block. I went back and wrote in the task to help with reading skills. Since the blocks are small, I wrote it. (Their handwriting can get rather large.LOL)

Happy scheduling!

Schedules

Schedules are an important topic when talking about deaf children. All children like the security of a schedule, but deaf children thrive off of a schedule.

In homeschooling sometimes we tend to be flexible - sometimes too flexible in our daily routines. This can cause havoc to a deaf child. A hearing child can hear all the background conversation all day long, but the deaf child only has the information directly fed to him or visually available. Example: My son can deal with a change in the schedule quite easily because he can hear his father and I discuss why this would be better or why this isn't going to work. So once he is told that there is a change in schedule he understands. My daughter has missed all the background conversation and all of a sudden is forced into a change of plans. This throws her off and she is diffiuclt to deal with for a few moments. Now I realize all children are different and there are varying degrees to everything, this is just a personal example.

Now deaf children do need to learn to be flexible, but at home they also need to feel comfortable and undistracted so that learning can be done and relationships built. The best thing is to have a rough schedule of daily events and make a visual for your deaf child. Some kind of calendar or chart to show pictures of what must be done and in what order. Don't set it up by times as this is stressful to follow. Just make a general order of events so your deaf child knows what comes next. You will find that your child will start to do these things without being told. It really gives them a sense of independence when they know what needs to be done and can take care it without being reminded.

Our family schedule:
Wake Up
Eat Breakfast
Brush Teeth
Get Dressed
Fix Bed
Bible Story
Free Play
Snack Time
School
Lunch
Free Play
Chores
Snack Time
Quiet Time
Free Play/Finish up any schoolwork or chores that need to be done
Dinner
Showers
Bible Quiet Time
Bed time

I have little ones so there is a lot of free play time. They need time to explore. During these times I have things available like sidewalk chalk, swimming, colors, puzzles, games, etc. My kids don't have very many toys so they spend a lot of their time outside playing. Of course I can get away with that right now because I live in Texas.

A schedule does not need to be a complicated thing, just a guidline to help you through the day so that your child doesn't feel lost and confused. If you need help developing a schedule for your family, please feel free to email me!

Why is this reading thing so hard?

The following is my notes from a session presented by Max and Charlotte Wilhite at the TAPED convention.

Ideas for word exposure in the home:
Word Wall – Post words found in everyday life on the wall using sticky notes.
Labels – Label everything in the house and/or environment.
Gift of Language – Decorate a word and wrap it up in a gift for your child to open.
Fingerspell – Fingerspell words you don’t have signs for, names, etc. Even when child is a baby.
Reading Corner – Create a warm, cozy environment for the child to curl up with a book.
Reading Ritual – Have a set time everyday that you read a book together. Ex. Bedtime
Games – Play games together like Pictionary and Scrabble.
Experience Books – Create scrapbooks of events the child participated in with language at the child’s level. Ex. Baby pictures with one word phrases or a book about a family vacation.
Creative Time – Spend time together cooking (recipes), sewing (patterns), scrapbooking (captioning), etc.
Captioning – Use them on your TV.
Sidekick – Invest in one for your child.
Grocery Store – Let the child help with the grocery list, cut out labels of things you purchase and show them to your child and let him help find them at the store.
Idioms – Don’t remember their specific point other than expose your child to them.
In This Sign – Read this book and then watch the movie.

Story Time

Reading Stories to your Deaf Child

I have three children, but only one of them is deaf. They all love to hear a good story, but reading one book to all three at the same time has its challenges. During the day I do read books to each one individually, but on occasion they all want the same story. We usually wait until daddy comes home. Then he can read the story while I sit next to him and sign. But it is such a bummer to have to wait for dad to come home.

I came up with a solution! All you need is a tape recorder and some blank tapes. During a quiet hour, record yourself reading the books on the tape leaving pauses between pages for picture viewing. Then use them during story time. Let the player read and you can sign the story. Of course if you are zealous and want to video tape the signing, that works too. I don’t have that option available and think that the kids would much more enjoy having a live signer.

So for those of you that find it easier to sign without reading, I hope this helps. Reading and signing at the same time is not a talent I have.

Bi-Monthly Teaching and Learning Tips

Starting soon I will be writing teaching and learning tips at Isaiah's Place. Through these "Learning and Teaching Moments" I hope to share a little of what we do at home educating our deaf daughter, a teaching or learning tip, and a short review of educational material. Diane and I would love your feedback on what you find useful and what you would like to see on this page.

I will begin posting articles and links here again. Sorry about the delay. Life has been crazy for us as we have moved many times over the past two years. We are settling in again and I am excited about getting back in the saddle again! We are expecting our 4th child this summer, so I am sure there will be another pause around July sometime. LOL