What My Eyes Have Seen! Part 2 of...

2014
Eastern Europe 

Gender: Boy

Age: 4

Multiple special needs, including DEAFNESS

Weight: 10 lbs 

His picture and the label of deafness is what caught the attention of his unknowing soon-to-be parents, because they are Deaf themselves. 

I remember, vividly, the day his picture was shared in the adoption group in 2014. Even fully clothed, the years of limited nourishment were blatant, as was his distant stare.

Four years old and just 10 pounds?!  Surely that was a typo, a misprint or a gross understatement?  Maybe it was in kilograms instead of lbs?  That would make more sense for a four year old boy...roughly 18 kilograms, that would make more sense.   I remember soon-to-be mom commenting on advocating for this precious fragile one.  If she and soon-to-be dad had not just brought home their 2nd deaf adopted son earlier that year, maybe...

I remember thinking, "He looks like a __________ (last name of soon-to-be mom and dad).  No, I did not share that with them, then.  

A few weeks later, I just happened to be in soon-to-be mom and dad's home for a visit.  With great pleasure, I was observing the growth and improvements of their two already adopted deaf son's from the same country as this one.  

A few days prior, God had begun to open the windows of heaven for soon-to-be mom and dad to bring this third little one home.  I sat and smiled, shaking my head in agreement, as they shared with me story after story of the ways God was moving to convince them, especially soon-to-be dad, he was to become their third deaf adopted son and He would provide all the funds for his adoption and He would equip them to care for and raise him.

I had traveled twice before with this family to bring home their first two deaf adopted sons.  This time, I would actually be going into the orphanage with them, for their first of two required adoption trips, IF the orphanage director would allow it. 

We did not know it then, but it would be almost a year before that first trip would take place, but already my heart was pounding as I wondered how I would react to seeing this frail little one, for the first time...with my own eyes!

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Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant 

brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,  

equip you with everything good for doing His will, 

and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, 

through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13 : 20-21

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for 

teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  

so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3 : 16-17

 

 

 

COLOMBIA SFH DEAF ADOPTION MATCHING GRANT!

God places the lonely in families. 

Psalm 68:6

We are so thankful to be able to offer another matching grant for the Coleman family for the adoption of a precious deaf boy in Colombia, South America!  For every dollar you donate up to $750, Signs for Hope will match it!!   Read the first chapter of the Coleman Family's Deaf Adoption Journey below:

Hi! We are Jacob and Misti Coleman from Slidell, Louisiana. We have 3 biological children, Anna Beth (7), Lynnsie (6), and Creek (4).

We started the process to adopt from Colombia in January 2013. On our "special needs list" for our dossier, my husband and I both marked "Deaf" as a special need we were open to in our adoption. I grew up signing to music and have always loved the language and my husband had a very good friend when he was a child who was deaf. My husband also currently has a very good friend with a daughter who is deaf - which played a big role in him being open to deafness as a special need.

We were presented with the file of a precious 22 month old little Colombian boy in February 2015 who was diagnosed with profound deafness, following an audiogram in December 2014 and a delay in speech development. Our hearts screamed yes immediately, but we wanted to make sure we had the ability to provide an education for him through our school systems, first. We had already started discussions on the possibility of moving to be closer to the School for the Deaf an hour and a half away, if it was needed. It took 8 months for our son's orphanage to officially match us and send the referral. 

During our time of waiting, we completed several exercises of deaf education, as requested by Lifeline Children's Services, our adoption agency. We immediately began teaching our children sign language through the video series, Signing Time, at our local library and purchased the Learn and Master ASL DVD series for ourselves. We have also met with an ASL interpreter in our community who is willing to come work with our family in our home when we all return from Colombia. We have connected with several Deaf adopting families through Facebook, as well. In addition, our local Deaf action center has a monthly Deaf gathering at a local coffee shop that we plan to be a part of. 

One of our biggest prayers right now is to be able to connect with another Deaf child who is the same age as Silas. We hope that the Louisiana School for the Deaf can assist us in that.

We've also been extremely excited about the support we are receiving from our family, friends, and church family. Extended family and very close friends here are eager to learn ASL so they can communicate and love on Silas. Just yesterday, his future Sunday School teacher said we needed to plan an ASL training for the church volunteers who will be working with him. When I related this message to our preschool minister, she told me she had been praying about this very thing for a long time.  

What My Eyes Have Seen! Part 1 of...

IS SIGN LANGUAGE THE NATURAL LANGUAGE OF THE DEAF CHILD?

This blog series, What My Eyes Have Seen!, will be an ongoing series in an effort to share what my life's journey has revealed to me through my research, experiences and exposures to the Deaf community, locally and around the world over the past 15+ years.  While the Deaf community in other countries do share many similarities to all others, there are also, at times, some major differences because of the majority culture surrounding them.

Many who read this post and others to follow, will not be able to understand my perspective, simply because they have not walked the path I have walked.  They have not chatted with the Deaf folks I have chatted with.  They have not chatted with the hearing parents of Deaf children and adults I have chatted with.  They have not chatted with Deaf educators I have chatted with.  They have not chatted with the ASL educational interpreters I have chatted with; nor have they observed deaf children for many hours within many different family environments.  And they have not researched time and again, the many topics weaving their perspectives surrounding the Deaf community, as well. 

Do not be mistaken, I am a hearing person and always have been.  I am simply conveying my own personal experiences for these blog posts, in an effort to broaden and deepen the knowledge of those members of our hearing world as it pertains to the Deaf community and especially that of the deaf child. By far, the best way for a hearing person to learn about the Deaf community is to immerse themselves into the Deaf community by befriending Deaf folks and learning American Sign Language. We have much to learn from them. 

I will be the first to admit that my perspective has not yet attained perfection, as research always continues to unfold and I will be forever learning, but my current  perspective comes with years of experiencing the above and thus far it is what it is...because of What My Eyes Have Seen.

The first topic I would like to share about encompasses the question,

Is sign language the natural language of the deaf child?

This remains one of the most debated questions by so many and so many times by those without full knowledge of the topic allowing for inaccurate debate. 

In an effort to help our understanding grow deeper, let's dig a little deeper before I address this question, directly.

So what does "natural" mean?  According to Merriam-Webster:

Natural

: existing in nature and not made or caused by people
: coming from nature

: not having any extra substances or chemicals added
: not containing anything artificial

: usual or expected

Research of many sign or manual (visual/gestural/on the body) languages around the world, points to the natural development of each.  Most utilizing gestures and space, in the beginning, to get a point across in order for Deaf folks to converse with one another within their own groups, naturally occurring over time. 

As some sign languages continued to evolve from this initial foundational phase, they began to influence others especially during the Modern "Colonial Era" (1500 - 1900) by western European countries as they spread out over the world.  In addition, the signed languages and/or sign systems missionaries took with them to other countries have also impacted the cultures, as well as, the development of some countries' signed languages. This is a fascinating topic for another post. 

"World 1898 empires colonies territory". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_1898_empires_colonies_territory.png#/media/File:World_1898_empires_colonies_territory.png

No doubt, ASL's strongest roots come from France, but be assured Native American Indians and those living on Martha's Vineyard, year's ago, as well as, home signs developed by deaf children being raised by hearing parents have also shared their influence.  We often, mistakenly, limit our thinking of sign language to only American Sign Language. 

The use of signed languages dates much farther back than America. There is documentation of sign language being utilized as far back as 5th century BC.  There are currently hundreds of different recognized sign languages around the globe and others that have yet to be discovered.

Deafness has been noted as an "ailment to be treated" since 1550 BC.  Deafness occurs in every culture on the planet.

God, Himself, mentions deafness, much earlier, in Exodus 4:11 when speaking to Moses, " The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?"
In addition, the wordless form of entertainment called pantomime--or mime for short--dates back to 800BC.  One must wonder if the observance of those who could communicate through signs, but not speak, lead to this form of entertainment and communication by hearing performers.

And do not forget, in Luke chapter 1, where Zechariah learns very quickly he must use signs to communicate to others after his ability to speak (it does not say he could not hear) was removed following his doubt of the angels' prophecy concerning the future birth of his son, John (the Baptizer). 

Now, just because a deaf child is born into a hearing family--and this is true more than 95% of the time--this does not mean the hearing family automatically begins to use gestures and mime to communicate with them.  In fact, the opposite is most often true and the deaf child will often be the instigator of "teaching" home signs to their hearing family members in an effort to get their needs and wants met.

For years, I have used the phrase "NO language" when describing deaf children and deaf adults (yes, I said deaf adults) in this world who have not yet been exposed to any formal signed language.  However, I was challenged by a ministry friend just this week as we chatted about deaf children and their natural language learning via "visual language" even prior to exposure to or training in a formal sign language. 

She matter-of-factually responded to my dismay and delight of the quick Vietnamese Sign Language (VSL) acquisition of the deaf children, ages 8 - 14, I had visited with last month with, "Well, of course they did!".  After only 6 months of formal training in VSL these deaf children were easily communicating with each other, their hearing teacher and even hearing foreigners using VSL and gesture. Naturally, some were more adept than others, but all were communicating remarkably well for just 6 months of formal exposure to VSL. 

Even after I reiterated to her they had NO language prior to the VSL exposure this past November, she quickly countered, "Maybe no formal language, but they did have visual language learning from birth.  Light bulb...ON!!! This has been a reconfirmation for me that the learning of a manual language (sign language) IS the natural language for the deaf child.  Their visual world has been evolving since birth, actually even in utero, and needless to say when granted the opportunity to be trained in a formal visual language their already visually thinking brains are more than primed for it.
Deaf children ARE exposed to "visual language learning" from birth, if they are not both deaf and blind when born; just as hearing children being taught sign language reproduce those signs, with full comprehension, long before they can verbally speak them. 

 
Of course, training a deaf child in a visual sign language IS natural, as they already have a strong foundation for visual language learning since birth.  This realization, for me, supersedes my previous thinking that many deaf children have "NO LANGUAGE", but rather they have no"formal language" training, yet. 

Visual language is not a new concept.  Visual thinking is also not a new concept.  ASL interpreters covet the skill that visual thinking grants them for interpreting English into ASL. 

While information that is only visually received by our brains may be limited, at times, visual language and visual thinking are occurring and evolving from the moment a child is born, deaf or hearing.  That visual information is being received by the brain and impacting the brain in its development, making it "ready" for the learning of a formal sign language, in my opinion, even beyond the optimal age for learning a spoken language.


I believe this is one reason it is much easier for even a hearing baby to learn to mimic signs they see for expressing their wants/needs before they are able to verbally do so. 

My conclusion...

Deaf children really are not totally language deprived, ever, since they use their visual sense to absorb everything around them in their silent, but fully visual world.  Hence, learning a formal sign language becomes the natural progression for learning language for the deaf child and that gives them the foundation needed for learning to read and write English as their 2nd language. 

SFH Matching Grant for the Pruyn Family & Their Deaf Adoption

God places the lonely in families.  Psalm 68:6a

We are the Pruyn family and super excited to be in the process of adopting a deaf toddler from the Dominican Republic. My name is Jessica, but everyone calls me Jessie. Well almost everyone...my mother hasn't gotten used to that one. I grew up on a small rural west Tennessee farm, learning to love God and the outdoors!

I currently work as an educational interpreter and have done everything from freelance to Sorenson Video Relay Service, although interpreting isn't really my cup of tea. Alas, I do have to say at the end of the day, I love my job! The amazing thing is how I just fell into the Deaf world from my small rural lifestyle, but that is another story for another day. The important part is that through our local Deaf Church I met the love of my life!

Brice is a native California boy through and through. Growing up in the bay area, the ocean is literally his second home. An alumnus of the California School for the Deaf, Fremont this boy stole my heart when his dad brought him to our church picnic. We became best friends and the rest, they say, is history.

Adoption has always been something very close to our hearts. My mom, uncle, and three siblings are all adopted so it was no surprise when Brice and I began our courtship in 2009; adoption was one of the many topics we discussed. We both knew that we wanted to adopt one day, but always thought it would be later down the road. In 2012, we welcomed our beautiful biological baby girl into our home and life has been an adventure ever since. Never did we dream that being parents would, could be so amazing! Soon after, we began once again talking about adoption. God slowly began opening doors during the summer of 2013 and we began inquiring about adoption from various agencies and friends for future reference. We asked a few questions, figured out what we would need to get our house in order (a large addition to meet the minimum square footage requirements) and just tucked it away as something we would do later and went ahead with our own family plans. Little did we know that He would be leading us in this direction quite so quickly!

It was spring of 2014, shortly after our second miscarriage that we were contacted about this
specific child. When the agency told us of the requirements per the Dominican Republic, the 5-year marriage requirement, 6 months living in-country, and $40k we both prayed and agreed to take it one day at a time. The first step was to see if we could get the time off from work for the 6 months required for us to stay in the country. Brice asked his company where he works as a floater for a factory—he is a machinist/welder—and was assured he could take a leave of absence for that length of time. We called the adoption agency and told them we would press onward. We both agreed that God had opened this door and we were just going to trust Him to make it happen!

We could NOT deny the clear leading of God to this specific country. It has been over a year, now. We have worked almost non-stop on our house and finally this May right before our 5th wedding anniversary we finished our home study! We are now officially married 5 years and in the dossier process! God has provided every step right as we have needed it and we are trusting that He will continue!
 

Prayers as we move forward, please! The long in-country stay is going to be very taxing on us as we try to rent out our home, cover our bills both here and in-country and deal with lost wages. Please pray that all these needs will be met in the coming months as we continue to prepare! 

Signs for Hope has offered the Pruyn family a $750 matching grant. For every dollar that is donated to their adoption fund, up to $750, SFH will match it. The full amount of support will be at least $1,500. If God touches your heart to go beyond praying for the Pruyn family in this adoption of their deaf toddler from the Dominican Republic you can make a donation on the Signs for Hope website here.  Or mail a check to Signs for Hope, PO Box 460, Fairview, NC 28730. All donations are tax deductible. 

ENCASED IN GRACE - Beth Moore

God revealed to me an online Bible study series, in October of 2014, that I believe has the potential to grant you and me the greatest opportunity to live the "abundant life" here on this earth God has promised and so desires for us to experience, fully.  I shared this originally with 40 brothers and sisters, via email, last fall, and now God has reminded me of this study, yet again.  I am sharing it here in hopes God will allow many the access to these truths through this simple blogpost.  Below is the original email I shared last October.

 

 

The truths Beth Moore shares in this 7-part short video series, "Encased in Grace", pinpoint what I believe to be our greatest challenge to truly living and embracing a life of true freedom in Christ through His grace, every moment of every day.  Each part has it's own link below for ease of access. 

God has easily convicted me of areas where I am guilty (areas of sin) after watching the first three video clips (by the way the subtitles for these videos are near perfect) and I am sure He will continue to reveal additional improper thinking that prevents me from embracing 100% of His grace 100% of the time through the next 4. 

I want you to understand, I am not a "lover" of Beth Moore (I love her in Christ, alone), so this is not just a promo for her, but I am a "lover" of God's truth and I believe God's truths proclaimed in these videos are profound and life-changing for me and for you, for today! 

These truths are not new to me, but I have never heard them presented in such a way, with such relevance and timeliness, that have caused me to reevaluate my own life and thinking to such a deeper level.  This is exactly how the Enemy delights in preventing us from experiencing God's abundant life, whereby He can reflect His light through us to each other and to a lost and dying world.  I have said this for years and I know it is the title of a book and I am convinced it is true, "The Battle is in the Mind!" 'Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ' is our greatest challenge and yet it is our greatest defense.  But only IF we know/embrace/experience the Son's truth, can it truly set us free!

I pray these truths are not what we simply agree with, but we actually and actively allow God to change/renew our minds with them, so that we live a life that shows we are dearly loved by God (Eph 5:1-2) all the time, not just when we are what we would call "good".  And when we know and live like we are dearly loved by God, then we can truly dearly love others and...that HOPE does not disappoint!

For ease in finding each part (only about 15 mins each) of Encased in Grace on the Life Today website:

Part 1- http://lifetoday.org/video/encased-in-grace-part-1/ 
Begin at minute 2:13 and ends 17:12

Part 2 - http://lifetoday.org/video/encased-in-grace-part-2/ 
Begin at minute 3:11 and ends 15:51

Part 3 - http://lifetoday.org/video/encased-in-grace-part-3/ 
Begin at minute 2:05 and ends 17:18

Part 4 - http://lifetoday.org/video/encased-in-grace-part-4/ 
Begin at minute 2:13 and ends 17:13

Part 5 - http://lifetoday.org/video/encased-in-grace-part-5/ 
Begin at minute 1:35 and ends 17:42

Part 6 - http://lifetoday.org/video/encased-in-grace-part-6/
Begin at minute 1:27 and ends 18:36

Part 7 - http://lifetoday.org/video/encased-in-grace-part-7-2/ 
Begin at minute 2:35 and ends 17:46

This is not just for women, but it is for all of us, brothers and sisters. If these truths impact you to change, share these videos with others, please. 

I am praying you and I will allow God to embrace us with a love that we cannot understand, so that we can in turn love others with that same kind of God-love!  We can only love others because He first loved us. His love for you and for me must be our motivation for everything we do! 

Our Greatest Faith Builder of All, Parenting - Part 1 of...

This is the first post of a new series for the Signs-4-Hope blog.  I have no idea how many posts there will be in this new series, Our Greatest Faith Builder of All, Parenting.  Therefore, it will be labeled which part it is with the mark of ... after it, to designate another one will be coming, just like the ongoing So, You Want to Adopt a Deaf Child? series.  This new series will cover topics in relation to the training I have received throughout 2014 and early 2015, via TBRI (Trust-based Relational Interventions, Texas Christian University) and NCBP (National Center for Biblical Parenting) and the 30 years of training I continue receiving as a parent of two biological adult children and their spouses.  No, my husband Charles, and I do not have any adopted children, as God never called us to adopt. However, He did loan us two biological children to raise for His glory and that has been and is, by far, the greatest faith building opportunity I have experienced as a follower of Christ.  My prayer is this series will help parents of adopted and birthed children recognize that in order for us to raise up children to love and follow Christ we must be and must live that example before them, with authenticity and transparency.  Our failures and our weaknesses as parents, God can use and will use, IF we allow Him the opportunity to do so.

Anger is a God-given emotion! 

My interpreting experiences, over the past several months, have placed me in two counseling groups in our community.  One is "Anger Management" and the other "Depression and Anxiety".  I have observed, first-hand, many of the things I have been learning over the past 9 months in my TBRI (Trust-based Relational Interventions) class through Texas Christian University.  The overlap between these is really not surprising, but fascinating for me all the same.

Most of these adult folks, men and women, who for the most part, "look normal on the outside" have endured much trauma during their childhood years.  Their stories are all too familiar to the stories of the deaf children Signs for Hope loves and serves which include emotional, psychological, physical and sexual abuses. These traumas are in addition to lack of nurture, neglect and abandonment. Things no child, no human being, should have to endure, but the result of the sin of mankind via Adam and Eve.  God has allowed me to see, with my own eyes, in these counseling sessions, the consequences of childhood trauma which grows into adulthood trauma, with adult consequences, when left without any interventions.  These folks are often uncontrollably violent and some have taken the lives of others when they launch into their emotional tornadoes which engulf others as they tear down their path of destruction.  Others are daily haunted from within by depression and/or anxieties.  Once again, the tell-tale marks of emotions out of control (fight, flight and/or freeze) and centered in the trauma-brain...the amygdala.  Only, now, that trauma-brain resides in the body of an adult.

So often you and I quickly notice anger in those around us that we love, but how often do we miss it when you and I react in anger ourselves?  How often is it our own anger triggers  an anger-reaction from the ones we love which escalates to a level beyond what it should? 

Anger is not a sin, it is a God-given emotion.  The Bible tells us to be angry and sin not (Ephesians 4:26).  Jesus, Himself, was angry when He saw His Father's house being used for monetary gain and not for prayer and worship, its designed purpose.  However, His response to that anger, turning over the tables of the money-changers,  was not one of sin. Needless to say, I am sure those in the temple, knew without a doubt Jesus was angry and could have done much more than He did. I believe this is one of the greatest examples of meekness in the Scriptures. Meekness is not weakness, but rather it is great power under control.  Jesus could have easily destroyed everyone in the temple courts with a simple exhale. He is omnipotent God.  Think about it.  If Jesus had destroyed them, He would have been justified, but would His justified actions be perceived as being self-controlled or would they have been perceived as being out-of-control? Which made the greater impact for eternity? They had seen His miracles with their own eyes.  I believe His anger, under control, cut to their hearts and convicted them of their wrong-doing. It did not trigger an anger-response back at Him, but instead one of complete conviction of their sin and shame for what they were doing. 

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26-27

Let's face it, you and I, all too easily, can instantly react in anger given the right circumstances.  We are emotional beings, as God has created us to be, however emotions left uncontrolled can become our demise and can bring with it collateral damage to those around us, those we love.  These are not responses of God's Spirit who is living within us, but rather human reactions that are uncontrolled and have been "triggered" by something.  How does this happen so quickly and unexpectedly?  Afterwards, we might think, "Where did that come from?" Or maybe, "Did I really say or do that?". 

"For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, His Spirit fills us with power, love, and self control." (2 Timothy 1:7 TEV)


Becoming MINDFUL of those things that trigger our own reactions to anger is of great benefit, granting us the ability to have self-controlled anger-responses. However, if we never stop long enough to notice or become mindful of what our anger-triggers are, we will continue reacting to them instead of allowing God's Spirit to help us control our responses to them.  If you and I cannot become self-controlled with the help of the Spirit of God, how can we expect those around us, those who live with us, to do so?   

 

What triggers your anger?

Unfortunately, it is all too often those we love the most, or at least those we spend the most time with, are whose behaviors seem to irritate us the most.  These irritations can easily build up, if they are not dealt with in a timely manner, and turn into a trigger for an outburst of our anger...which most often...is not without sin and its consequences.

However, recognizing our "triggers" which can lead to outbursts of uncontrollable anger give us the chance to "catch them" prior to them snowballing out of control and thus granting us the opportunity to bring them under control. If not recognized, this is when the amygdala sabotages our ability to think rationally and fight, flight and/or freeze becomes our default setting. This is a basic strategy that those in the anger management groups are taught.  This is also a basic strategy of the TBRI training for parents and their adopted/fostered children.  Withdrawing, if at all possible, from this volatile environment that is primed for failure, is the first step in controlling an unwanted anger reaction.  Calming techniques can also be employed to help control the amygdala's natural response to that first twinge of feeling threatened.

This is not something you and I can truly accomplish apart from the Spirit of God.  Being self-controlled is a fruit of the Spirit. 
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Galatians 5:22-23.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:19-20

Below are a few great resources for helping us learn more about God's design for anger and for tools in helping us learn how to resolve our uncontrolled anger problems and then help our children do the same, together.

What Does the Bible Say About Anger?
Good and Angry: Exchanging Frustration for Character In You and Your Kids

The National Center for Biblical Parenting

 

So You Want to Adopt a Deaf Child? Part 12 of...

This ongoing blog series, "So You Want to Adopt a Deaf Child?" is written primarily for hearing families contemplating the adoption of a deaf child.  Yes, they will benefit others, as well.  Many of these topics are ones that other families wish they had known prior to proceeding with the adoption of their deaf child.  This is number 12 in the series.
Note:  There are many embedded links in this blog post.  For more details and resources click the underlined words to go to the additional websites for additional information.
 

So there is no doubt, Signs for Hope believes it is the right of every deaf child, around the world, to be given the opportunity to learn a manual language, a visual on the hands and body language, hence the name "Signs" for Hope and to become fluent in that language.  In addition, we also believe in providing whatever tools are necessary to help ensure the best possible outcomes for them to also learn their everyday written and read language.  These two things will not only improve their lives, in ways we may never be able to comprehend fully, it will also give them access to experience God's indescribable love for them.  


IEPs...Individualized Education Programs

 
"No one told me I would have to become a full-time advocate for my adopted deaf child surrounding their educational needs.  Now, I am responsible to educate those educating my adopted deaf child, so he can be granted the best possible educational experience throughout his academic years."

Many classroom experiences for all adopted children are challenging for the child, their parents, their teachers and their child's' classmates. Add deafness to that and little to no access to language-learning prior to the child's adoption and the challenges easily multiply.

If you are contemplating adopting a child with deafness and you know nothing about the educational rights of a child with special needs, and more importantly the rights and needs relating to the child with deafness, please do not proceed with your plans to adopt, until you do.

IEPs, IDEA, ADA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, what do they all mean?  How will they impact the life of your deaf child and those who educate them? 

Myth:  "The laws are in place, I can trust my child's teacher and educational support staff to know what is best and provide for the unique needs of my adopted deaf child." 

Sadly, most public school educators are clueless when it comes to knowing how to meet the educational needs of an internationally adopted child, let alone an adopted child with deafness with minimal exposure to language, if any. Deaf schools, often, are as unprepared for the behavior challenges, emotional and social delays, as well as, language delays of the adopted deaf child, just as much as the public school.  Numerous books and articles have been written about such things, for the hearing adopted child, but a teacher is rarely, if ever, confronted with these challenges until they suddenly have a new student assigned to their classroom, for the first time. That could be your recently adopted child...with deafness. 

Keep in mind, in the elementary years, your deaf child will have a new teacher each year.  While you will become more skilled in advocating for the unique needs of your deaf child, as you begin to learn what those needs are, over the years, your child's new teachers each year, rarely do. Starting at the beginning is not an uncommon requirement, each year, for parent advocates.

The goal is for the deaf child to learn how to self-advocate for themselves, but it will take many years of training for that skill to develop appropriately and will remain challenging throughout their years of academia.
Allow me to put aside education for a moment and just focus on language learning.  The paragraph below, taken from the article, entitled "Language and the Older Adopted Child: Understanding Second Language Learning" by Dr. Sharon Glennen, helps us understand the realistic process a hearing child faces when simply learning a new spoken language following his/her international adoption and when no one around them now speaks their first language.  By the way, this is referred to as second language learning, not bi-lingualism, as the child's first language dwindles to nothing very quickly when no one else speaks to them in their first spoken language and their first language is not being used to teach them their second language.  


"Consider these facts: the typical six year-old understands over 20,000 English words. A five-year-old child adopted from another country would need to learn an average of 54 new words every day in order to fully catch up in language comprehension abilities by age six. If the catch up time-frame is stretched out to two years, the adopted five year-old would still need to learn an average of 27 new words every day to fully catch up by age seven. However, while the adopted child has been playing catch-up, his six year-old friends have also added an average of 5,000 words to their vocabulary. By age seven, the typical child understands 25,000 words. In order to fully catch up within a two year window, the adopted five year old needs to learn an average of 34 words per day. In summary, expecting older adopted children to develop proficient English language skills within one or two years of adoption is unrealistic."


In fact, expecting an adopted hearing child, one that is already speaking their native language, to reach the same level as their peers (in their first language development) in five years, given their additional social and emotional delays, caused from their maltreatment/institutionalization in the early years, is also unrealistic. This understanding for hearing adopted children gives us a better idea of how challenging it can be for the adopted deaf child, with little to no language exposure in those crucial early years. Add to the above any additional unknown physical and/or learning disabilities you will not even be aware of until the deaf child is home and the language acquisition and educational challenges can be even greater. 


Of course, there must be language in place in order for education to proceed. Unfortunately, all too often, first language learning and education must occur simultaneously for the deaf adopted child.  There is no research, that even discusses how this impacts the long-term development of the deaf child. I wish there was some way--especially for the older deaf child who has not been exposed to language--to grant them a two year "catch-up" opportunity to begin learning ASL, in the home, in the most natural environment possible, before they are thrust into the formal educational environment.

Navigating the education of a deaf child can easily be compared to
navigating a maze!