In the News: Interpreters or Captioning in the Classroom?
Thursday June 14, 2007
According to the SGVTribune.com (June 14, 2007. Article free for only a short time), a deaf mainstreamed student has won a battle to get real-time captioning in her classroom. The school district is appealing, claiming an interpreter would be enough. The student is a primarily oral student, so a sign language interpreter is not appropriate. The article also mentions that other area high schools and colleges are providing the real time captioning, so why is this particular school district fighting it?
Related article on About.com: CART
Comments
Personally, I prefer CART for straight lectures, and interpreters for workshops and small groups where discussion is paramount. Interpreters permit far more involvement than CART does, but CART permits more direct accuracy, which might be important - college professors like it when you write papers that sound like you’ve paid attention to the phrases they use (something I have asked interpreters to watch out for, with interesting results.) Just some notes from experience…
I agree with Joseph Rainmound. I actually prefer CART in English, Science, and other lectures classes. If it is theatre, art, photography, physical education, I prefer ASL interpreters.
I think it is more cost effective as it would help me pass all my classes quicker. It is a pain and tiresome to watch interpreters and notetakers bicker about what was being said or discussed in class.
That’s a school under the G.L.A.D. umbrella that favors the use of sign language interpreters over the other methods like CART used by the hard of hearing and the oral deaf.
We got a federal grant to provide loaner laptops to schools who wishes to experiment with CART. We have 30 laptops coming in soon to support fifteen oral students in the fall. We’re highly motivated to bring the CART costs down so this type of accommodation will become more cost accessible.
Richard
Apparently the school district isn’t comfortable offering another option, CART, prefering that the student be limited to two choices only, an interpreter and/or a notetaker. It obviously fails to understand its legal obligation under ADA that the accommodations to communication needs of the child must be equal to her hearing peers on her terms.
Keeping in mind that in the case sited, the first language of the student was spoken English. However, for many Deaf students, ASL would be their primary language. My interpretation of IDEA is that the method that would best allow for the student to enjoy and understand the classroom experience should be employed, regardless of the cost.
Wow. I wish I had done that. I never got captioning or an interpreter. I was stuck with an FM system that didn’t work for me. And they said it was all they could do to help. If I had known back in high school that there was such a thing for classes, I would’ve fought to get it too.
I’m in agreement with Catie about FM systems. I’ve tried it twice at the movies and at a conference without good results. It is not very effective if you are not able to adequately “understand” what is being said. I would love to have access to CART when I would benefit from it. I hope that school come to its senses about the individual needs of that student.
What I would like to know is why the school feels that the student or parents are using their hearts to make the decision. The gentleman speaking for the school obviously has no idea what it is like to be deaf or to have a deaf or hearing impaired child. I am currently trying to find out exactly what I can do for my preschooler, and what I am going to have to fight for in her behalf. I believe people such as the spokesman for the school skirt around these issues and double talk, trying to make excuses for not having to meet the childs needs. Remember, the idea…No Child Left Behind…(I know this is not the same law, but, the principle of making it so that every child gets the education he/she deserves, is the whole idea of education for all of our children!) If any of you have ideas that may help me, please let me know, I do have a blog @ scrapncraft.wordpress.com
This message is in response to Anissa’s concerns. I am currently in school to prepare to become an Intervention Specialist. I have learned quite a lot about the rights of parents and children with special needs. Please educate yourself thoroughly about your (and your child’s) rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in terms of helping your child access a “Free, Appropriate Public Education” (FAPE). Find out what would benefit your child in terms of a Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Basically, “the LRE principle requires that students with disabilities be educated in settings as close to the regular class as possible in which an appropriate program can be provided and the child can make satisfactory educational progress” (in Exceptional Children by Heward, 2006, p. 79). Because of the LRE principle, please learn what types of services/resources/settings would benefit your child so that your could be well-prepared to state your child’s educational needs when you take part in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. I know the terms I presented to you seem daunting but, believe me, you will learn how to use them with ease. I wish I had specialized services in school as a child/teenager. My parents thought having a working hearing aid was enough, but they (and I) did not realize how limited I was in terms of getting information. I did not realize how much information I missed until I got a television that happened to have a closed-captioned function at age 25. For the first time, I learned that I missed almost 100% of what was being said in everyday situations despite good lipreading skills and limited ability to use telephones! I was so used to using body cues, expressions, and pictures to fill in missing “blanks.” So, please help your child by learning all you can to help her and she will be fine.