One of my best deaf friends in college did not graduate from Gallaudet with me in 1987. What kept her from graduating? At that time, Gallaudet required all students - no exceptions - to pass certain courses. My friend had a learning disability that prevented her from being able to pass the required course. I will never forget the day she told me tearfully that she would not be able to graduate.
Identification of Learning Disability in Deaf Students
Gallaudet University's Office for Students with Disabilities has online Guidelines for Documentation of a Learning Disability in Gallaudet Students. Although these guidelines are for Gallaudet, they could probably be used by other colleges.Web Resources on Deafness and Learning Disabilities
There are a few specific resources on the web to help parents and teachers of deaf and hard of hearing children with learning disabilities:
- Educating Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Additional Learning Problems - This document, available through the ERIC, examines the prevalence of learning disabilities in the deaf/hard of hearing student population, identification issues, and a short bibliography of articles on learning disabilities and hearing loss.
- The Gallaudet Learning Disabilities Handbook is a website hosted by Cristina Berdichevsky and Harry Markowicz. This site covers understanding of learning disabilities, accomodations, assessment and diagnosis, social and emotional issues, ld course sections, and legal issues.
- Gallaudet's Office for Students with Disabilities also has an online set of guidelines for documenting a learning disability in a deaf student.
- References related to learning disabilities in the deaf/hard of hearing population - This is an online bibliography of articles on learning disabilities and hearing impairment, from 1964 to 1993, compiled by Kendall Demonstration Elementary School.
Tips for Working with Learning Disabled Deaf Students
The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center has an online handout on strategies for working with deaf students with learning disabilities. Another handout offers intervention strategies for deaf students with language learning disability.Conferences on Deafness and Learning Disability
There was a conference, Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice in the Fields of Learning Disabilities and Deafness held in 1998, but the conference proceedings are not available online, and the Gallaudet site advises people to contact Harry Markowicz for the proceedings. Conference proceedings had included topics such as Tutoring Strategies for Deaf College Students with Learning Disabilities. Another conference, Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice in the Fields of Learning Disabilities and Deafness, was held in 2000. The Gallaudet faculty newsletter On the Green carried a report in its May 30, 2000 issue.Number of Deaf Students with Learning Disability
Gallaudet Research Institute's Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth collects demographic data, including statistics on the presence of learning disability.Personal Stories of Deaf People with Learning Disabilities
In "Story of a Deaf Person with Learning Disabilities," Jodi Kinner describes her learning frustrations, and how she overcame her disability to graduate from college.
Awareness and understanding of how to deal with learning disabilities in deaf and hard of hearing students has certainly increased. Unfortunately, Gallaudet University did not begin offering special LD courses until 1992, too late to benefit my friend who was unable to graduate.
