"Will this be the year that the school follows my child's IEP?"
"Will this be the year that my child makes more progress in reading and writing?"
"Will this be the year that my child makes more hearing friends?"
"Will my child do well at the (mainstream school or deaf school) or will I need to transfer my child to the (deaf school or mainstream school)?"
And if you are a teacher, you may be wondering:
"I have a deaf child in my class for the first time. What can I expect?"
"How do I ease the deaf child's transition into my class with his/her peers?"
"How do I make my lessons understandable for the deaf student?"
"How do motivate a frustrated deaf student to read or write more?"
There are no easy answers for all of these questions, but support and help is available on the internet.
Support Groups for Parents and Teachers of Deaf/HOH
Both parents and teachers may want to consider joining the EduDeaf discussion list, or the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf. The parent lists ParentDeaf and Listen-Up also offer large parent peer groups. Yahoo Groups also has a small to medium sized deaf education list; it is not known if this list is currently active. If you do not have the time for a mailing list, you can post educational questions in the parenting and education folder on the About Deafness forum.For Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
Students themselves can find publications and activities for deaf and hard of hearing children and teens in the Families category here at About.General Special Education Resources
For help with the IEP, an IDEA training package is available from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities. There is also a book about the IDEA just for deaf/hoh children, Idea Advocacy for Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard of Hearing: A Question and Answer Book for Parents and Professionals (compare prices).For Your Child's Teacher
Video materials are a key feature of classroom education. Make sure your child's teacher is aware of the availability of free captioned educational materials through the Captioned Media Program. (Families can borrow these materials too).Other resources are also available to aid your child's teacher in integrating a deaf child into a mainstream classroom.
Deaf Education Web Resources
In addition, Info to Go offers several publications on educating deaf children. Another good resource for both teachers and parents is the Deaf Ed site.Books About Deaf Education
Many books have been published on deaf education, both practical help books and scholarly works. Just a few are:- Signing for Reading Success (compare prices) is a book that explains the use of sign language to teach reading skills.
- Educating Deaf Students: From Research to Practice (compare prices)
- Teaching Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Content, Strategies, and Curriculum (compare prices)
- Deaf Children in Public Schools: Placement, Context, and Consequences(compare prices) is a book about the experiences of three deaf students in different school environments that was reviewed in Perspectives in Education and Deafness (vol.16, no.4, March/April 1998).
Have a good school year.
