[Nfb-new-hampshire] Fw: Lest we forget, We're not alone.

[Ed Meskys]

Remind you of the arguments about teaching blind children Braille? Ed Meskys

To: <NHBLIND-TALK at LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG>
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 10:13 AM
Subject: Lest we forget, We're not alone.


Among Twists in Budget Woes, Tensions Over Teaching the Deaf.
NY Times Wednesday, 2011_07_27
By MONICA DAVEY. INDIANAPOLIS -- Politicians have seen plenty of 
demonstrators
outside
the Statehouse here. But the crowd that gathered last month was a bit 
different
from
the usual shouting protesters.
Scores of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families assembled to
complain
in American Sign Language. Parents also have confronted new board members of 
the
state's school for the deaf in pointed, awkward exchanges. And more 
objections
are
expected when the board convenes next month for what had, until now, been
ordinary
meetings on routine school matters.
At the root of the tension is a debate that stretches well beyond Indiana: 
Will
sign
language and the nation's separate schools for the deaf be abandoned as more 
of
the
deaf turn to communicating, with help from fast-evolving technology, through
amplified
sounds and speech?
And in the struggle to balance depleted budgets, Indiana and other states, 
like
Kansas,
North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota and West Virginia have called for cuts 
on
many
fronts in recent years, including for state schools for the deaf -- a group 
of
institutions
with long, rich traditions.
Some advocates for the schools now worry that financial concerns could push 
the
debate
toward sending deaf children to 'mainstream' schools, which would, in the 
eyes
of
some, ultimately encourage methods of communication other than American Sign
Language,
or A.S.L.
Speaking and listening classrooms across the nation are known for their 
forced
exclusion
of A.S.L. and expressly forbid any contact with the culturally deaf adult 
role
models,'
Marvin Miller, president of the Indiana Association of the Deaf, who is 
deaf,
said
in an e-mail interview.
We view this as inflicting violence upon thousands of innocent deaf and
hard-of-hearing
babies -- taking away their language and pinning their hopes on dismal 
success
rates
of cochlear implants,' he added.
The two approaches -- sign language and the so-called listening and spoken
language
approach -- are both in wide use. Many people do not see them in conflict 
with
one
another, and view the two approaches simply as a matter of personal choice. 
But
shrinking
state budgets, with less money to be spent on programs for the deaf, are
hardening
the debate because they are turning preferences into policy decisions.
Advocates for those who use technology to hear and speak say their option 
can be
one answer to the budget constraints.
Kids in the mainstream save society, taxpayers, a significant amount of 
money in
the short-term and in the long-term when it comes to being integrated into 
the
hearing
world,' said Naomi S. Horton, executive director of Hear Indiana, which 
supports
families who use listening and spoken language to communicate.
There is a financial benefit, but at the end of the day it has to be a 
parent's
choice,'
Ms. Horton said.
Here, the clash began this spring, when Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, 
filled
four empty slots on the board of the Indiana School for the Deaf, which was
founded
more than 165 years ago and promotes what it calls a bilingual, bicultural
philosophy
that includes American Sign Language and English. Some 340 students go to 
the
school,
which provides outreach services to hundreds of others.
Parents complained that three of the appointees were not themselves deaf. 
Two of
the new board members (both of whom have a deaf or hard-of-hearing child) 
drew
particular
anger because families said they were dues-paying members of Hear Indiana 
and
were
perceived to favor an educational approach of amplifying sound and 
encouraging
speech
over sign language.
The appointments, they said, signaled that the state was now picking 
sides --
against
American Sign Language and deaf culture.
It has become crystal clear that these selections were premeditated, planned 
and
executed in a style befitting the most savvy of politics,' said Kim Bianco
Majeri,
who is deaf and whose daughters -- one deaf and one hard of hearing --  
attend
the
Indiana School for the Deaf.
Ms. Majeri said the school provided them with language skills of all sorts 
but
also
the nurturing environment and true peers that she said she missed out on.
My husband and I grew up mainstreamed and we would never wish that on our
children,'
she said.
Two of the board members who have faced criticism did not respond to 
requests
for
comment. A third, Mary Susan Buhner, whose husband serves on the board of 
Hear
Indiana,
declined to respond to specific questions about her views, but she did say 
she
believes
in the stated mission of the Indiana School for the Deaf to be 'the premier
comprehensive
center providing education, services and resources' for Indiana's deaf.
The Hear Indiana group lauded Mr. Daniels' appointments, saying in a news
release
that they represent 'the growing diversity of 21st century parents and 
children
living
with hearing loss' and a long-overdue inclusion of the views of people who 
use
technology
like cochlear implants.
Today less than 20 percent of all families choose traditional American Sign
Language,'
the release said, 'the remaining 80 percent want their children to enjoy the
full
range of sounds and to be able to listen and speak.
Kristina Swatts and her husband, Chris, got a bone-conduction hearing aid 
for
their
son Isaac when he was 9 months old.
Now 22 months old, Isaac sings, dances and says scores of words, and the 
Swatts,
who are not deaf, said they intended to send him to mainstream schools.
We want what every parent wants for their child,' Mrs. Swatts said.
The clash over the two approaches is complicated by conflicting and shifting
statistics
-- for example, cochlear implant advocates say the devices have a far higher
success
rate than critics claim, while A.S.L. advocates say the popularity of such
devices
is drastically overstated.
Advocates of A.S.L. say they worry about cuts to the state budget, which
included
a 13 percent cut this year to $16.3 million to the School for the Deaf, and 
that
more might be in store.
But Hear Indiana says the financing is already lopsided against a spoken
approach,
spending far more, the group says, on the students attending the school than 
on
the
rest of the state's more than 1,800 deaf or hard-of-hearing students, who go 
to
school
elsewhere.
At the end of the day, this entire conversation is about right-sizing the 
budget
for deaf education in Indiana,' Ms. Horton said. No one wants to take the 
ASL
option
away; we simply want to see that parents who choose listening and spoken
language
instruction (over placement at the Indiana School for the Deaf) have equal
access
to a free and appropriate public education.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Daniels said that no one in his administration has 
been
comparing
the cost-effectiveness of teaching sign language versus using amplification
tools
because no effort is afoot to change the School for the Deaf's model of
teaching.
That said, Jane Jankowski, the spokeswoman, pointed to disappointing 
assessment
results
from the school, and added that the governor had no intention of undoing his
appointments
to its board.
We frequently appoint individuals to our boards and commissions who take a 
fresh
look and bring new perspective and ideas,' Ms. Jankowski said.
PHOTOS: Kristina and Chris Swatts with their son Isaac, nearly 2, who was 
fitted
with a bone conduction hearing aid at 9 months old.; Kim Bianco Majeri says 
the
Indiana
School for the Deaf is a nurturing environment for Caroline, 4, left, and
Gabrielle,
5. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER W. STEVENSON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES) (A3) .