Navigating Education for a Deaf Student: Our Personal Experience

By: Ashley Cameron

From IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) to IEP (Individualized Education Plan), it’s a process in itself — never mind the choices of “where will my child access the curriculum best.”

When my husband and I started thinking about the transition from Early Intervention (EI) to preschool at age three, my first thought was: how will I process sending my little guy to full-time preschool?

Our son was born with bilateral sensorineural profound hearing. He received bilateral cochlear implant surgery at 11 months old and was activated on his first birthday. ASL was his primary language. At age three, his language in both ASL and English was delayed. He didn’t begin speaking 2–3 word sentences in English until about 3½ years old, and many of his spoken words were unintelligible to others. Although he wasn’t yet signing full sentences in ASL, he had enough ASL vocabulary to communicate his needs.

When it came time to make a decision about school, we knew he needed to have ASL access in the classroom. We learned that his articulation delay was partially related to a phonological speech delay, and ASL instruction became a requirement for him in school. We quickly realized that a mainstream public school preschool program would not allow our son full access to his education at that time.

After completing his evaluation process before age three, attending his transition conference, and advocating for his access needs, it was determined that he would attend preschool at the Marie Philip School at The Learning Center for the Deaf. There, he would have full access to an ASL classroom with some opportunities for spoken English, including Speech and Language services three times a week.

When our son reached kindergarten, his ASL skills bloomed. He finally had a strong foundation in ASL and started to communicate in full sentences. Around the same time, his spoken English language began to blossom. He truly needed a strong foundation and understanding in one language, for him it was ASL, to make the connection and become a bilingual language user.

Fast forward eight years later: he is graduating from 5th grade at Marie Philip School, his last year of elementary school before a big transition to middle school. His journey has taught us so much about his learning needs and how he accesses and processes information in the classroom. Our son is a bilingual language learner, and over the years it has become increasingly clear how much he benefits from a bilingual education.

When we asked him where he saw himself going to school for middle school, he told us he wanted to explore his options. After touring several programs and learning what was available, we decided as a family and as an IEP team that he would begin an extended evaluation period at our local public middle school this year. We requested an ASL interpreter during this evaluation period to see how often he would utilize interpreting support in a public school classroom. At the end of the evaluation period, it was determined that he did have access in a public school setting with a full-time ASL interpreter. He has done an amazing job throughout this transition.

Moving from a small class size in a school for the Deaf—with Deaf peers, Deaf role models, and ASL access all day—to being the only Deaf student in his grade, with 24 students in the class and direct instruction in English instead of ASL, was a huge change. He has worked hard but loves that he has access to a bilingual education. We are grateful that he has this opportunity to learn in a way that matches how he processes information while maintaining full access.

Every Deaf or Hard of Hearing child requires different ways to access their education. This access may look different from year to year. Advocating on behalf of your child and

understanding what they need for support is a critical part of their education. By working

together with your child’s Early Intervention coordinator (until age three), Team Chair, IEP team, Deaf and Hard of Hearing specialists, LEA (Local Education Agency), and a Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing advocate, your child can be set up for a successful future. Some days will be more overwhelming than others, but trusting the process—and those who have your child’s best interests at heart—allows that success to happen.