DeafChild

Some of the Deaf children don’t do well in mainstreamed programs.  Often the regular teachers  don’t have any formal training to educate the Deaf students. An increasing shortage of qualified interpreters impedes with the public education system’s ability to provide accessible education to these students.  For mainstreamed Deaf solitaire, a lack of social opportunities due to communication barriers adds to their sense of social isolation.

Regarding  the low scores produced by students in the Deaf schools, here is a dirty secret the mainstream education and oracy proponents don’t want you to know. The Deaf schools are the dumping grounds for those who don’t fare well in the mainstreamed programs. Unfortunately it is common to see the dumped children without language acquisition and academic knowledge, so the Deaf schools are given the extra responsibilities of rehabilitating the Deaf children and teaching them materials that should have been taught in the other schools in the first place.  Deaf schools are also responsible for children that mainstreamed programs are not equipped to deal with: Deaf kids with additional disabilities.

Contrary to what some cochlear implant proponents claim, not all cochlear implants are successful. For some reasons, even when all the protocols have been  proper utilizedly, the brains of some children fitted with cochlear implants cannot comprehend the rapid-fire speech encountered in the classrooms.  These schools are not equipped to deal with students who need a visual language to learn the academic materials.

Several Deaf schools, especially those emphasizing on bi-bi programs, are thriving exceptionally well. Usually these are operated by Deaf or CODA administrators recognizing that these students only need a visual language, but aren’t disabled otherwise. DoD families from all over the countries are relocating to these schools, so their Deaf kids can get an excellent education. So this brain drain affects the test scores of other Deaf schools.

In other words, the mainstreamed programs fight to keep the cream of the crop while relegating those not performing well to residential Deaf Schools. The DoD kids, traditionally known for their excellent academic performances, are enrolled in the bi bi programs elsewhere.

If these Deaf Schools are closed, where will these kids go? The mainstreamed programs already failed them.

The last time I checked,  each Deaf child still has the fundamental right to an appropriate education.