Rather than build an entirely new center, why not keep the outreach center where it is and look at what exactly is going on there. If there are problems, fix them. Perhaps the staff needs more training or some staff members need to leave. Perhaps new rules need to be enforced to encourage staff members to provide unbiased information. If some of the staff members did in fact act unprofessionally or provide biased information, they need to be held accountable.
I think more research needs to be done on the center. Part of looking into the center, it would be helpful to have the answers to the following questions:
Do they have and provide information on all options and communication modes?
Are they pushing ASL and Bi-Bi approach, and if so, why?
How are they assessing deaf and hard of hearing children regardless of how they communicate or what language they use? What kind of assessment tools do they use?
Do they include parent input when making recommendations? Do they ask parents for their input?
Do they respect the parents or caregivers' background, language, and cultures? Do they ask the parents' or caregivers' about their background, language, and/or culture to gain a better understanding of how they can help their child?
What do they recommend for children who do not sign or are not familiar with ASL?
What do they recommend for parents wanting to learn more about increasing their child's speech and auditory skills?
What do they suggest to parents wanting to go the oral/aural approach?
Do staff members encourage parents to enroll their children into ISD or to learn and use sign language?
Why can't they first focus on fixing whatever problems exist in the center, before deciding to build an entire new center?
What are they planning to do with the new center? Who will they hire? What kind of services will they provide?
How did they respond to or handle complaints or problems some parents had with the center?
What kind of training do they receive about providing unbiased information?
There's a lot of misinformation and confusion surrounding this bill. I think a lot of questions need to be answered and discussed before they continue with House Bill 1367.
We need to focus on the issues at hand, ask questions, and demand facts, not form teams and attack each other. It's best not to let emotions get in the way.
(e
I think more research needs to be done on the center. Part of looking into the center, it would be helpful to have the answers to the following questions:
Do they have and provide information on all options and communication modes?
Are they pushing ASL and Bi-Bi approach, and if so, why?
How are they assessing deaf and hard of hearing children regardless of how they communicate or what language they use? What kind of assessment tools do they use?
Do they include parent input when making recommendations? Do they ask parents for their input?
Do they respect the parents or caregivers' background, language, and cultures? Do they ask the parents' or caregivers' about their background, language, and/or culture to gain a better understanding of how they can help their child?
What do they recommend for children who do not sign or are not familiar with ASL?
What do they recommend for parents wanting to learn more about increasing their child's speech and auditory skills?
What do they suggest to parents wanting to go the oral/aural approach?
Do staff members encourage parents to enroll their children into ISD or to learn and use sign language?
Why can't they first focus on fixing whatever problems exist in the center, before deciding to build an entire new center?
What are they planning to do with the new center? Who will they hire? What kind of services will they provide?
How did they respond to or handle complaints or problems some parents had with the center?
What kind of training do they receive about providing unbiased information?
There's a lot of misinformation and confusion surrounding this bill. I think a lot of questions need to be answered and discussed before they continue with House Bill 1367.
We need to focus on the issues at hand, ask questions, and demand facts, not form teams and attack each other. It's best not to let emotions get in the way.
(e
e), I agree with you and think this is the right approach to take. What puzzles me is that the ISD Outreach assessment staff should ALREADY know how to do an appropriate assessment for deaf or hard of hearing students with any type of hearing loss and communication preferences. How the heck did they drop the ball so badly? where is the supervision? that's what I want to know. The skills and the expertise are there. I don't think a better-trained team can be found anywhere else in the state. Something is wrong. I hope the school can fix it. There's just no excuse for them doing what they did to Leslie's son.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous the First
I like the idea of fixing Outreach so it isn't broken. I like the idea of doing a study to fix whatever is broken.
DeleteI totally agree that there's no excuse what happen to Leslie's son.
What has me wondering is, how many families went through what she did? Was anything ever attempted to address this problem? Is that why the bill was drafted, after attempts to correct it?
And, it seems that as more information is popping up, there's more questions. I agree w/ Anonymous the First, above. Agree with (e, too, lots of misinformation and confusion. What is important is getting facts.
I asked someone on twitter, what Hands and Voices said as someone stated to another tweeter: "for starters tell Hands & Voices to cease all testifying and propagating *against* ASL." Instead of telling me facts, what Hands and Voices said, the response I got was: "Point is Candy they should not be taking sides. Period." I'm scratching my head. I've seen several FB comments in Indiana Deaf Education Coalition stating that CI and LSL should be abolished. I have not yet seen Hear Indiana nor Hands and Voices putting down ASL. Again, I would LOVE to see all of the testimonies from the House hearing. So, I think we do need to stick to facts.
Good summary, my thoughts follow similar lines (though that is not the only reason I thought you laid out the questions well).
ReplyDeleteThank you.
David
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