Deafness is no excuse for getting behind in education.

by Dianrez
(Rochester, NY)

From earliest schooling, the expectation needs to be that the Deaf child be educated at the same levels as hearing children. The subject matter and programming are the same, and the time spent on each also is equal.

No time should be taken away for speech lessons, auditory training and audiological measurements and adjustments. This is done in an after-school situation as needed. The highest priority should be on education, since communication is established before school just as with hearing children.

If, for any reason, the child is behind the norms for his age level, investigation and appropriate adjustments are made by {adding to}, not subtracting from, the school curriculum. An extended school day, tutoring, enriching the family environment, and adding more language exposure outside of school could be done.

This comes uncomfortably close to the question of what language approach to take: auditory/oral or ASL. Both can be used from infancy in order to establish communication and groundwork for education.

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