Deaf Kids Learn to Talk, Listen In Oral-Deaf Curriculum of illinois School

From: The Chicago Tribune - Jun 27, 2003

Deaf kids learn to talk, listen Child'sVoice's 'oral-deaf' curriculum gives hearing-impaired children an early start

By Leslie Mann
Special to the Tribune

Tommy, a 6-year-old with tousled blond hair and a mischievous smile, studied a picture of a living room with his teacher, Miss Carrie.

"Where are the dog and cat?" Carrie Bauza asked him.

"The dog and cat are sleeping on the rug," Tommy replied.

Tommy's classmate, Ethan, 5, joined him after returning from the dentist. He proudly displayed the "No Cavity Club" sticker on his shirt and showed off his white teeth.

It's a typical morning for pupils their age, with one exception. Like the other children at Child'sVoice, Tommy and Ethan are hearing impaired.

They wear hearing aids, but more than half of the 33 pupils have cochlear implants, which use electrical signals to stimulate nerve endings in the cochlea, or inner ear. An external microphone, which looks like a hearing aid, transmits sound to a speech processor, worn at the waist like a pager.

Founded in 1996, Child'sVoice is one of 40 schools in the country and the only one in northern Illinois that offers "oral-deaf education"--in which children are taught to talk and listen instead of using sign language.

A recent move from Elmhurst to an 18,000-square-foot facility in Wood Dale doubled its space.

"This will enable us to increase our student population to about 44 in the [age] 3-to-8 program and 20 to 25 in the early intervention program," said Executive Director Michele Wilkins. She also will have room to add an audiologist.

The school's mission, Wilkins said, is to equip pupils to be mainstreamed into public schools. Most take the step in 1st or 2nd grade. In all, 26 children have graduated and are in school districts from Joliet to Libertyville.

Child'sVoice follows the curriculum developed by oral-deaf education pioneer Jean Moog. With a teacher-to-pupil ratio of 1-4, the program focuses on language and reading skills in preschool, then introduces math, science, social studies, computers and music.

"It's an in-your-face instruction," said Sue Talman, mother of Child'sVoice graduate Zoe, now a 3rd grader in a Highland Park public school. "Zoe not only mastered the language by 3, but she even knew idioms."

Child'sVoice also gave Zoe the confidence to compete in a public school, Talman said. "She's a 100-percent-normal kid--tough, bright, an awesome goalie in soccer," Talman said.

After a Child'sVoice pupil graduates, staff members work with their schools, families and peers for two years. They conduct sessions with teachers about cochlear implants and the effects of hearing loss on academic skills. They meet with the pupil's classmates to educate them about hearing loss and hearing devices.

Oral-deaf education is nothing new, said Wilkins, who has been teaching for 25 years and has a doctorate in curriculum and instruction. "It's been around for 100 years, but the pendulum has swung back and forth between this and manual communication. Since cochlear implants have become available for children, it is back in the forefront."

It was in the 1990s that children younger than 3 became candidates for cochlear implants. Many parents, including Scott and Leslie Drucker of Mt. Prospect, learn about oral-deaf education and Child'sVoice after their children receive the implants. The Druckers' daughter, Haley, who was born deaf, received an implant at 3.

"Before that, we were signing," Scott Drucker said. "It was effective but really hard for the adults in the family to learn. After Haley received the implant, we heard about oral-deaf education and decided that was best for Haley."

Haley, 7, enrolled at Child'sVoice at age 3. "At first, she just said a few words," Drucker said. "By the end of the first year, she was talking like other kids her age." Now, she answers the telephone, sings and juggles art and tennis lessons.

Haley's school district covers most of her tuition of more than $24,000 a year at Child'sVoice. She is expected to attend public school this fall, her father said.

In addition to the children who attend the school, 17 are enrolled in Child'sVoice's early intervention program for infants and toddlers. An audiologist and developmental therapist/deaf educator work with them and their parents to develop language and listening skills.

The earlier a child is diagnosed, the earlier he or she can be helped, Wilkins said. "Usually, parents don't know for sure that the child is deaf until about 18 months when he isn't speaking like his peers," she said. "Even then, many parents are told by their doctors that the child is fine; he's just slow to talk."

This will change, thanks to a state law that took effect in January, Wilkins said, to require all maternity hospitals to screen newborns for hearing loss.

"We're very excited about the law, because it will enable more parents to get early intervention," Wilkins said.

"One of the greatest misconceptions is that these children aren't as smart as other children. There is no correlation between hearing loss and intelligence," Wilkins said. "If they are diagnosed late, they do have to catch up with other children academically. But they catch up quickly if they get the chance."

© 2003 The Chicago Tribune