Hearing-impaired kids have wild time

From: San Mateo County Times, CA - Jul 27, 2005

By Nicole Neroulias, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area

REDWOOD CITY

FORTY CHILDREN STRUGGLED to sit still while shouting "Hello!" during their day camp's visit from four of the Wildlife Association's rescued animals.

For half the campers, the salutation was just as remarkable as Thistle the porcupine's perilous tale of survival. Without their cochlear implants, hearing aids and speech therapists at the Jean Weingarten Peninsula Oral School for the Deaf, many would remain profoundly deaf and dumb.

Instead, the excitement throughout the JWPOSD's three-week "Great Outdoors" summer program comes across loud and clear. Siblings also are encouraged to attend, participating in standard camp activities like making dioramas and tie-dyed shirts.

"We try to have equal amounts of hearing and hearing-impairedchildren so they get some language models," said Jenny Ignacio, camp director. "It helps to develop social skills, and having the siblings involved helps develop strategies for family dynamics."

Learning to talk

The only indications that some attentive children couldn't hear every word of the Wildlife Association's demonstration were the colorful wires peeking out from their ears and the occasional sign-language interpretation offered by Pam Hefner, a speech and language pathologist.

Scott Hori, 7, of Redwood City signed "I love the fox," before Hefner coaxed him to speak "fox" while signing the letter "F" wiggling from his nose.

He and his twin sister, Kayla, have bilateral cochlear implants, but their different communication strengths — Kayla feels more comfortable with the oral approach — means they part ways during the school year. Kayla will stay on at JWPOSD, while Scott will mainstream into the nearby John Gill School with help from an interpreter and speech therapist.

Another camper with a cochlear implant, 4-year-old Helen Coffman of San Mateo, also had trouble expressing "I liked the fox," at first sounding more like "Ah mike a mox." Her mother, Jill, helped her pronounce the words clearly before accompanying her to a therapy session.

Mainstreaming effort

The school, which accept students from as far away as Pleasanton, aims to "mainstream" hearing-impaired children by second grade. With early intervention and the appropriate amplification tools, many develop normal speech, Ignacio said.

After several surgeries to install tubes into her ears, McKenna Carpenter, 6, of Redwood City, is ready to leave JWPOSD this year.

Demonstrating perfect enunciation, she explained on Tuesday why she didn't like Shawnee the hawk.

"It has sharp claws and might scratch me," she said, motioning with her red and purple painted nails.

Staff writer Nicole Neroulias can be reached at (650) 306-2427 or nneroulias@sanmateocountytimes.com.

© 2005 ANG Newspapers