The Clipboard

In This Issue...

A Message from the President: Scott Dougherty

Recently I had the opportunity to speak to two classes at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). Going back to my alma mater to speak to students in the teacher education program was an interesting experience for me, since it has only been a few years since I occupied the same desks as those students! What would I say? More importantly, what would I say that they would want to remember? In the short time that I spent with the students, I was able to relate some of my experiences as a fledgling teacher in the field of deaf education. While reading levels and communication were hot topics during the discussions, the issues of professional involvement and networking surfaced repeatedly. With these topics in mind, I mentioned my growing involvement with PESDHH.

Admittedly, as a college senior I had not heard of PESDHH, and once the name was mentioned I remember a fleeting fear that I would have to commit yet another mysterious acronym to the special education vault in my head. Anita Iurlano introduced herself to me and told me about a group of teachers getting together in Philadelphia one summer. Without much thought, I sent off my registration, packed my bags, and had a wonderful time. The following year I ran into Anita once again. She was now chairing the registration committee for the convocation in Bloomsburg and needed a bit of help. Once again with papers sent and bags packed, I headed off for the convocation in Bloomsburg. I had just unwittingly invested myself for what I hope will be a long association with PESDHH. Since that summer, I have received two more invitations to service from Anita. I feel fortunate for the opportunities to serve as convocation cochair and president, and thank Anita for the role she has played in guiding meto them. A part of me wishes, however, that I did not wait for Anita's invitation each year.

As I write this article, I can glance down at the minutes from our most recent business meeting. What I see before me is opportunity to make this organization grow. Our members expressed interest in expanding the role of PESDHH in every region of the state through small workshops and inservices. One of the executive committee's responsibilities this year is to bring other members to the table in order to investigate ideas and breathe life into the project. Susan Lindsey has challenged us to be a voice for our profession through the Clipboard, and some members would even like to see us expand our information-sharing to the Internet. All of these initiatives can be met, but will not occur without your involvement.

I offer an invitation to you today. Make the most out of your membership. Each of you has exciting activities planned in your schools, so use the Clipboard to let us know what you are doing. Join a committee to assist with activity planning, or just invite a friend to join us at next year's convocation. Those of us who are located near local universities have excellent opportunities to share some ideas with interpreting students and future teachers. I know my recent engagement at IUP helped make a few students feel just a bit more connected to the real world than they may have felt, and was a rewarding way for me to spend a morning. In any case, even a small role on your part increases the value of your membership and strengthens PESDHH. Please call me at (412) 371-7000 or email me at Skip1776@ix.netcom.com if you have ideas or would like to RSVP!

As always I look forward to hearing from you soon. Best wishes for a safe and happy year!

State and National Training Opportunities ó 1998

Optimist International Foundation Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Each year Optimist International offers students who are deaf and hard of hearing, ages fifteen to twenty-one, the opportunity to compete for $1500 college scholarships. A student wishing to participate in the Optimist's annual communication contest must register in advance, prepare a four- to five-minute presentation on a designated topic, then share his/her thoughts in a public forum, using sign language, spoken language, or both.

The 1998 Pennsylvania Upper Delaware (PAUD) Communications Contest will take place on April 4 at the Brynwood Inn Banquet and Catering Center in Lewisburg, PA. Individuals seeking information about the contest should contact Jean Comeforo, PAUD chairperson, at 315 Catchpenny Lane, Media, PA 19063, 610-565-6964. The registration deadline is March 1, 1998.

Jean submitted the following script, a 1997 winner, to the Clipboard for publication. The text has not been edited for publication except for the correction of spelling errors.

My Vision' of Tomorrow's World

My Vision of Tomorrow's World for Deaf culture would be very different compared to today's world. We probably will have better ways to communicate with both the hearing and deaf worlds. Three areas I see improving for the deaf in tomorrow's world are technology, lifestyle, and use of sign language.

Technology for the Deaf

In the future our TTYs will have a computerized voice. This will allow us to communicate quickly with hearing people, eliminating the slow service of the relay. This TTY will be able to speak the words that a deaf user types and type the words a hearing person is saying. Technology, such as computers, are quickly eliminating the need for TTYs. Our hearing aids are getting smaller and smaller compared to the box aids of the past. New hearing aids will be able to fit entirely inside the canal without being seen. All these new technologies will make the hearing world more accessible for the deaf and will allow the hearing world to interact directly with deaf people. Although this growth in technology is changing the way deaf and hearing worlds interact, deaf lifestyle or beliefs are unlikely to change.

Deaf Lifestyle

Deaf lifestyle or beliefs will probably stay the same in the future. Deaf people will still be against the idea of cochlear implants. It is a form of technology that the Deaf culture has never truly accepted. True Deaf culture advocates have long accepted technology that has assisted them to participate in the hearing world as long as it did not interfere with their "deafness." It is feared that things such as cochlear implants and corrective surgery encourage denial of your "true" culture. Cochlear implants do not work on everyone and if you remove the magnetic part of the implant, you are still deaf. It is my hope and belief that in the future the Deaf culture will be more willing to see the benefits of cochlear implant while still maintaining their roots in their "deafness." By maintaining these roots we will always need sign [language and sign language interpreters.

Sign Language Taught in Schools

Many hearing students are beginning to see the benefit of learning sign language as a second language and many schools are beginning to accept it as part of their foreign language curriculum. American Sign Language has been acknowledged as a language with its own grammar and language structure. This allows students in school to have exposure to sign language and the deaf world, so that, if they want to work with someone who is deaf in the future, they are aware of what it requires. Many mainstreamed nonverbal hearing students are also being introduced to sign language. This means that even more students are using the language so the need to know is increasing every year.

In the past hearing families sent their deaf children to deaf schools, never really learning how to communicate with them. With the increase of mainstreaming students with special needs, families are forced to learn how to communicate with these deaf children. They are learning to sign and making sure the deaf family member is part of all family activities. This is a trend I feel will continue in the future.

In the future our ability to communicate with the hearing world will be a lot better than in the past. Deaf culture is also forced to take a second look at their role in the future of communication between the deaf and hearing worlds. Life for a deaf individual has really improved from the past but there is still a need to grow. Deaf people have more rights and they need to learn how to use those rights to improve their lives. Deaf people are the same inside as hearing people. They have dreams, feelings, and goals for their future. With the hearing and deaf world working together I see a great future for tomorrow's world.

Editor's Note: If you teach secondary students who are deaf and hard of hearing consider sharing this essay with them. The Clipboard would be interested in knowing their responses to the material. Student correspondence sent to the editor will be considered for publication in the Clipboard.

A Mainstream Success Story

Jeffrey is a freshman at Drexel University this year. Grants and scholarships cover his full tuition, and OVR pays his dorm fees. Jeffrey is maintaining a 3.0 grade point average and is tutoring hearing students in writing skills.

Jeffrey submitted the following essay to the Dawn Staley Essay Contest and won! The essay was submitted to the Clipboard by PESDHH member Jeanne Sandusky, who had Jeffrey on her itinerant caseload during his elementary school years. Susan Roe, Jeffrey's high school resource room teacher, says, "I know I speak for all of Jeffrey 's hearing therapists when I say, 'Jeff; we are so very proud of you! You make our teaching careers worthwhile. ' "

Susan Roe

When a person has a life like mine, he often is influenced by many people. The most important one who comes to mind is my middle school hearing therapist, Mrs. Olanoff. She taught me many things about life, the real world, and what it is like for deaf and hearing impaired people.

She taught me that just because I am hearing impaired doesn't mean that I have to take a back seat to anybody. She also taught me that hearing impaired does not mean learning impaired and that I can be just as good as other people.

She introduced me to reading as a hobby in the fifth grade and I have been reading ever since. If she had not introduced me to authors like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, and my favorite, Sir Arthur Cowan Doyle, my very personality. would be different. I say this because when I am faced with a new problem, I try to use Sir Arthur Cowan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes' methods to solve them.

She has had a very profound effect on my life. I feel that if I had never met her I would probably be getting bad grades, have low self-esteem and no self-confidence. Thanks Mrs. O.

Jeffrey Burrows

Editor's Note:This essay was not edited for publication in the Clipboard.

PESDHH on the Web

A number of our members have asked for an Internet presence, and PESDHH is meeting that call. The Clipboard will now be available on the World Wide Web at the following address: The PESDHH Home Page ó http://www2.netcom.com/~skip1776/pesdhh/index.html

Currently this site only contains brief summary of the organization, a list of officers and how they can be contacted on the Internet, and the spring 1997 issue of the Clipboard.

Please contribute to this endeavor. If you have interesting teaching ideas for spicing up your classes, send them, along with other useful tidbits for inclusion in Teachers' Notes.

If your class or program has developed a home page that you would like to have listed on our site, please email the address and any comments you wish to include to Scott A. Dougherty.

Currently the PESDHH Home Page is posted in Scott's Home Page, but if the site is heavily hit, the opportunity always exists to move to a larger site. Come check us out today. Happy surfing!

The Clipboard Under Construction

After much consideration (plus a little coercion, and hardly any bribery at all), the following individuals have graciously agreed to assume some responsibilities with respect to the Clipboard.

Each of these volunteers will be tracking down stories, events, and issues of interest to Clipboard readers within his/her area of specialty and submitting them for publication. In this capacity any one of these people may be contacting you to find out what's hot on the local and national scenes from your perspective.

Jeanne Sandusky has agreed to oversee the collection of information for the Clipboard. Jeanne chaired the convocation held at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science three years ago. I'm looking forward to working with her again and putting her organizational skills and detail orientation to good use.

Here's what you can do to help: If you know of something happening in your area which is worth sharing with your colleagues, don't wait for a member of the Clipboard editorial board to find you. Get in touch with the individual who seems to be responsible for the area you represent and discuss your ideas. If you prefer to contact him/her via surface mail or email, then contact me for this information.

The list of topics generated to date is by no means comprehensive. If you have an idea which doesn't seem to fit any of the designated categories, get in touch with Jeanne. Of course, it goes without saying that if you suggest a new category, Jeanne might twist your arm a little bit to join the ranks of the editorial board (smile).

Susan Lindsey

Regional Training

Many PESDHH members are anxious to see the scope of the organization expanded to include more people and services. With this end in mind, PESDHH is hoping to offer regional training opportunities in the near future. Should you wish to help plan local workshops, contact your Instructional Support Center representative or any of the PESDHH officers listed on the back cover of this edition of the Clipboard. Remember. . . PESDHH is an organization of individuals who are invested in the education of students who are deaf and hard of hearing. It is an organization of volunteers. PESDHH is open to your suggestions and your support.

The Feel of Silence

"My life has been dominated by one burning desireóto fit into the hearing world. To learn to communicate as much like hearing people as physically possible. To endure whatever was required to enable me to live within the hearing world as an equal." These are the words of Bonnie Poitras Tucker, whose autobiography clearly depicts the rollercoaster life of a deaf person who chose to continue her parents' original decision for her to live in the mainstream.

Ms. Tucker is an oral success story. She describes herself as a "profoundly deaf person, unable to wear hearing aids." She completed college and law school, even making Law Review, with the aid of notetakers and oral interpreters. She then became a member of a prestigious law firm and finally became a professor at a law school IN Arizona. Ms. Tucker paid a steep price for success, however, as she clearly reveals throughout her story. Her years in school often were lonely and frustrating. She was forced to put in longer hours and read more books than any student who sat near her listening to lectures and class discussions, just to digest new information.

Some of the best reading in this book does not deal with Ms. Tucker's decision to live in the hearing world as an oral deaf person, but rather with the everyday anecdotes of a deaf person trying to survive. There is the story of visiting her French-speaking grandparents as a little girl, creating a whole new set of communication problems. There is the time her boyfriend's roommate, given the responsibility of entertaining her for a few hours, took her to the college's new music room.

Raising three hearing children and managing the house were major hurdles in Ms. Tucker's life. She had no flashing devices to alert her to a crying baby or a knock at the door. She could not use the telephone in an emergency because TTYs were not yet on the market. (Ms. Tucker tells us that as soon as they became available she bought one for everyone she knew.) Her marriage to a hearing man broke down after thirteen years when her husband told her it was just too difficult to be married to a deaf woman. Ms. Tucker reports that she doesn't know of any successful marriages between deaf women and hearing men, although she contends that the opposite situation seems to work.

This book is an easy read for a long weekend. Bonnie Poitras Tucker tells her story well. She conveys satisfaction with her choice to live in the hearing world but does not preach that her choice of oralism is the right choice for everyone. She provides a glimpse into a world many of us do not live in but should know about.

Book Review: Lynda M. Coopersmith

Tucker, B.P. The Feel of Silence. Philadelphia: Temple University, 1995.

The Widener Memorial School: A Very Special Place

The Widener Memorial School is a center school in Philadelphia for children with orthopedic handicaps and children who are medically fragile. It is part of the Philadelphia public school system and is indeed a very special place. Fifty buses, vans, taxis, and cars arrive at the school every day depositing smiling children into the care of a very diverse group of professionals and paraprofessionals. In addition to classroom teachers and the usual array of specialists - music, art, gym, home ec, shop - the staff includes occupational therapists, physical therapists, pool therapists, speech therapists, a hearing therapist, a full-time brace shop, and the district resource program for assistive technology.

The number of children receiving itinerant hearing support in any given year averages about ten. These students range in age from entry-level five-year-olds to those who choose to stay until they are twenty-one. Degree of hearing loss and mode of communication span the entire spectrum. Communication between classroom teacher and itinerant hearing teacher occurs almost daily.

This year for the first time, the students who come to the hearing support room are corresponding with email friends. In years past they had to rely upon the United States Postal Service mail delivery to correspond with penpals. Email is so much faster! It also is consistent with the use of a TTY and is a step toward communication independence. Students must learn to say what they mean in print so it can be understood by their penpals. Also for the first time this year, two of the students receiving hearing support are blind. I would love to hear from anyone out there with hints for programming for these very bright, hard of hearing, blind girls.

Widener is quite a place. Don't take my word for it. If you are in the area, please try to stop by to visit. I guarantee that you will leave with a smile on your face.