What Can You Do With a Deaf Ed Degree? Well...

The last few days have been great learning experiences for me as I have had the opportunity to both visit my (host) cousin’s school (he’s hard of hearing but goes to a hearing school) and begin research in a deaf classroom housed in a hearing post-secondary (grades 1-12) school.

My host father asked me a few weeks ago for any advice I had regarding his nephew’s hearing loss and the best way to help him succeed in speech and school. I was so excited to help, because not only do I have some expertise in the area (as a deaf educator), my main source of expertise comes from living as a hard of hearing/deaf person and knowing what works for me! We had previously discussed R’s speech with his parents, and I told them some ways that they could help him understand what was going on and potentially improve the quality of his speech. Like many households in Nepal, my host family’s house is always busy, loud and filled with people. Often times the TV is turned on as well. Those of you who know something about deaf people know that this is a recipe for a very lost, frustrated deaf individual. Background noise, multiple conversation, and excess speech not directed to the deaf individual all make it very difficult for the deaf person to know what’s going on, and get anything valuable out of the situation at all. I’ve noticed R. staring into space many times and apparently ignoring everything around him – basically, despite knowing the language spoken, he’s acting like I do in a room full of Nepali speakers (sometimes English speakers as well!). For maximum understanding, I encouraged my host father and my cousin’s parents to speak directly to him, make sure he can see their mouths, speak clearly and audibly, and minimize background noise as much as possible. Regarding R’s speech clarity, I let them know that encouragement is the best thing they can do – ask him to repeat the word until he says it well (for him, not in comparison to others), and as soon as he does, compliment him or otherwise let him know that he’s doing well. Also, speaking clearly to him when they talk will also help his speech as well as his understanding because he will know what words are supposed to sound like. FYI, if you have a deaf or hard of hearing friend/coworker/family member – these tips are pretty generic and may help your communication with that person!

Yesterday, I also went to the private school that R. and his cousins attend and spoke to the principal and teachers about ways that they could help him to gain more understanding in class and better thrive in the academic environment. I was in for a bit of a nasty surprise when I was told that they were doing what they could, but R. must be cognitively challenged. Having met R., and seen no sign of a cognitive deficit, I had to control my horror and ask for examples about how he was struggling. I learned that his struggles in school were right in line with the struggles of MANY deaf children around the world – his low vocabulary was making reading extremely difficult, he couldn’t express himself well through spoken or written language, and he had trouble paying attention. I explained to the principal (and teachers later also) that these were not signs of cognitive delay, but rather problems seen in a child with a hearing loss who has had limited access to language. I REALLY hope I got through. After meeting with the principal, I observed R. in class for an hour, and saw many things that the principal had mentioned, as well as a few other things that may have been obvious to me only because I’d done the same things in school. When the class was finished, I met with R.’s teachers and principal for about 20 minutes to give them some ideas of things I’d seen and things that can sometimes work with children who are hard of hearing (not talking while writing on the black board, keeping expectations high, allowing R. to express himself in whatever way is easiest, etc.). It was an impromptu in-service, but I hope that it helped at least a bit! From what I’ve seen, the teachers were very eager to help R. in any way they can (provided they have the time and resources), and the principal was eager to help as well. I may not be R.’s favorite person anymore though – after noticing him ‘pretending’ to read during silent reading, he got to read again with me last night and answer the comprehension questions again that he’d copied from his peer during class. Once a teacher, always a teacher!

Today, and for the next few days, Anu and I are visiting a ‘deaf school’ in Sunthan, a village near Banepa. Rather than being a full deaf school, it is actually a deaf classroom within a hearing school, but like independent deaf schools, it’s still providing quality education to children who are deaf! One thing to note about research in Nepal – the transportation lasts nearly as long as the research. Today, we took a bus to a nearby town and then walked up a long hill for about 30 minutes to get to the school. I can’t say I mind though, the walk was beautiful! Our time at the school was very fruitful, and we were able to get our survey questions answered by the principal and the teacher of the deaf, and observe for a little while. Well, kind of observe. The reason I typically have at least 3 days built in for each school is because the first day, you try to observe but your presence is such a novelty that both the students and teacher often get distracted and forget to do their lessons. What lessons you do see are often not an accurate portrayal of a normal lesson. After the first day or 2 though, the novelty wears off and the lessons become much more like they are on a regular basis, so the observation is more accurate. Today the students were thrilled to see us, and kept trying to teach us more sign language – as there is only one teacher for the deaf who has them all day, she was perfectly happy to accept a bit of a break! I promised to teach the English portion of the class the next 2 days. I’ll post pictures of the students, school, and village soon.

Rather Random Culture Experience:

I was honored to attend a birthday dinner for my sister-in-law’s brother’s second birthday a few nights ago and was treated to a Newari (one of the many castes in Nepal and the first to settle the valley) feast! Apparently the even birthdays during childhood (2, 4, 6, 8…20) are huge celebrations where special dishes served only for select occasions are served. I’ve never seen so many dishes at one meal in my life! I think over the course of the evening, I saw at least 20 different dishes, maybe more. Despite the number of dishes, you were expected to try everything and even take some seconds. Needless to say, I was pretty stuffed by the end of the night. It was great getting to experience the birthday celebration though, and also to meet my sister-in-law’s family. Between aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and more, I have to be ‘related’ to at least half of the Banepa community! It’s been a joy experiencing the “it takes a village to raise a child (or at least 30 extended family members…)” culture of Nepal.