This video is for especially hearing parents of a deaf child. This video shows and explains the differences between deaf schools and mainstream schools, hopefully to help you make informed decisions for your deaf child, whether you should send your deaf child to a deaf school (also called a deaf institute, a school for deaf and hard of hearing children) or if you should mainstream your deaf child.
For those who do not know what mainstream means, the mainstream definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary reads, “to place (a student, such as a disabled child) in regular school classes”. Basically, it means to send your deaf child to a hearing school, or mainstream school as some people call it. There are a few different options of mainstreaming. Few public mainstream schools have Deaf & Hard of Hearing (D/HH) programs at mainstream schools… some Deaf children stay in the D/HH program all day, some others are mainstreamed into hearing classes for a part or all of the day accompanied by sign language interpreters. Another option of mainstreaming is to send your deaf child to a school that does not have a Deaf / Hard of Hearing program, meaning your deaf child would be mainstreamed in hearing classes all day, usually accompanied by a sign language interpreter and sometimes that also means your deaf child could be the only deaf kid at school or sometimes there may be a few other deaf students also. These mainstreaming options are not mentioned in the video but will be discussed in a future video.
Quick statistics re: deaf children- 2 or 3 in every 1,000 children here in the United States are born deaf or hard of hearing (nad.org) and most of deaf children, more than 90%, are born to hearing parents. And about 86% of deaf students are in mainstream schools.
This video features a short campus tour of a school for the deaf, a residential school for deaf children at California School For The Deaf in Fremont. The tour guide compares deaf schools and mainstream schools and discusses the benefits and advantages of attending a residential deaf school vs. attending a mainstream school. The tour guide also shares about deaf education, how different deaf education is in mainstream schools compared to deaf schools, which is very different… a very informative video for hearing parents who are wanting to learn more about deaf education and options for their deaf child.
Hope you enjoyed the video! :)
Big thanks to JAC for the school tour!
Be sure to watch the following video after this, an interview with a Deaf football coach who strongly believes that deaf children should go to deaf schools. In the interview we talked about the pros and cons re: deaf schools- both benefits & advantages and disadvantages.
Link here: • Deaf School Pros and C...
If you have any questions or topics you would like see covered on Signed With Heart in future videos, please comment below and let me know. :)
Thanks so much again for watching.
P.S. If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to Signed With Heart so you don’t miss new videos!! Signed With Heart is also on Instagram. I teach a sign or two everyday on there. Come join us on Instagram! @signedwithheart :)
P.P.S. If you haven’t watched the interview with my parents, where they shared how they found out I was deaf and how they raised me… here is the link: • Raising a Deaf Child -... :)
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Here is a link to the list of deaf schools here in United States including some mainstream schools that have Deaf / Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) programs:
www3.gallaudet.edu/clerc-cente...
Gallaudet University’s Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center has more information and resources for hearing parents of deaf and hard of hearing children here:
www3.gallaudet.edu/clerc-cente...
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Note to those who are subscribed to Signed With Heart on KZfaq and follow Signed With Heart on Instagram:
Even though this video is especially for hearing parents of a deaf child, I appreciate you taking the time to watch this video, so thank you for watching!! The more Deaf awareness, the better!! Because maybe someday you will know someone whose baby is deaf or hard of hearing and you can share with them about Signed With Heart. Thanks again!!