Flying fingers and happy faces were much in evidence at Unity College recently when deaf children and their parents from all over Maine gathered to spend a weekend learning new methods of communication and the importance of literacy and the purposes it serves.

The conference, called “Let’s Read Together,” was the first of its kind ever presented, and was the product of a workshop on literacy training for deaf adults held at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., in June of 1989.

Evelyn Audet of Winslow, the parent of a deaf child, attended that conference. “Literacy is a big issue in the deaf community,” says Audet. “The average deaf adult reads on a level of third to fifth grade.”

It was determined that literacy training needs to start early, and because conventional methods of teaching do not work with deaf children, specialized methods must be used. A lot of that training must be done at home.

The task force wanted a workshop for parents and children 7-12 years old that would focus on literacy, teach parents new skills to help their children read, and give the children some alternative methods of communicating and organizing their thoughts.

One of the criteria for the workshop was to make it as inexpensive as possible for parents and children to attend. Lions Club District 41-I made a contribution as the Bangor Daily News.

The first “Let’s Read Together” seminar was held July 20-22. Seminars for parents were conducted simultaneously with the children’s sessions, with occasional reunions to talk over progress and share meals and snacks.

Living in the hearing world

Presenting the programs were Nancy Margulies of St. Louis, whose innovative “mind mapping” technique kept children intensely interested, and Carolyn Ewoldt of York University, Toronto, who conducted discussions with parents on the importance of developing literacy skills, and the impact of these skills on the development of the children as they grow. The seminars culminated in a panel featuring deaf adults who related their experiences while growing up, and how they learned to live successfully in a hearing world.

The children’s sessions had three interpreters signing simultaneously, one each in American Sign Language, Cued Speech, and Signing Exact English. With this combination, all the children were able to communicate using their preferred method.

At the beginning of the children’s sessions, Margulies introduced mind mapping, a form of communicating with pictures. Later on, after they had become familiar with it, the children would help Margulies teach their parents.

Expressing themselves by drawing pictures instead of writing sentences is an advantage for deaf children. English spelling and grammar are difficult and stressful for deaf children to learn, because the syntax of sign language is different from that of English. The ability to express themselves with a free-flowing mind map eliminates that stress at the beginning, giving them the chance to put all their thoughts on paper. Once the map is complete, they can look at it, isolate each facet, and then take their time writing down the ideas in English.

Ambulances were the subject of a great deal of discussion during the children’s sessions. When the children introduced themselves and told about their favorite things, ambulances seemed to be top of the list. This interest presented a good opportunity for Margulies to demonstrate her mind mapping method. With an ambulance as the central picture, the children discussed why ambulances are important, what is found inside an ambulance, and how the ambulance staff helps people. As each child expressed his or her thought, Margulies added it to the map with brightly colored line drawings. When the map was complete, the children had an overall picture of their whole discussion.

The game of pool also figured largely in the program. The Unity College student center contained two pool tables, which drew the children like magnets. Much excitement was generated during breaks and recreation periods, with keen competition among the players. When the children began to discuss the experience in the classroom, another mind map was created featuring table, balls, cues and some interesting drawings representing the rules of the game.

Seminar generates warm feelings

During one of the sessions the children were given the opportunity to become “famous authors.” The group was separated so each child worked individually on his or her own project, with the aid of a volunteer “secretary” who assisted with the writing of the book. The volunteers were teachers or counselors who either work with the deaf or are deaf themselves, and whose interest in literacy brought them to the seminar. The writing session generated a lot of warm feeling between the children and volunteers, and friendships were formed that lasted throughout the weekend.

One of the helpers who volunteered his time during the weekend was Bruce Emerson, a Bangor-based substance abuse counselor who is deaf. He was impressed with the creativity and ingenuity of the children’s stories.

“English is not our primary language,” says Emerson. “Unfortunately, many hearing people assume that because a deaf person cannot write well or speak correct English he is not as intelligent as a hearing person. The fact is that when a deaf person writes or talks, he is not only expressing his thoughts, but trying to translate them from one language to another.”

When the stories were completed, the children were given the opportunity to read their books to the rest of the class. While their volunteer helper held the books, the children signed their stories which ranged from a camping trip featuring a crocodile, to an ambulance carrying chickens that had been involved in an accident. While the children told their stories, Margulies drew mind maps illustrating them, so there were visual notes to help with discussion afterward.

Parents taught to support

Saturday evening’s panel proved to be a highlight for the parents. The opportunity to talk to deaf people who had “been there” brought home the point that given the right support, children would have a bright future.

One panel member, Virginia Colson, who works at the Division of Deafness in Augusta, said, “I feel it is most important for deaf children to express their rights by choosing any method of communication mode they feel most comfortable with. Deaf children can learn to read by reading simple books with lots of pictures.”

The greatest emphasis was placed on parents speaking the child’s language. The panelists were impressed that the parents present all knew sign language and used it with their children. The importance of this was emphasized by one of the panelists, William Glennon, who is is staff assistant at Gallaudet University’s Regional Center in Haverhill, Mass.

“My parents, brothers and sisters never signed. My communication with them was very superficial, very shallow. We could never discuss politics, religion, philosophy …

“It’s quite different when you communicate in one language, there is a lot of depth, there is a lot of feeling, there is a lot of intimacy. When I was growing up I thought there was a line, a boundary, there. I could not step over it. I was deaf, they were hearing. I was in a deaf culture. When I was home I had to break myself away from my deaf culture to join the hearing culture. It was a strange, cold world.”