Unique program at TCU allows parents of deaf children to be heard

Fort Worth, TX

5/10/2010

By: Molly Cravens, Schieffer School of Journalism

“What do you want for breakfast?” Children all over the world wake up to this question, but what if they couldn’t hear the question? Parents of dependent, deaf children often do not have the time that their children have to learn sign language, so sometimes it is easier for deaf children to communicate with a deaf education teacher or sign language interpreter than their own parents. Fortunately, TCU has a new interactive program that can help teach parents language without the babysitter, parking fee and waiting room.

The Family Signs Program is an educational program, which was started in 2009 as a tool for parents of deaf, dependent children to learn sign language via video chat. While not all hearing impaired children are sign dependent when communicating, the parents involved in the Family Sign Program have deaf children who communicate and learn through the simultaneous use of speech and sign language and/or the use of American Sign Language.

The program is statewide and has been in the works for about seven years, and is sponsored by the Educational Resource Center on Deafness.

“TCU is one of three collegiate institutions in Texas selected to take part in the program,” said Teresa Dennett Gonzalez, instructor and assistant professor for professional practice for the Habilitation of the Deaf Program in the Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Gonzalez is also an instructor for the program, and teaches the online classes right from the office via Skype. By using video chat programs, parents can have one-on-one meetings with their instructors without leaving their homes.

One student was the Spanish-speaking mother of a deaf daughter who was learning some English and sign language at the same time. Though it seems like a lot to take on, she was able to compose a few full sentences in sign language, as well as the English translations, in only three classes.

“What do you want for breakfast?” she signed to her daughter. Gonzalez laughed with joy as she watched her student sign during a video lesson. “Her daughter’s laughing at her because she’s never signed to her before,” she explained. It would be an unforgettable experience to really communicate with your child for the first time, and it happened with the help of her instructor while she was “in class.”

This parent “attends” her classes in her living room, while her daughter can play and watch TV behind her. Automatically, this is much easier than finding a babysitter; it takes less time to log onto Skype than it would to drive to and from a class. The Family Signs Program allows a wide range of people to learn from the same person. A parent in Houston could attend a class that’s being instructed from TCU’s campus and still receive the individual attention needed to effectively learn sign language.

Gonzalez uses a series of flashcards to make a visual connection between words, images, and their sign language translations. For this particular parent, the flashcards contained both Spanish and English words. In addition to Gonzalez, three junior and senior level students in the Harris College Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders also instruct online classes. They are Samm Kern, Chandler Mallams, and Araceli Renteria.

“Having our students serve as instructors when teaching the parents gives them a real world application of their learned skills. It also provides them with opportunities to communicate professionally with parents prior to exiting the program,“ Gonzalez said.

It also gives students a chance to give back to the Fort Worth and Deaf communities.

Classes can be held via Skype, iChat, ooVoo, or videophone and can work at different paces depending on the suggested curriculum. Currently the most common is a series of 15 classes, which cover the basics of speaking conversationally and American Sign Language.

Parents who are interested in learning more about the Family Signs Program can register at www.familysigns.org. Information on TCU’s Habilitation of the Deaf Program can be found at the Harris College Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders website: www.csd.tcu.edu.