One of our goals through our publishing work is to support and become a platform for the communities we publish books about. Our hope is that the books and resources we create and the outreach that we do, all work to amplify a message for the community and become tools that serve them in some way.
Sign Up for Adventure!: The Dynamic Duo vs. Spaghetti Monster features the friendship between a Deaf child and his hearing classmate and the efforts they make to overcome their language barrier is truly inspiring. This book was created under the guidance of sensitivity readers from the American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) and Deaf author and educator Rachel Zemach.
Since we showcased a school story in this book, we put out a call to the Deaf community to share their real, lived school experiences and there were so many lessons to be learned in the stories we received. This article is for parents, students and teachers alike.
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Jessica & Anna
How can your hearing child be an ally for Deaf children?
“14-year-old Jessica entered the public high school as a 9th grader after having attended a Deaf school most of her life, and the hope was that she would have more opportunities to develop friendships and practice using English skills in a bigger school.
Soon she saw a former acquaintance, Anna, whose mom was Jessica's physical therapist as a toddler who learned some ASL from us in those days to better interact with her.
Recently Anna began attending ASL club and learning so that she could better communicate with our daughter who has become a close friend. They often sit together in church for an interpreted service. What a blessing!”
– Andrea M., parent
Judah
A lesson on inclusion from Pre-K clasmates . . .
“Walking into a preschool classroom for the first time Judah was excited to see other children his age and lots of toys to play with. A little boy was instantly attracted to Judah because of his red headband that held his 2 brown cochlear implants.
He was curious and asked what are those? I responded they are his other ears, they are called cochlear implants and they help Judah to hear better.
The little boy thought the Cochlear implants were cool, but even cooler when he noticed they had a light. The little boy and Judah became instant friends and the next day he wore a headband similar to Judah.”
– Jazmine C., parent
Sign Language Brunch Bunch
How can educators support Deaf children in mainstream schools?
“My student is profoundly deaf in 2nd grade and family does not use sign language. I have introduced it to her and have a sign language brunch bunch.
So many others have come and, although her language is still very limited, she takes such joy in asking students about their favorite animals, colors and foods. We are working to deepen her critical thinking and take the signs beyond concrete ideas. She LOVES it!”
– Jennifer J., educator
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Over the summer, we had the opportunity to have a conversation with Lavanya Karthik, author of Sign Up for Adventure! and Rachel Zemach to explore and learn about Deaf education in both India and the United States. We spoke at length about Rachels experience teaching Deaf children in mainstream schools, which she outlines in her book The Butterfly Cage.
Our conversation with Rachel and Lavana as well as the stories shared above are both heartbreaking and inspiring and overall truly eye-opening for Ambika and I as hearing individuals.
We will be sharing the recording of our conversation very soon and hope that and this article serve to inspire you to look closer at how we all can be stronger allies for the Deaf community.