The drivers of change in education for Deaf children

Parents and schoolteachers have seen a difference in the children in the HEARTS project

- KELEBOGILE BOLEU

THE average literacy level of Deaf school leavers corresponds to that of an 8-year-old hearing child, says the writer. I ZUKISWA MINYI Independent Newspapers

SEPTEMBER is the International Month for Deaf People. The World Federation of the Deaf declared September as Deaf Awareness Month. The aim of this month is to promote the positive aspects of deafness, as well as social inclusion.

As a hearing parent, I had little to no tools to help me navigate deafness in my child and ultimately the Deaf community and culture. I struggled to find my feet and make the choices that would be best for my child's future, I simply did what I could and what health practitioners had hurriedly told me to do. I lacked support and access to parents who had been through the same thing or just a space where I could share my journey with people that would enlighten me further than the health practitioners had.

Eventually, my son entered school, and though he thrived with his sign language and his deaf identity formation, the schooling environment itself was simply not a comfort to me. I experienced various challenges and though I finally met parents who could relate to my journey, I was quickly disappointed at the level of a positive school experience the learners have. Their reading and writing development was extremely underdeveloped and they struggled to keep up, even those in higher grades than my son.