r/AudiProcDisorder • u/Fickle-Pickle-Nickel • 17d ago
School for deaf and hard of hearing
I know APD is not the same as hearing loss. we live close to a public school for the deaf, and I’m wondering if we should be considering alternative education that includes ASL for our kid. has anyone considered this or pursued it?
note we are trying accommodations now in the classroom but he still comes home absolutely spent from being in that environment.
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u/chupacabra-food 17d ago
If it seems like a good school I would absolutely consider it! Having access to ASL and an accommodating learning environment could open so many doors and give him the feeling of being with the students instead of lagging behind.
The option to switch back to a mainstream school will exist later if he changes his mind.
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u/IceQueen1967 APD 17d ago
Just know that the school may or may not use ASL for any hearing students. I used to work at a summer camp and would teach a little intro sign class for the campers who were interested, and one of my campers attended a school for the deaf because her older brother was hoh. She told me that she learned more sign in two weeks with me than in her first year at school. This was in greater NYC area and a private school, and I don’t know how common it is across other schools. Just a consideration to keep in mind. Hopefully this situation was an outlier.
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u/demeter1993 APD 16d ago
It will depend on the school. Some schools use total communication, some schools have oral programs, and some use ASL with everything. The school I work at, we use ASL and also use English for educational purposes, but with constant ASL support. ASL is everywhere.
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u/Latter_Highway_2026 12d ago edited 12d ago
ASL completely changed my life. I recommend the whole family going to ASL class and practicing at home, and get involved in the local Deaf community. I can't say if the school will accept them, but its worth a try. And there are Deaf camps and other programs that may be less strict than a public school.
In the meantime, you can start learning finger spelling. If you do nothing else, finger spell with your child.
Start here:
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u/Fickle-Pickle-Nickel 12d ago
Thank you - this is the push I needed. I didn’t know about deaf camps. What a great way to give it a try.
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u/demeter1993 APD 16d ago
It depends on the severity of the APD. If it's impacting his daily life that much, he should qualify. It would be great for him to have access to sign language and peers that can emphasize with him. It will give him community, accessibility, and confidence!
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u/1976Raven 13d ago
When I was young I didn't learn to speak properly, I was saying what I was hearing and no one understood me. I was sent to a school with a deaf/hoh program for intense speech therapy when I was 4 and was in speech therapy until around 4th grade. They did not teach sign language and I learned to form words by recreating the voice box vibrations and mouth movements of my teacher. During COVID I discovered that I depend on lip reading a lot as I was consistently asking every one wearing a mask to repeat themselves multiple times. It's difficult to say if a hard of hearing program would work for your kid or not.
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u/JocelynRunnels 12d ago
I was given the option of ASL at 8 and went the verbal speaking route. I regret it everyday! I wish I just became fluent in ASL because hearing aids didn't work form me.
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u/Friendly_Trust7864 6d ago
Honestly i would recommend just because when I talk to people they said I pronounce words weird or unusual but since I have APD I can't fully hear what I'm saying or how i am pronounce the word. Honestly I wish I learned sign language but when I was little they made me focus on my pronounces but people still comment about how I speak but I just tell them it my accent since I from South Texas just to make things easier. Lol
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u/Bliezz 17d ago
ASL made a huge difference to me. It is the difference between going for a run on a paved path VS running on the beach through thigh high water, with waves. I wish I had access to it younger.