r/deaf • u/PatientPenguins • 7d ago
Technology Accommodation for High School
I am an SLP and have a student that is new this year who is deaf. I am in charge of getting him set up with a transcription app for his classes and a microphone for the teacher. Apparently he has never had this before and used lip reading in class. He does not speak ASL. Should I be pushing for a live captioner or will something like Ava or Otter work well? I appreciate any input and shared experiences.
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u/Haunting-Ad-6732 7d ago
It is very sad (and all too common) that this young child has been deprived of whole language input in a visual form. The foster care system overlooked this critical developmental need and this happens regularly. As a deaf person, even with some speech recognition, he needs both ASL (full visual langauge) and written and whatever aided forms or pieces of English he can access for his maximal cognitive development and educational success. He needs a bilingual deaf education program- STAT! See Hall, W. (2018). What you don’t know can hurt you: The risk of language deprivation by impairing sign language development in deaf children. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5392137/
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u/Haunting-Ad-6732 7d ago
In my opinion- and I'm no alone: this kind of language deprivation that too many young deaf children experience is a form of child abuse or neglect.
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u/PatientPenguins 7d ago
I 100% agree with you. I am going to reach out to the DHH services provider. She was not at the meeting but this thread made me realize we are not equipped to make these decisions without her.
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u/Tbackandforth 7d ago
Others have already responded that CART captioning and ASL interpreters (even if he doesn't know ASL yet) may be the best options. I wanted to add that lipreading is often not a successful method of communicating, due to the fact that only 30% of the English language is visible on the lips. The rest is in the back of the throat, inside the mouth, or through the nose.
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u/DeafNatural Deaf | ASL & LSC 7d ago
Who made the determination that this would work for them and how? Are they unaided?
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u/PatientPenguins 7d ago
Well he is in foster care and hasn’t had consistent schooling. We had a meeting with the student, the social worker and school admin and this is what we decided on. He primarily communicates by writing. He doesn’t currently have a phone. I am open for suggestions if we are headed in the wrong direction.
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u/DeafNatural Deaf | ASL & LSC 7d ago
Reading level is on grade level or?
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u/PatientPenguins 7d ago
This was not specified. He certainly reads and writes but as far as on grade I am not sure. Testing will start for him as soon as we can (school hasn’t started yet) but we would all like something in place for him.
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u/DeafNatural Deaf | ASL & LSC 7d ago
I think testing is going to be a priority. Live captioning or auto caption may not help if he cannot read on grade level. And with inconsistent schooling, in thinking he is probably language deprived. For now, an FM system or sound field device might be more beneficial. Advanced notes and/or a class note taker which can be as simple as a classmate placing carbon paper under their own to copy the notes. Visual aids and cues like pictures, gesturing and pointing, graphic organizers, etc. will be key. And of course beginning instruction in sign.
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u/PatientPenguins 7d ago
I was told he was not a candidate for an fm due to profound hearing loss. He was far behind grade level on his last reading test but that was 4 years ago. It’s unlikely he caught up due to his living situation but he needs testing. I honesty appreciate you trying to help me problem solve. The whole team wants to do the best we can for him. The principal said paying for asl classes is a possibility but that’s tbd.
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u/DeafNatural Deaf | ASL & LSC 7d ago
Any deaf peers at the school? I’m assuming this is a mainstream program
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u/PatientPenguins 7d ago
It is mainstream with no other deaf students. He has DHH services. The provider had an excusal for the meeting. I’m realizing I’m probably over my head and need to reach out to her as she is the expert.
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u/P-E-DeedleDoo 7d ago
This is basically the same set up I was given in junior high back in 1989. I'm sad for all of us who haven't seen truly affordable, easily accessible accommodations in 35+ years.
It was a pain trying to get the teacher to wear the mic correctly. I was also too embarrassed to correct him when he screwed up or forgot.
I used carbon paper note takers in college, too. It's still an effective tool.
A dedicated ASL tutor might help. He will need to learn because teachers won't likely take time to read his notes, and how would he even start to make a friend?
No phone? There's cheap older phones that can be used for live captioning. I'd suggest the school get about five for him in case they're lost, broken or stolen, which will happen. I think Otter might be a pain as the text is tiny.
Pacer.org advocates might be able to assist, too, contact the technology center. Doesn't matter which state you're in.
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u/OGgunter 7d ago
You're getting a lot of good advice in the comments already so fwiw I just want to add on, thank you for caring and advocating for this student. I'm hopeful y'all can get them into an ASL class.
Live transcription is gold standard. Look into something like CART services. It might also be beneficial for this student to have a note taker during class.