Reading and Deafness: One Mom’s Journey

When I first found out that Neal was deaf, three things were in the back of my mind. 1) I'm going to have to learn sign language; 2) Neal will never attend a regular school; and 3) He's not going to read above a 4^th grade level. (My husband had just finished a mainstreaming course as part of his teaching credential and been given the "fact" that deaf people don't usually read above a 4^th grade level). Of those three, the last one weighed most heavily on me.
I consider reading to be one of the most important skills in life. It was a plan of mine to instill a love of books and reading in my children from infancy. I gave them books as toys so that even before they could read them, they would consider them a fun thing to have around. I chose books that were nearly indestructible and didn't take them away if my children used them as chew toys. I was even quoted in a parenting magazine on the subject when my daughter was a baby. It was nothing less than devastating to think that my son might be robbed of the opportunity to enjoy reading.
I needed to remedy the problem. I didn't run to the computer to research the subject. I didn't even take time to question if the statement might not be fact. Instead I sat down and thought about it. I asked myself, "Why would a deaf person have trouble learning to read? They can SEE the words after all." I imagined myself reading and then it struck me. When I read, I hear the words going through my head. I sound out any words I don't know. What if I didn't know what sound was? What if I couldn't "hear" myself think? Others could give you statistics or lead you to articles that endeavor to explain why the average reading level in deaf people was thought to be 4^th grade, but this was enough for me. It was probably one of the reasons that I was so open to learning about the use of technology to provide access to sound for my son, and why he ended up with bilateral cochlear implants too. Of course that wasn't the only reason, and of course it wasn't all just up to me, but it is a good example of how important reading was to me.
So it became a quest for me to make sure that Neal broke that stereotype. In the year between his diagnosis of profound deafness to the time that he finally had access to sound, I used the sign language that we had to read books to him. He showed interest and I made it part of our day every day. Once he did have access to sound, I started using books to help teach him new language. At the urging of the teachers and therapists at his preschool, we made our own "experience" books with pictures and descriptions of everyday activities. I read books to him paying only minimal head to what the words in the books actually said, instead using the words that he was working on at that time that made sense with the pictures. I used the same books with new words added or substituted as time went on and Neal had more language. I read to him for at least an hour per day. We would read up to 20 picture books before bed sometimes. When he was about five years old, I started reading chapter books to him (the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park in particular). I could still modify the language as need be (giving Junie B. language much better than she had in print so that he wouldn't pick up her habits). I found that he could do it. He could listen even without pictures. Soon we moved on to other chapter book series, and before Kindergarten was over, we had read the entire Chronicles of Narnia.
During this time, I also did what most parents do. I started teaching him the alphabet and the sounds that the letters make. I hung an alphabet chart by his bed and we went through it every night naming the letters and their sounds. I went on to teaching Neal sight words, the words kids need to "know" without sounding them out. He was almost through the first 100 of those by the time he started Kindergarten. I really feel that knowing a certain number of sight words was a big help to him. It gave him some self confidence that he would someday be able to read a book to himself.
In Kindergarten he did start reading short picture books to himself. I had him read out loud to me and tried to impart to him the importance of tone while reading, so that he ended up being very good at what I would call "non-robotic" reading. His reading flowed well. One book I used to help with this was called Hug by Jez Alborough. It has nothing but the word "hug" in its pages, but I taught him how he could make it have slightly different meanings depending on how he intoned it. I also asked him questions constantly about what he was reading and had him make predictions about what might come next, etc.
By first grade, he was already above most kids in his class in reading skills. He read his first chapter book to himself and passed a reading comprehension quiz on it that year as well. I think that was when I first knew he was going to be ok. He would read at whatever level his brain was made for and being deaf was not going to hinder the process.
Neal is now in 4^th grade. He recently took a test that placed him at a 12^th grade reading level. He was told by the test administrator that he had the highest score she had seen in a 4^th grade student. I've had several school personnel comment about that accomplishment to me. I doubt that any of them realize what an achievement it really is though. Sure, any parent would be proud of it, but for me it represented the accomplishment of a personal goal for my child. He would not be leaving 12^th grade with a 4^th grade reading level. Instead he would be doing the exact opposite.
I still read out loud to Neal to this day. I think reading out loud to your child is at least as important, if not more so, than having them read to themselves. I still ask him questions as we go along, but these days it is just as likely to be Neal who asks me a question or reveals his suspicions about where the story is going (and he's usually right). I have always read books that are slightly above his language level so as to have new language to offer him while doing it. He also reads to himself and has described himself on more than one occasion as a "reading maniac." 
In the end, none of the three things that I first worried about with Neal being deaf have turned out to be true. He doesn't need me to be fluent in sign language to communicate with him. We still know a few signs and the alphabet, and maybe someday he'll decide to learn more. But then again maybe Spanish or French will have more appeal to him. He has attended a regular, mainstream classroom since Kindergarten. No different than his hearing sister. And he most certainly will not be reading at a 4^th grade level as an adult.

Having a child with a disability sure does open your eyes to what other stereotypes and misperceptions might be out there in the world about other groups, and what a gift that is!

Who will write for my son?

I asked this question on another blog and received a few responses both there and through email. The question wasn't actually related to the topic being discussed there, so I thought I would open it up here.

Here is the problem. Neal was just tested and found to be reading at a 12th grade level. However, he is in 4th grade, and really, he's immature even for a 4th grader. So, what at a 12th grade level would be appropriate for him to read? Not much I would think. We need more choices for kids who can read above their grade level, but don't need to read about "teenage situations."

Some books that Neal has read and liked include ones by Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, Jeanne DuPrau, Suzanne Collins, Stephen Hawking, Beverly Cleary, Andrew Clements, and so on. He also reads biographies and historical non-ficiton. I'm looking for more ideas. Do you have a child like Neal? If so, what has he or she read and liked? Let's start a list!

Books as Movies: Taking it to a New Level

In a previous post I wrote about books as movies. This weekend I took that to a new level. I went with Neal to see a live performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. That happens to be one of his favorite stories. He has read the book by Ian Fleming twice; he’s seen the movie a minimum of 25 times (the title song was the first he ever attempted to sing once he started hearing); and he’s seen the live stage version. Now, I’m wondering more than what books others liked as movies, or which they would like to see as a movie. I’m wondering why people want to experience the same story in so many different ways in the first place.

I think for Neal, it’s a simple matter of loving the story and not being able to get enough of it. I thought about it, and for me, it seems to be based on a desire to test human abilities. I want to see what people can do with a story. I want to know if someone can make Katniss in The Hunger Games look like a girl on fire. I want to see how close a car can come to looking like it’s flying on stage. When I read Fight Club long after seeing the movie, I wanted to see for myself how the author managed to keep the reader in the dark about the reality of the two main characters’ identities. Those are just a few examples, but the more I think about it, the more I’m sure that for me, the reason to experience the same thing in many different ways is because I’m curious about human capabilities, not because I can’t get enough of a story. How about you?

Books as Movies: Picture It

Being a self absorbed American, I have to assume that everyone is the same as I am. That means, everyone who reads a book constantly pictures it as a movie. Every once in a while, I read a book after seeing the movie, or when I already know a movie is in the process of being made from it, which adds a different spin to it, but most of the time, I can’t stop analyzing how good the book I’m reading would or would not play as a movie. Often I get anxious for someone to make the book into a movie so that I can compare how others picture the characters or settings to how I have, or see what someone else thought were the most important parts of the story line, etc. Sometimes a movie is made, and sometimes it turns out just how I pictured it. Other times I wonder if the person who adapted the story even read the book. Below are a few examples of books gone right and books gone wrong as movies in my opinion, as well as the book I want most to see made into a movie right now and why. Please follow up with your own experiences: What book adaptations have lived up to your expectations? Which were the worst? What story are you waiting to be made into a movie right now?

An example of a book that was adapted beautifully to me is The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of course there were some things in the movie that didn’t follow exactly with what was written in the book, but overall, the feeling of magic and strength translated well on film. Prince Caspian was less impressive to me, but still decent as a movie. I hope that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader does in fact make it to the theater because, of all of the Chronicles of Narnia books, it is the one I most see as a big cinematic experience.

A book that was butchered at the theater recently was The City of Ember. When my kids and I first heard that a movie was being made of that book, we were so excited. It is one of their favorites and seemed like it would be pretty easy to adapt without losing its substance. When I found out Bill Murray was playing the mayor though, I knew it was in trouble. Not because I have anything against Bill Murray, but because they were obviously making a big deal out of the wrong character from the book. I knew it was a sign that it was being taken in the wrong direction, and after seeing the movie, I know now that that was just the tip of the iceberg. Adding a big huge sewer creature to the story? Come on.

The book I have most recently read and would love to see as a movie is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Do you see a theme here with me reading a lot of young adult fiction to my kids?). As I was reading this book to my son, I actually stopped at one point and said, “I hope this gets made into a movie because I really want to see how they envision Katniss’s dress.” If I were to make a prediction, it would be that any movie producer who reads this book will snap it up. I think it’s got many timely themes packed into it: War and poverty, and the affects they have on kids; Government as oppressor; Reality TV and the dangers of going too far with it, etc. I can just picture it…