After #volunteering over 100 hours at an Auditory/Oral #Deaf Preschool in Savannah, GA I was asked to work as a para-professional for the following #school year. This program takes kids starting at age 2 that are born deaf or hard-of-hearing and have been implanted with a #cochlear implant or aided with hearing aids. To the contrary that many people think, we do not use sign language; all of the children use spoken language. We had a maximum of 8 students aged 2-6. The purpose of the preschool is to get the children "kindergarten-ready" with their hearing peers. These children learn to listen and speak language at the school. We have had several students graduate from the program and are thriving in a regular #education setting.
These were my two oldest boys at the school singing me #happy birthday. Ten years ago it was unheard of that kids born deaf could hear and speak. These boys stole my heart with the love and determination they showed when learning how to communicate. They #graduated the program and will be starting kindergarten this August. I am so thankful that I had the privilege to teach them! I cannot imagine wanting to tell someone something, but not knowing how to communicate it, these boys will flourish and not have to worry about #miscommunication either! I hope the video warms your heart like it continues to warm mine!