Beginning in a Rural Community
By Jenna Jirik, Wisconsin H&V
Helen Hayes once said, “Every expert was once a beginner.” I have always pondered this. How does a beginner “begin” if they do not have access to materials that they need in order to start?
As a full-time working mother to a daughter with hearing loss, my biggest fear was that our rural community would not be able to communicate with my daughter if she never spoke a single word. How would this community find access to sign language materials to begin a journey into a second language?
My fears became reality quickly at the daycare facility that my daughter attends. As the only child enrolled with a hearing loss and cochlear implants, it was a constant learning curve trying to train daycare staff on the signs my daughter was using even before she began to use words. What made it harder was learning that she would sign a word like “doll” and the teachers could not recognize what she wanted. There were no books, posters, or anything in the rooms that would help the teachers attempt to communicate with her.
By talking to the teachers at the end of each day and having them imitate what she was doing, I would realize she was signing banana. Then I would train staff on what the sign meant. We had our intervention team help with flash cards, but when my daughter moved rooms, the flash cards did not always follow, or the training behind the cards did not go along with them.
Because of barriers like this, I was thrilled to have my application selected for the Family Empowerment Micro-Grant from Wisconsin Hands & Voices. This gave me the opportunity to provide American Sign Language materials to the YMCA of the Northwood’s Youth Development Center and materials for the licensed daycare facility which my daughter attends.
At the end of November, I selected a variety of books and posters to have available in 11 rooms at the center. This facility takes children aged six weeks to pre-kindergarten age, and it has most recently opened up a room for school-aged children. After some time on backorder, I was excited to gather the materials and provide each classroom three posters (one alphabet /number and two holographic basic sign language signs) along with board books and a “teacher” book with a variety of signs. Carrie Luce, the facility’s assistant director, helped me hang posters in each classroom, and we presented the books to each of the lead teachers and children in all rooms.
The first room to get posters was the school-aged children’s room. One child asked me if the poster had sign language! I was excited to see a new beginning happen. After the posters were up, it was fun to see the children realize that pictures on the holographic posters “moved”, and to watch them mimic the signs. One child took a book right away to the “library” area of the classroom to work on signing the alphabet. In the one-year-old children’s room, the children who were still in the waddling stages of walking even rushed to come poke at the holographic posters. Just to see the interest that the young ones affirmed that the Micro-grant created a beginning in helping communication between someone who may be deaf or hard of hearing and someone who is not.
Sharing books and hanging posters gave the teachers a ready reference and encouraged learning with the children. A stepping stone to a second language was laid for children as young as six weeks old and the adult teachers in this facility. This small step will benefit my daughter while here. Even if one child picks up on the alphabet or learns a basic sign like “please” or “thank you”, who knows where that ability to communicate will take them. It is a good beginning! ~
H&V Communicator – Fall 2021