Workshop For Teenagers (Dublin, October 2010)
By admin | August 31, 2010
IDK is hosting a full-day Life Skills workshop for deaf & hard-of-hearing teenagers aged 16 to 19, in Dublin on October 28th, during the mid-term break. Real-time captioning and ISL interpretation will be provided all day.
This workshop aims to engage the teenagers in the day’s learning through active participation, to involve them as fully as possible.
A mix of deaf and hearing speakers will teach on the day, with vetted volunteers providing interpersonal back-up to the captioners & interpreters.
For more details, please email info<at>irishdeafkids.ie, post your questions as a comment to this page, or post to IDK’s Facebook group Wall.
This workshop is free-of-charge to teen participants, thanks to IDK’s win in a competition held by 3 Mobile and the Sunday Business Post, in April 2010.
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | No Comments »
IDK’s Student Essay Editing/Proofreading Service
By admin | August 27, 2010
With more deaf students moving to third-level education in Ireland, the IDK team knows these students need specific essay supports.
Many colleges provide services for deaf students to have written work edited and proof-read before deadlines, especially if ISL is their first language.
IDK is uniquely positioned to provide this editing and proof-reading service to complement its current services and fund new projects. Crucially, the IDK team has personal experience of hearing issues, plus tertiary qualifications and experience in publishing, editing and proof-reading. Their skills include:
- Editing
- Proof-reading
- Writing to commission (print and online)
- Email newsletters and e-zine writing
- Print newsletter writing
- Rewriting for print & the web
- Synopsis production
- Points annotation
IDK has recently undertaken the following work:
- Production of an online postgraduate, distance-learning course (research, writing to specification, editing and proof-reading).
- Editing and proof-reading of essays, dissertations and theses.
Please email info<at>irishdeafkids.ie for full details of this service.
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | 2 Comments »
Laois Rose Mentions IDK At The Rose Of Tralee
By admin | August 25, 2010
Ireland’s Rose of Tralee international festival needs introducing to few people. So, the IDK team was surprised and delighted when the Laois Rose, Bernadette Ryan, mentioned IDK in her live TV interview at the event.
Bernadette, a primary school teacher in Co. Laois, has supported IDK in recent months due to understanding the unique challenges experienced in Ireland by families with deaf children. Her older sister Loretta, who was deaf, passed away at the age of 12, when Ber herself was 7 years old.
The IDK team wishes Ber the very best as she juggles teaching and study with being the Laois Rose! Read more in the Midland Tribune newspaper …
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | No Comments »
Digital Readers (eReaders) Improve Child Literacy
By admin | August 23, 2010
Until now, eReaders (digital book-reading devices) were used exclusively by adults, but the release of vTech’s eReader models for children and Apple’s iPad means it is time to explore the benefits of eReaders for kids.
One year ago, IDK noted how web technologies make story-telling inclusive for deaf and hearing children who may be in the same classroom. When e-books merge audio, text and animation options, child literacy improves, as demonstrated in the UK’s Signed Stories project to support social inclusion.
Some obvious benefits of digital readers and e-books for children:
- A wide range of books are available for kids with different needs
- Accessible, picture-based e-books develop a child’s imagination.
- Interactive books engage children and make learning fun.
- First ABCs and words can be taught as a family is on the move.
- Sign language may be easier to link to print letters in an e-book.
- E-books hold many books on one device and are lighter than paper.
- Younger children learn new words and extend their vocabulary.
- Older children learn to construct sentences and stories by reading.
Several different types of e-readers are available with uses. Here are some top-selling e-books that are available for most popular eReaders.
- Dora the Explorer. These e-books read a story while highlighting the text being said. This supports word association for children, who can colour in characters, between chapters to consolidate learning.
- The Happy Prince and Other Tales. Today’s kids enjoy these stories. The ebook has favorites by Oscar Wilde, like The Selfish Giant.
- The Harry Potter books. These are for older children and words can be highlighted. The e-book allows children to choose where the story should go by giving them different places to go or spells to cast.
Digital readers and e-books are the future for education and many countries are phasing in digital media to national education systems. In June 2009, the state of California proposed a plan to increase digital media use in education, starting with maths and science subjects. In the last college year Hackney City Academy in the UK also offered digital textbooks to students.
(compiled by Miriam Walsh)
Further Reading:
Reading & Language Development in Deaf Children
Early-Education To Be Revolutionised By SmartPhone Devices
Young Readers Learn From DVDs & Touch-Phones
Using Software Tools To Teach Deaf Children
RFID Technology Teaches Deaf Children Language
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | No Comments »
Hidden Hearing Offers Ear-Moulds To IDK’s “Kids”
By admin | August 18, 2010
Earlier this year, Hidden Hearing (the hearing-aid provider) contacted IDK about the difficulty parents can have in sourcing hearing aids and earmoulds for their children. Ear-moulds give parents particular grief, as children grow in millimetres and a new set may not fit if it is delayed for a few months.
Hidden Hearing will fit IDK’s “kids” with new earmoulds at a 20% discount on the €50 price. Please contact your nearest branch for an appointment.
Earmoulds fit in the ear, as part of a hearing-aid. If a child’s moulds don’t fit tightly, their aid/s whistle with feedback. Loose moulds spoil a child’s ability to hear with aids, especially if aids are turned down to cut ensuing feedback.
Badly-fitting ear-moulds are a double-whammy for a child with hearing-aids, and a very young child may need new moulds monthly, as they grow.
We are very grateful to Hidden Hearing for giving IDK’s “kids” this option in light of HSE delays, and look forward to positive “feedback” (pun intended).
Further Reading
One Parent’s Feedback: National Audiology Review
Hearing-Aids + Learning = Education
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | No Comments »
Australia’s Deaf Kids Get Captions In Classrooms
By admin | August 16, 2010
For the first time deaf kids in Australia can gain equal access in classrooms, with a pilot schools-captioning idea from access solutions firm, Ai Media.
Ai Media was formed in 2003 and has since dedicated itself to providing generic captioning services. In Australia about 85% of deaf children attend mainstream schools and last year AI Media began captioning in schools.
Teachers are already seeing results. Students with captioning are more engaged in class, have better concentration and are included in all lessons. They are part of the class and not isolated in a corner with an interpreter.
Support teacher Sally Pape talks about one of her year 9 students, “She did all her homework, all her assignments, and she went from the bottom of the class to coming first in the yearly exam. It was a huge change”.
For the first time, a teacher knows a student is fully understanding the topic in progress and can get feedback and communicate with the students.
This solution is not just for schools: It supports life-long learning and can be used in colleges and workplaces so the long-term social benefits are clear.
Parents anticipate a different, better future for their children. Parent Alex Jones says, “[with this captioning] there will be roads, avenues and doors opened for my son, not only for his future, but for the future of his friends who are deaf also. They will all have value and benefit.”
Similarly, Tony Abrahams, CEO at AI Media says, “It’s a solution that is tested, is reliable and is scalable. And it means that going forward, no deaf kid needs to be left behind and no-one needs to be out of work just because they can’t hear. And that’s really what Ai-Live means, and it’s exciting.”
(compiled by Miriam Walsh)
Further Reading
Video of Ai-Live captioning solution
Australia’s First Model Classroom For Deaf Pupils
Tutorial Captioning Benefits Deaf Students’ Access
Real-Time Captioning At School Via Mobile Phone
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | No Comments »
Hearing Aids + Learning = Education
By caroline | August 11, 2010
Two recent articles in the Irish press highlighted two essential issues facing families with deaf children in Ireland. These are the need for:
- hearing-aids from as young as possible (even under 1 year old), and
- early intervention for children with severe to profound deafness
Newcomers to deafness may ask, what is the link with hearing-aids, learning & education? The answer is easy. Hearing-aids + learning = education.
The article, Children Waiting Over Two Years For Hearing-Aids (Examiner, Aug. 3, 2010) outlines the unbelievable failings of state audiology services.
Very young children need hearing-aids to hear sounds in their environment: namely their families’ voices, household noises and traffic sounds for safety.
When a young child receives sounds via hearing-aids, their brain learns to recognise and make sense of sounds around them. This way, the child is best-placed for early language learning at home, before preschool starts.
Children learn 75% of their total knowledge in their first four years of life. Deaf infants and children deserve hearing-aids at this stage. Otherwise, their language learning (and formal education) is delayed from the start.
A deaf child with language, going into preschool and primary school, has the best chance of peer-level attainment. Giving these children a solid start in life benefits the education system in terms of assigning teaching support. The maths is simple. Investment into a deaf child’s early years, will pay off.
For deaf children to get this start, the state needs to provide:
- Universal new born hearing screening (UNHS)
- Early intervention when deafness is confirmed
- A formal support system for families with deaf children
These three things will make a world of difference to a child and their family.
Further Reading:
Early action key to infant hearing loss
One Parent’s Feedback: National Audiology Review
National Audiology Review: Another Mum’s Story
Including Deaf Children At Preschool: Part One
Schools ‘Must Change Their Attitude To Disability’
Inclusive Education Is ‘All-Encompassing’ Learning
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | 1 Comment »
Question: Can A Deaf Child Participate At Creche?
By caroline | August 5, 2010
Many first-time visitors to the IDK website ask this question. Its frequency is surprising. There’s absolutely no reason a child who’s deaf can’t participate at creche, if the right supports are in place. Same as when a child moves to junior infants at primary school.
The IDK team is aware that some deaf children don’t attend preschool or creches at all. It’s unclear if this happens on the parents’ side, or because a childcare provider is concerned about on-site inclusion. Either way, the situation has to change as the children are entitled to a free preschool year in the government’s ECCE (Early Childhood Care & Education) initiative.
Some key statistics emerged in a 2007 survey of childcare providers in Dublin. While 57% of respondents (just over half) included children with disabilities, children with hearing and vision issues were least likely to be included on-site. Conversely, children with speech & language delay, or with emotional/behavioural issues, were most likely to be included on-site.
Significantly, 80% of childcare providers with prior experience of working with children with disabilities, did not believe their service needed to substantially change to accommodate these children. By contrast, 43% of respondents with no prior experience of including children with disabilities, expected substantial changes would have to be made to their service.
While these are 2007 statistics, today’s challenges are the same:
- attitudinal (fear and lack of confidence over children with disabilities)
- institutional (sourcing relevant information, training, resources)
- environmental (concerns about access and spatial issues)
Bottom line: childcare staff need education and in-depth training to acquire the skills to work with children with disabilities at an everyday level. Some feedback IDK has received, is that some industry training for working with children with disabilities, is insufficiently detailed for the staff’s needs.
IDK has several articles about including deaf children in preschool:
- Part One – Tips From A Mum And Creche Manager
- Part Two – Potential Challenges At Preschool
- Part Three – What Information Sources Were Used
Two initial tips: parents & childcare staff must work as a team, and childcare facilities need to advertise that they are inclusive, or strive to be.
Feel free to post your questions below, and we’ll do our best to respond!
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | 1 Comment »
Parents’ Pack: When Deafness Is Newly-Confirmed
By admin | July 30, 2010
Parents constantly tell IDK how lost they felt when their child’s deafness was first confirmed, and their difficulty finding basic information about deafness, hearing-devices, language teaching, state and education supports in Ireland.
IDK has responded by posting a Parents’ Information Pack in the Parents‘ area of this website. The pack went online after IDK realised a (print) pack the HSE produced in 2006, had information that parents were desperate for.
Permission was secured from the relevant staff at the HSE to put this pack online. Miriam Walsh and Marlene Wessels are to be credited for giving time and print / design skills to prepare the initial information pack for the web.
We hope you find it useful. Please leave your feedback below. Many thanks!
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | 6 Comments »
Young Readers Learn From DVDs & Touch-Phones
By admin | July 27, 2010
With young readers now having the latest screen-based reading options like e-books, touch-phones, DVDs and more, we are firmly in the digital age.
In the US, a new DVD to teach children sign language is now on release. It is based on “Goodnight Moon” and other bedtime stories, adapted from the 1947 storybook by Margaret Wise Brown.
Each DVD in this set has three best-selling stories with vocal and ASL (American sign language) narration. To develop the reader’s early literacy skills, ASL vocabulary lessons and reading comprehension questions are included. These add-ons show technology is strongly influencing education.
iPhone applications are undeniably one of the best known ways to sell products. Applications are no longer games that you play on the bus, and developers recognize this.
iStorytime, the iPhone app developer for Dreamworks’ “How to Train your Dragon“, is to make the award-winning children’s picture book “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy” into a children’s book iPhone app with an ASL option.
“Danny The Dragon Meets Jimmy” is available as a book or DVD (with ASL). The app is due to be available by August. This will be the first application of its kind and ideally will inspire other application developers to follow suit.
Other iPhone apps available, include:
- The Grace App (€29.99) allows user/s to communicate with pictures, based on the PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System). You can use the camera on your phone/iPod to add pictures to the app.
- Baby Sign ASL (free/€3.99 for full version) Aimed at kids, this app gives pictures with corresponding signs. Animals, places, and numbers are the signs available at present.
- iASL (€2.39) This app allows you to type in a sentence and using its video database it will translate this sentence into the relevant signs.
VAT can be reclaimed on iTouch, iPhone and iPad products that are used for educational purposes. Just download & complete VAT form 61A & post to Revenue with a copy of your child’s medical records to validate your claim.
(compiled by Miriam Walsh)
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | 1 Comment »