Can the boys lip-read?
*No, If they can/could it would be in Amharic, not English and since we don't speak Amharic or any of the other 80ish languages used in Ethiopia, we really wouldn't know.
Are the boys related?
*They are now! We are all Andersons now...Vivace often refers to it as "American brothers, not Africa." They attended the same deaf school in Ethiopia, so they did know each other. Once our family was matched-they knew they were coming together.
Can they hear anything?
*Vivace is FULLY deaf. He doesn't even hear the loud military planes and such flying overhead. He is very sensitive to vibrations which are often created by loud noises.
Etude would be considered "hard of hearing" with his hearing aids. He can hear a good portion of speech sounds. However, he struggles to reproduce or understand those sounds. Many factors are at play: 1) Has his mind ever had access to speech to process it? 2) Is it part of a cognitive delay he has? 3) If we were speaking Amharic would he "get" more?
I notice they wear hearing aids..?
*Some where along the process the boys were told when they come to America they get hearing aids. We did take them to the ENT and the Audiologist to find out how much of a true loss they had. They were fitted and given the option to wear aids. Vivace mostly likes to wear them for church-to show them off. Etude will have several days in a row where he asks for them and then several days where he doesn't. They are given the option to wear them almost always.
Why are you having to Interpret for them at church?
*We attend a very small community church that does not even have a building. Although their funds are limited, I have no doubt if I asked for special accommodations they would strive to do so. Pastor Carlton has had exposure to the deaf/signing community and is very supportive.
We live in Jacksonville, NC. We do not have a large population nor a large group of Interpreters. Myself and one other Interpreter are the only ones that are Nationally Certified in this area. So my options become 1) attend a church solely based on them already having a signer or 2) Interpret for my kids at the church we feel called to attend.
There are 3-4 churches in this area that have signers. We have attended all of them. One of them we are VERY comfortable with the signer and her skill level. The non-denominational church was also a great experience, however at this time it is not where we feel called to be.
Signer: a person that knows sign language and is conversationally fluent, but does not hold a degree or certification in the field.
Interpreter: someone that has been tested and evaluated by the national committee and is held to all levels of the Code of Ethics(including confidentiality.) http://www.rid.org/
What sign language do you use with the boys/I thought sign language was universal?
*We use American Sign Language(ASL). There are various sign language systems, but ASL is the only one that is recognized as a fully independent language with its own grammatical structure, culture and seen as native to the D/deaf in America. There are some regional differences(like accents) from coast to coast. Each country has its own sign language, much as they have their own spoken languages.
Other American sign systems include Signing Exact English(SEE) and Pidgin Signed English(PSE). SEE is a sound based signing system that follows English word order and patterns, often regardless of meaning/concept. Pidgin is a mixture of ASL and PSE much as you would find a mixture of Spanish and English along the TX or CA borders.
*The boys knew Ethiopian Sign Language and a few ASL words: plane, eat, love, home, mom, dad, sleep, toilet, etc when they first arrived home.
Where can I learn Sign Language?
http://www.aslpro.com/
http://www.signingtime.com/
http://www.lifeprint.com/
If you are on YouTube: Keith Wann, TiffanyTHill, and Ewitteborg are all great examples of real ASL. There are MANY sign language videos claiming to be ASL-but many are not actual ASL.
How did you learn sign language/does everyone in your home sign?
*I graduated from Gardner-Webb University with my BA degree in American Sign Language. I have worked various settings as an Interpreter since August of 2000. (Medical, educational, community, religious, support groups, mental health, sports, concerts, etc) In February of 2005, I received my Certificate of Interpretation(CI) from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf(RID) and have maintained my national certification since that time by completing the required CEUs.
Ashley and the girls all sign some. Primo is the most fluent of the three but they are all signing with the boys and learning more everyday.
Do the boys attend speech therapy?
*Yes, BUT we do not focus on speech/lipreading as is often done in a traditional speech session. Our therapist is conversationally fluent in sign language and very respectful of the boys' primary language being ASL.
Vivace's goals are speech and language(ASL). For example: recognizing when his voice is on/off, understanding and correctly responding to why, where, what, who, when type questions, understanding sequence of events, understanding cause and effect, effective story telling, appropriate turn-taking...
Etude's goals are speech, language(ASL) and auditory. For example: recognizing and responding to his name being called, using his voice to call out for "mom" and "dad," identifying the direction a loud noise came from, responding to questions using more than one sign, using adjectives, understanding a question versus a statement, following 2-4 step simple commands/directions...
Did you know the boys were deaf before you adopted them?
*Yes, we set-out knowing we were specifically called to adopt a deaf child or children.
Who Interprets for them in the school system/what grade are they in?
*We homeschool and we are filling the gaps. Depending on the day and the subject we could be doing preschool activities or 3rd grade activities. We feel strongly the boys have several missing pieces and should be allowed time to fill in the gaps and be children, even if we need to revert to play-dough and finger paints ;)
Thanks for all the comments and emails.
I love this picture even though not all the kids are looking at the camera or even smiling. It tells a different story: Vivace is frantically looking for a bow for Scherzo's hair so she can match everyone else. Even in the middle of the chaos, the excitement and everything-he wanted to be sure she had what he had. The child that had nothing wanted to be sure everyone had something.
"After Christmas Glow" of getting that ONE thing you "had" to have... 'Alive' stuffed animals. It talks and purs without notice, it completely freaks me out...but Primo has been begging for a pet for a year-I call this "middle ground" or "buying time"...*smile*
Not bad for 36 weeks prego :) Just happy to have Ashley home and especially in time for the birth of Giocoso in January!
Etude
Vivace
American brothers
The Anderson Crew
