{"id":12821,"date":"2011-01-10T22:22:08","date_gmt":"2011-01-11T03:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=12821"},"modified":"2011-01-11T00:11:55","modified_gmt":"2011-01-11T05:11:55","slug":"hearing-impaired-refugee-finds-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/01\/10\/hearing-impaired-refugee-finds-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing-impaired refugee finds voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hearing-impaired refugee finds voice<\/strong><\/p>\n

At school, youngster can communicate.<\/p>\n

By Vianna Davila
\nvdavila@express-news.net
\nPublished: January 9, 2011<\/p>\n

In a world full of noise, Nduwimana Richard can’t hear a sound.<\/p>\n

Not the clank of his classmates’ food trays against each other in their
\nelementary school cafeteria; not the screams of his toddler brother as he
\nwrestles with his mother over a pair of scissors; and not his parents’
\nstruggles to speak English three years after moving to the United States
\nfrom East Africa.<\/p>\n

Known as Richard to his family and teachers, he’s among the nearly 3,000
\nrefugees who have relocated to San Antonio in the past five years because
\nthey no longer could live safely in their native or adopted countries.<\/p>\n

But besides the challenges most refugees face \u2014 language and cultural
\nchanges, financial struggles and sometimes post-traumatic stress disorder
\n\u2014 Richard, 9, also is hearing impaired.<\/p>\n

His parents first learned of his condition from doctors in the Tanzanian
\nrefugee camp where Richard, like his father before him, was born.<\/p>\n

But their oldest child didn’t learn sign language, or any other structured
\nway to communicate, until after the family of six relocated to the U.S.
\nthree years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver there,\u201d said his father, Hakizimana Metusera, \u201czero, zero\u201d sign
\nlanguage.<\/p>\n

Life in the U.S. has not been easy: Richard’s father struggles to stretch
\nhis paycheck from a housekeeping job at the Westin-La Cantera. His mother
\nstill struggles to learn English.<\/p>\n

Everyone in the family has trouble signing with Richard.<\/p>\n

But in the States, this exuberant, expressive third-grader has found a
\nvoice.<\/p>\n

He attends Braun Station Elementary School, a cluster campus for
\nhearing-impaired students including those who, like Richard, communicate
\ncompletely through sign language.<\/p>\n

Richard’s hearing loss is considered so profound he only can faintly hear
\nvery loud sounds, like a trash can slamming on the ground, said Rose Greive,
\nan auditory impairment teacher at Braun.<\/p>\n

He arrived eager to learn but without any basic knowledge about signing or
\nhow to behave.<\/p>\n

His parents worried the school might kick him out because of his condition,
\nsaid Lupe Chavez, who oversees Northside Independent School District’s
\nauditory impairment department.<\/p>\n

Teachers had to teach him how to stand in line. They had to persuade him he
\nwas safe in school.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn’t get him to sit in a chair,\u201d said Angela Detlaff, a Braun
\nauditory learning assistant. \u201cJust walking down the hallway used to be a
\nchallenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

But since enrolling, Richard has learned how to read and add. He can explain
\nwhen he feels sick or tired. He asks a flurry of questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s able to express it,\u201d Greive said. Now he can sign, \u201cMarkers please.\u201d<\/p>\n

In school, he bounds around as if he were built on a spring. He poses
\ndramatically, does anything to make other students laugh. He bulges his eyes
\nor juts out his chin, a sly grin on his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s not even the same kid at all,\u201d Detlaff said.<\/p>\n

But the lessons haven’t necessarily transferred to home.<\/p>\n

NISD sent two auditory impairment specialists to the family’s small
\napartment off Wurzbach Road, to help bridge the gap between school and home.
\nBut the family’s proficiency remains limited.<\/p>\n

Richard still communicates with his parents in grunts or by pointing. When
\nhe wants something, he takes it. Sometimes, he has yelling fits or simply
\ndisappears.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo listen to me,\u201d said his mother, Ndayisenga Nadine. \u201cHe stay here \u2014 no
\nobey me.\u201d<\/p>\n

After school, Richard plops in front of the television and watches the
\nscreen intensely, his expression blank but fixated on the silent images.
\nAround him, the room is a whirl of activity \u2014 his sister, 8; his brothers,
\nages 5 and 1; a 5-year-old uncle; and his parents \u2014 that he ignores.<\/p>\n

One night after school, Richard sits next to his father and signs, making a
\nmotion with his left hand over his right palm. His father signs back \u201cI
\ndon’t know\u201d and shakes his head.<\/p>\n

Richard repeats the sign. His mother, who still struggles with English,
\nsays, \u201cI don’t know, either.\u201d Richard throws himself against the couch in a
\nhuff.<\/p>\n

All refugees get an initial health assessment about three weeks after they
\narrive here; those with special needs or disabilities receive it sooner,
\nsaid Irene S. Martinez, the refugee medical program coordinator for Catholic
\nCharities, the local resettlement agency.<\/p>\n

For cases such as Richard’s, a deaf interpreter on staff or caseworkers can
\nrefer the families to community resources.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Metusera would like to send his son to the Texas School for the
\nDeaf in Austin. But he’s not sure how to get in touch with anyone there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he goes there,\u201d Metusera said, \u201che can take off fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his own way, Richard accelerates in school every day. He rejoices in an
\nactivity successfully completed, a math worksheet finished.<\/p>\n

Recently, after completing an addition game, he shot out of his seat, raised
\nhis arms up, and let out a \u201cYaaaaaay!\u201d as he jumped up and down.<\/p>\n

Watching him, his teachers laughed. They could hear him, loud and clear.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.mysanantonio.com\/news\/education\/article\/Hearing-impaired-refugee-finds-voice-946452.php<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hearing-impaired refugee finds voice At school, youngster can communicate. By Vianna Davila vdavila@express-news.net Published: January 9, 2011 In a world full of noise, Nduwimana Richard can’t hear a sound. Not the clank of his classmates’ food trays against each other…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[7637,4621,7636,21,7634,5950,511,7632,2750,40,7640,7630,7639,7635,7631,6991,7641,22,92,88,17,604,7633,7638],"class_list":["post-12821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-angela-detlaff","tag-article","tag-auditory-impairment-department","tag-austin","tag-braun-station-elementary-school","tag-catholic-charities","tag-disabilities","tag-hakizimana-metusera","tag-hearing-impaired","tag-interpreter","tag-ndayisenga-nadine","tag-nduwimana-richard","tag-nisd","tag-northside-independent-school-district","tag-post-traumatic-stress-disorder","tag-refugee","tag-resettlement-agency","tag-san-antonio","tag-school","tag-teacher","tag-texas","tag-texas-school-for-the-deaf","tag-westin-la-cantera","tag-wurzbach-road"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-3kN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27474,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/05\/22\/waco-middle-school-hosts-hearing-impaired-students\/","url_meta":{"origin":12821,"position":0},"title":"Waco: Middle School Hosts Hearing-Impaired Students","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Waco: Middle School Hosts Hearing-Impaired Students By: Christina Truong WACO (May 20, 2014) Hearing-impaired students from Alta Vista Elementary School spent part of their day as guests of Midway Middle School students. 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