{"id":21602,"date":"2013-01-28T03:37:07","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T08:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=21602"},"modified":"2013-01-29T01:26:37","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T06:26:37","slug":"retreat-hosted-for-parents-of-deaf-rio-grande-valley-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/01\/28\/retreat-hosted-for-parents-of-deaf-rio-grande-valley-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Retreat hosted for parents of deaf Rio Grande Valley students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Retreat hosted for parents of deaf Rio Grande Valley students<\/strong><\/p>\n

January 20, 2013<\/p>\n

by Jacqueline Armendariz<\/p>\n

McALLEN \u2014 Rio Grande Valley parents of deaf children learned how to navigate growing up in a world with little or no sound on Saturday at Brown Middle School.<\/p>\n

Students of the Regional Day School Program for the Deaf (RDSPD), under the McAllen school district, spent the day socializing outside of school at a retreat hosted by the program. A group of 25 parents also heard from different speakers and attended classes on a range of topics: from child-friendly cooking recipes and how to communicate about puberty to the technology of cochlear implants and life for deaf young adults.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Villarreal, RDSPD supervisor, said 90 percent of parents with a deaf child are able to hear, making adapting even more difficult at times.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s usually their first experience with deafness, so they need a lot of support, a lot of training to be able to make the best choices for their child educationally,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The RDSPD, part of the McAllen school district\u2019s special education department, serves 19 school districts, including Roma all the way to La Feria, Villarreal said. Its 140 students attend one three campuses: Escandon Elementary, Brown Middle School and Memorial High School.<\/p>\n

Liza Lara, RDSPD assistant principal, said most people don\u2019t consider that learning without sound has an effect on a child\u2019s education.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very different world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A significant shift from American Sign Language to Signed Exact English is also underway, she said, making educating parents all the more crucial. The latter calls for a sign for each word in a sentence, rather than communicating a general concept, she said.<\/p>\n

Veronica Gomez attended the retreat representing Texas Hands and Voices, a support group for parents. She said the opportunity for parents to listen to speakers and for students to see others like them who\u2019ve been successful in school, such as Rochester Institute of Technology 2012 graduate Eric Cardenas, was important. Cardenas graduated from RDSPD in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that we needed,\u201d Gomez said.<\/p>\n

Her son Gabe, a 13-year-old seventh grader, and her daughter Victoria, a 9-year-old fourth grader, are both deaf while she and her husband are able to hear. She calls the experience of parenting deaf children a journey and admits it was difficult at first.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith my son I was in denial the whole time,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought that this couldn\u2019t happen to me. \u2026 I was depressed for a very long time, but as soon as I realized that I had to be there for my son, it was like \u2018Game on. Let\u2019s do what we have to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The mother of two said she wants her children to experience life, perhaps even attend Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a school for the deaf. She encouraged other parents to be proactive in helping their deaf children as well as finding support and sharing their experiences to realize they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

Most of all, Gomez said she wants something better for her children.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m here today,\u201d she said. \u201cOur kids are different. Yes, they are, but don\u2019t treat them any different. They\u2019re deaf, but they\u2019re not disabled. Give them a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

SOURCE:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.themonitor.com\/news\/local\/article_c79bd97c-62a0-11e2-813b-001a4bcf6878.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Retreat hosted for parents of deaf Rio Grande Valley students January 20, 2013 by Jacqueline Armendariz McALLEN \u2014 Rio Grande Valley parents of deaf children learned how to navigate growing up in a world with little or no sound on…<\/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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[1629,23,16891,87,24,7557,16898,16890,898,16887,16888,16893,16899,2495,16895,16892,93,5492,16889,4340,5677,1660,15526,16896,182,17,14913,16897,16894],"class_list":["post-21602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-american-sign-language","tag-asl","tag-brown-middle-school","tag-children","tag-deaf","tag-disabled","tag-eric-cardenas","tag-escandon-elementary","tag-gallaudet-university","tag-gomez","tag-jacqueline-armendariz","tag-la-feria","tag-liza-lara","tag-mcallen","tag-mcallen-school-district","tag-memorial-high-school","tag-parent","tag-rdspd","tag-rebecca-villarreal","tag-regional-day-school-program-for-the-deaf","tag-rio-grande-valley","tag-rochester-institute-of-technology","tag-see","tag-signed-exact-english","tag-students","tag-texas","tag-texas-hands-and-voices","tag-veronica-gomez","tag-villarreal"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-5Cq","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26885,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/04\/01\/vanessa-vera-and-sally-fraustro-guerra-promote-workplace-diversity\/","url_meta":{"origin":21602,"position":0},"title":"Vanessa Vera and Sally Fraustro Guerra: Promote workplace diversity","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"COMMENTARY: Vanessa Vera and Sally Fraustro Guerra: Promote workplace diversity March 19, 2014 We would like to cordially invite area employers to attend our first annual, Stepping Out conference on Friday to promote diversity in the workplace by helping employers throughout the Rio Grande Valley understand how best to hire\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1407,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/03\/27\/asl-community-event-mcallen-texas\/","url_meta":{"origin":21602,"position":1},"title":"ASL Community Event – McAllen, Texas","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"ASL Community Event Hosted by Rio Grande Valley Deaf Club of McAllen, Texas Westside Park 1000 S. Ware Rd McAllen, Texas March 31, 2007 From 2:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. Soccer, Softball, Flag Football, Playing Cards, and more\u2026. You\u2019re invited to join and have fun! Submitted by sibley3asl@aol.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1384,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/03\/21\/6th-annual-north-border-games-mcallen-texas\/","url_meta":{"origin":21602,"position":2},"title":"6th Annual North Border Games – McAllen, Texas","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 21, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"6th Annual North Border Games for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Hosted by Rio Grande Valley Deaf Club of McAllen Baptist Temple Field 2001 Trenton Rd. McAllen, Texas Saturday, April 14th, 2007 From 8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. Food, Games, Booths, Skits, etc You're invited to our special event and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6473,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/05\/13\/stcs-deaf-interpreter-program-is-music-to-my-ears\/","url_meta":{"origin":21602,"position":3},"title":"STC’s deaf interpreter program is music to my ears","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"STC\u2019s deaf interpreter program is music to my ears Chris Ardis May 12, 2009 PAH! In Deaf culture, this expression indicates that \"finally\" something significant has occurred. It is the perfect way to describe how many people in the Rio Grande Valley feel about South Texas College's new Interpreter Training\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1140,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/01\/30\/4x4-deaf-flag-football-tournament-mcallen-texas-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":21602,"position":4},"title":"4×4 Deaf Flag Football Tournament – McAllen, Texas","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Reminder 4x4 Deaf Flag Football Tournament Saturday, February 10, 2007 8:30am to 3:00pm Tournament will be located at: Westside Park 1000 South Ware Road McAllen, Texas Cost: Team entry fee: $100.00 (Limits of 6 to 8 player per team) Registration Dates: December 13, 2006 \u2013 February 3, 2007 Game Times:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3100,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/03\/13\/3rd-annual-9x9-deaf-flag-football-harlingen\/","url_meta":{"origin":21602,"position":5},"title":"3rd Annual 9×9 Deaf Flag Football – Harlingen","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"3rd Annual 9x9 Deaf Flag Football Hosted by: Rio Grande Valley Deaf Club Saturday, March 22, 2008 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Game will be located at: Harlingen High School 1201 East Marshall Harlingen, Texas 78552 FREE ADMISSION!!! 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