Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, November 04, 2011

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The fifth annual Hands Alive Learning Fair featured crafts, carnival games and teambuilding exercises for all ages.

At the 2011 Hands Alive Learning Fair, about 100 kids who are deaf or hard of hearing came together to renew friendships, meet a few role models and simply enjoy an outing where they were in the majority.

“In some smaller counties, there may be only one deaf student in the whole district,” said Sue Frisbee, outreach consultant for the Central Kentucky Special Education Cooperative (CKSEC), which encompasses some two dozen districts.

Teachers from CKSEC host Lexington’s Hands Alive, which has been held at Northeast Christian Church for the past several years. About 60 of Thursday’s participants were Fayette County students, including Jasmine Lawson and Shelby White, who are seniors at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. They met up with an old friend, Hailey Cutts from Anderson County High. The trio is inseparable at the annual learning fair.

“I like having fun with all the people here,” Shelby said during the lunch break, noting, “There’s not that many deaf people in our school.”

At Hailey’s school, she is the only one. She has taken it in stride, though, even starting an American Sign Language (ASL) club for her classmates. “I’ve been teaching them some signs so we can communicate,” she said through an interpreter.

Organizers hope the learning fair encourages not only the deaf and hard of hearing students but also their families.

“I wish all the parents were here to see this interaction, which is key to their children’s social development,” said Wilton McMillan, director of the Kentucky School for the Deaf’s statewide support services.

He speaks from experience, having missed out on any kind of language exchange until age 5. In past generations, families often were not well-equipped for children with special needs. These days, increased awareness and resources can make all the difference. And as McMillan pointed out, “The earlier they develop language skills, the better off they’ll be.”

Nina Coyer, an assistant professor at Eastern Kentucky University, shared a similar story.

“I grew up in a hearing school and was very alone,” she said through an interpreter. “When I was in school, they were strict about being oral. Now we have interpreters and teachers and support and resources, so there’s a lot more available.”

Many of those resources were on display during Hands Alive. The day began with a half-dozen teambuilding exercises, which Jasmine found useful for teaching kids to rely on one another. In one corner, for instance, elementary students worked to assemble plastic piping. Across the way, groups of three coordinated their movements to advance on a pair of wooden skis.

“That’s what teamwork is about – learning to help others and yourself at the same time,” as Hailey explained.

After lunch, the gym was transformed with carnival games, crafts and face-painting for the younger kids while the middle schoolers went off to share their own personal stories, talk about how they view themselves and celebrate how far they’ve come. The session for high school students focused on “Rights vs. Privileges” and the consequences of missing out on “incidental learning” such as hearing the television news or overhearing their parents at the breakfast table.

FCPS teacher Carlin Robbins said students across the district look forward to the learning fair, an idea that has spread statewide since its birth in Daviess County.

With such a range of needs, students can perhaps find someone particular to relate to. For instance, some profoundly deaf children can speak clearly; others with mild hearing loss prefer to sign. It’s also a chance for students to connect with others who use similar devices such as a cochlear implant.

“What I see as an itinerate teacher is that they lack confidence because of their hearing impairment. It makes them feel different, and they don’t want to be different from their peers. Some have never seen peers that are like them,” Robbins said. “I want them to walk away and feel confident and feel better about themselves – knowing they’re not totally different and they’re not the only one.”  

Resources

• Central Kentucky Special Education Cooperative
• Special Education in Fayette County Public Schools
• Hands & Voices, which hopes to establish a chapter in Lexington, educates and empowers parents to advocate for their deaf and hard-of-hearing children.