ERIC Number: EJ1450798
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1544-6751
EISSN: N/A
Empowering Parents and Caregivers: Supporting Families with ASL at Home
Leah C. Geer; Razi M. Zarchy
Odyssey: New Directions in Deaf Education, v24 p44-47 2024
The needs of parents and family members of deaf and hard of hearing students are unique. Not only do they face courses that are structured without regard for their needs, but they also endure other significant barriers. After brainstorming for many sessions and putting down ideas for a new curriculum that would teach and empower parents and their deaf and hard of hearing children, ASL at Home was born. It is a family-centered curriculum that focuses on the daily routines in young children's lives. While the authors had intended to create something to meet their clinical needs, the authors found that, more importantly, parents -- specifically the five mothers who worked with author Zarchy during his doctoral research -- reported that they had been empowered with language and with the knowledge that they can successfully raise their deaf child. They said that they felt they were building a strong, positive bond with their child through ASL and their other home languages. The curriculum, for use with students ages 5-10 years old, will feature in-depth grammatical instruction and teaching grammar concepts as they become relevant. ASL at Home is among the projects available to provide support for parents and caregivers who want to learn ASL. It allows the most critical individuals in their children's lives to experience communication and to reinforce connection with their deaf and hard of hearing children. Most importantly, it supports these parents and caregivers in providing their deaf and hard of hearing children with full access to language-learning opportunities at home and allows those children to be fully contributing members of their families.
Descriptors: Parent Participation, Parents, Empowerment, Child Caregivers, Deafness, American Sign Language, Hearing Impairments, Parent Child Relationship, Home Instruction, Language Acquisition, Parents as Teachers, Educational Resources
Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Avenue NE, KS 3600, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-526-9105; Tel: 202-651-5340; Fax: 202-651-5708; e-mail: odyssey@gallaudet.edu; Web site: https://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/ndec/educational-resources/odyssey/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A