Being deaf and heading off to college in the traditional way definitely presents a whole host of unique challenges. If your deaf child wants to have the full college experience, and you are feeling a bit stressed about it, take heart.
There are plenty of things you can do to help your hearing-impaired child have a positive college experience. It all comes down to organization and just a bit more advanced planning. Here are some areas you should be aware of in order to help ease the transition for your deaf child.
Dorm Life For Students With Physical Disabilities
Dorm life can present a whole entire new set of unique challenges for a hearing-impaired individual. However, one of the first things that can help your child out would be tapping into all of the new technologies available in this day and age. For example, there are many hearing aids available on the market today that can help a deaf person communicate effectively with others.
Cell phones also offer many opportunities for communication as well. If your hearing-impaired student desires to go to the student union and order a beverage, all they would have to do these days is simply make a note on their cell phone and show it to the clerk.
Moreover, there are a lot of universities that have interpreters for hearing-impaired individuals. They can help your child adjust to their new surroundings comfortably.
Academic Life
Your child will also need to be fully prepared for academic life. The key here is to be as prepared and organized as possible beforehand.
There will also be times where an ASL interpreter is needed. An ASL interpreter can help with a variety of translation services in different academic settings that can significantly improve academic experiences. Most universities have them on staff to help your child communicate more clearly with teachers and students, as well as understand what is going on in class.
Social Life
Social situations can also be challenging for those who are hearing-impaired. Perhaps one of the best things you can do is teach your child to never go out in public without their hearing aid.
Moreover, if they do not know how to read lips, try to teach them as quickly as possible. They will need this skill when they are out in public. Naturally, there are certain situations where the students will be happy to filter out some of the more obnoxious conversation that most individuals have to regularly put with!
Either way, your young student is going to adjust just fine with your encouragement and guidance. As long as your hearing-impaired child is able to take advantage of all of the resources available to them, they will transition wonderfully.