Education, Employment, and Independent Living of Young Adults Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
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Appelman, K. I., Callahan, J., O. Mayer, M. H., Luetke, B. S., & Stryker, D. S. (2012). Education, employment, and independent living of young adults who are deaf and hard oí hedsing. American Annals of the Deaf, 157(^), 264—275. EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, AND INDEPENDENT LIVING OF YOUNG ADULTS WHO ARE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING ITTLE INFORMATION is available on the education, employment, and independent living status of young deaf and hard of hearing adults who have transitioned from high school. The present article reports post- secondary outcomes of 46 young adults who had attended for at least 4 years a non-public agency school in the northw^estern United States specializing in deaf education. School administrators had developed a specific philosophy and operationalized it in an academic and literacy- based curriculum incorporating a grammatically accurate signing sys- tem. The researchers found that most or all participants had finished high school, had earned a college degree, were employed, and were liv- ing independently. Findings are discussed in terms of the available lit- erature and the study's contribution to a limited body of recent research on young postsecondary deaf and hard of hearing adults. KAREN I. APPELMAN, JUDY Keywords: postsecondary education, 2006; Wagner, Newman, Cameto, OTTREN CALLAHAN, MARGARET academic achievement, deaf edu- Levine, & Garza, 2006), as well as those H. MAYER, BARBARA S. LLTETKE, cation, independent living. Signing concerning "the large and growing Exact English number of deaf and hard of hearing AND DEBORAH S. STRYKER young adults who are 'low-function- An extensive review of the current ing'" (Bowe, 2003, p. 485), it would be THE FIRST FOUR AUTHORS ARE ALL AFFILIATED research literature on the education unexpected that these youth would WITH THE NORTHWEST SCHOOL FOR HEARING- levels, employment status, and inde- exit high school prepared for adult life. IMPAIRED CHILDREN, SEAHLE, WA. APPELMAN pendence levels of deaf and hard and Youth who are deaf and hard of hear- AND CALLAHAN ARE DIRECTORS AND FOUNDERS, hearing who have completed high ing and who are transitioning into MAYER IS COORDINATOR OF TEACHER EDUCATION school revealed a paucity of informa- adulthood today were born before AND RESEARCH, AND LUETKE IS OUTREACH tion. Given the findings reported in newborn infant screening laws took ef- AND LITERACY COORDINATOR. STRYKER IS AN studies of postsecondary youth with fect in most states, and if they received ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN THE EDUCATION OF special needs in general (C. Johnson cochlear implants or high-powered THE DEAF/HARD OF HEARING GRADUATE et al., 2011; D. Johnson, McGrew, digital hearing aids, they did not have TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM, Bloomberg, Bruininks, & Lin, 1997; this equipment as infants and toddlers, BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. Wagner et al., 2003; Wagner, Newman, at the most critical time for language Cameto, Garza, & Levine, 2005; Wag- and speech development. When they ner, Newman, Cameto, & Levine, 2005, were young children the legal mini- VOLUME 157, No. 3, 2012 AMERICAN ANNALS OF THE DEAF mum age for implantation was 3 years, (2003), who found that about 30% of (1992), as well as by Bowe (2003), and, because the surgical procedure students age 17 years or older who who found that 70% of students who was a new one, few parents agreed to were deaf and hard of hearing (degree were deaf and hard of hearing have their child receive an implant. of hearing loss undefined) completed dropped out while attending either a As would be anticipated, students high school, but that only about 22% 2-year or 4-year college. Bowe sug- with all degrees of hearing loss con- received a high school diploma. gested that this may be because their tinue to lag behind their same-age About a fourth were labeled "low- ability to read was just too low. Lang hearing peers in reading and mathe- functioning deaf" (p. 485), defined as observed that "even with the expan- matics when assessed by means of reading at less than a second-grade sion of support and access services standardized measures applied to level and achieving in math and other provided in higher education pro- high school graduates of two residen- subjects at a second-grade to fourth- grams over the past decade, the fail- tial schools in the southeastern United grade level. Bowe claimed that so ure rate remains, on average, dismal" States, as reported by Lollis and LaSasso much attention was being given to (p. 268). (2008). These researchers character- passing state tests (a development ized this situation as having been a also considered by Lollis and LaSasso, Definition of Success "consistent finding" for the past 90 2008) that many students who were When Postsecondary years (p. 77). Students who are deaf deaf and hard of hearing were possi- Youth Have a Disability and hard of hearing have been found bly being deprived of the opportunity The definition of success when stu- to graduate from high school with "to learn what they urgently need dents with special needs are tran- sixth-grade computation abilities and to learn . includ[ing] the skills of sitioning from high school to fifth-grade problem-solving abilities self-care and of self-determination, adulthood was formulated in the (Traxler, 2000); this finding is based on in addition to vocational and inde- wake of a national study by the Na- the national norming data and per- pendent-living skills and competen- tional Center on Secondary Education formance standards for the Stanford cies" (p. 487). Bowe lamented that and Transition (2004). Research staff Achievement Test (ninth edition) as these competencies are seldom taught at the NCSET defined success as the derived from a population of students in integrated or mainstreamed set- ability to demonstrate self-advocacy, with a hearing loss distribution of 51% tings, where approximately 60% of make decisions, and exprcss prefer- profound, 21% severe, and 28% less students who are deaf and hard of ences. In addition, NCSET researchers than severe. Deaf students' math lev- hearing are now educated (Gallaudet recommended that school adminis- els lag behind those of hearing peers Research Institute, 2008). Bowe listed trators "ensure students have access by about 3 years (Nunes, 2004) when specific skills that need to be taught to to the general education curriculum" deaf students are in college, even students who are deaf and hard of (p. 7), "increase the school comple- though they display normal nonverbal hearing before high school gradua- tion rates" (p. 8), "make school gradu- intelligence (see literature review by tion if they are to live independently. ation decisions based on meaningful Vernon, 2005). The degree of hearing Included on his list were social skills, indicators of students' learning and loss of the participants who were deaf the skills needed to obtain a driver's skills" (p. 9), "ensure students access and hard of hearing in the study by license, appropriate communication to and full participation in postsec- Nunes (2004) was not specified. Kelly abilities, and the ability to set realistic ondary education and employment" (2003) contended that the math ability goals; he added that "self-advocacy (p. 10), "increase informed parent of individuals who are deaf and hard of training is another area important in participation and involvement in edu- hearing influences future employment transition" (pp. 490-491). cational planning" (p. 12), "improve and earnings to a greater extent than Although some students who are collaboration and systems linkages reading ability deaf and hard of hearing are accepted [with educationally relevant groups] It seems logical that low levels of into postsecondary programs, Lang at all levels" (p. 14), and "ensurc the both reading and math ability prevent (2002) found that only about 25% availability of a qualified workforce" students who are deaf and hard of graduate (degree of hearing loss un- (p. 15). The NCSET authors stated hearing from finishing high school defined). This graduation rate is that these challenges have important and earning a high school diploma, as about the same for both 2-year and implications for special education, the majority of their hearing peers do. 4-year programs. Lang's finding is general education, community agen- This impression is supported by Bowe supported by Stinson and Walter cies, and organizations as students VOLUME 157, No. 3, 2012 AMERICAN ANNALS OF THE DE.«' POSTSECONDARY LiFE D/HH with disabilities transition from high More education was linked to living efit (i.e.. Supplemental Security In- school to postsecondary education, independently Because participants come, or SSI), a form of federal finan- employment, and other aspects of were adult members of a social organ- cial assistance, by young adults who adult life. Because students who are ization for deaf adults whose hearing were "hearing impaired [as defined deaf and hard of hearing are a subset status "ranged from deafness to mild or] designated by the youth's school of those in special education, the hearing loss" (p. 54), Weisel and Ka- or district" (Wagner, Newman, Cameto, characteristics of success described by mara suggested that a different pic- & Levine, 2005, p. B-3) was reported the NCSET researchers are relevant to ture might emerge for these young for almost 23% of the participants in a the present study. adults who were fully integrated so- national study of people with hearing cially with hearing peers. They stated loss ages 16-18 years (Newman, Wag- Definition of Success When that "this group deserves the atten- ner, Cameto, & Knokey, 2009). Nonac- Postsecondary Youth Are tion of future research" (p. 58). ceptance of such aid might be another Deaf and Hard of Hearing Stinson and Walter (1992) identi- way to measure independence and What constitutes success in the transi- fied other factors that were character- maturity (Bowe, 2003), as it could be tion from high school to adulthood istic of the individualization process an indicator of employment status.