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Black background with a thin white border framing the page. In the top right corner is an outline of Australia with the words National Week of Deaf People on the West Australia side of the outline. On the left is an abstract picture of Shirley Liu's logo. In the middle is the date 19 SEPT 2022.
In the middle is typed NATIONAL WEEK OF DEAF PEOPLE in capitals and underneath SIGN LANGUAGES IN EDUCATION in a smaller font.
On the bottom right is the page number 1.
White background with the blue-green paper plane flying out of a passport. The paper plane has two eyes and a smile.
On the bottom right is the page number 2.
White background with information and suggestions to parents with the blue-green paper plane at the bottom of the information. The paper plane has two eyes and a smile.
On the bottom right is the page number 3.
Every deaf child has a right to a strong foundation in language because then they will grow, accomplish their future goals without any barriers, participate in society and communicate confidently.
Your first analogy! You know everyone requires a passport for international travel. The passport contains personal information and visa requirements met to show they are eligible to travel and explore further. As a child develops and grows over stages of their childhood, gaining more knowledge and skills because of access to language, they are able to travel through life building on the travel skills they’ve begun to develop. Much like the passport – the more stamps (language skills) you gain, the more you meet visa requirements (knowledge and skills) the smoother your travels will be.
Did you know? Only 2% of the world’s deaf have had access to or are accessing a bilingual education. That’s really significant. I am bilingual myself and I know from experience how this is so important, in developing equality.
As parents, I strongly encourage you to strive for access to information that is unbiased and provides opportunities rather than options, which influences the decision of choosing only one path .You will find much support willingly given from Deaf community members, Deaf mentors and Deaf professionals like Deaf Teachers of the Deaf. They have lived experience and are more likely to give you a balanced perspective compared to those who are far removed from the Deaf experience.
Trust yourself: you CAN make great informed decisions and support your deaf child’s journey. Don’t think that your child will fail or feel guilty for the decisions you make; your child will be absolutely fine.
