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//-->Canadian Journal ofSchool PsychologyMeeting the Psychoeducational Needs of Deaf Immigrant and RefugeeChildrenC. Tane Akamatsu and Ester ColeCanadian Journal of School Psychology2000 15: 1DOI: 10.1177/082957350001500201The online version of this article can be found at:Published by:On behalf of:Canadian Association of School PsychologistsAdditional services and information forCanadian Journal of School Psychologycan be found at:Email Alerts:Subscriptions:Reprints:Permissions:Citations:>>Version of Record- Jun 1, 2000Downloaded fromcjs.sagepub.comby Anna Dom on October 14, 2012What is This?CanadianJournalofSchoolPsychologyVolume15,Number2,2000,118MeetingthePsychoeducationalNeedsofDeafImmigrantandRefugeeChildrenC.TaneAkamatsu andEsterColeTorontoDistrictSchoolBoardThispaper discusses issuesconcerning deafchildren whoareofimmigrantorrefugeebackground.Information pertinent tothegeneral refugee and immigrantpopulation,focusingonmigration,adaptationand acculturationareexamined,aswellas aseriesofissuesthatneedtobe addressedinorder todevelopprogramstomeetthemanyeducationaland mental healthchallengesofdeafchildren.Thepaperconcludes withimplicationsfor schoolpsychologyconsultation.Cetarticle discutedesproblemesd'enfantsd'immigrantsouderefugies.atteintsdesurdite.Nousnoussommes concentresurl'informationpertinentealamigration,aI'adaptation eta I'acculturation de la populationimmigranteengeneral,ainsiquesurune listed'issuesquiseraabordeeafinded6velopperdesprogrammes,tant au niveau educationnelqu'au niveaudelasantementale, afind'aiderlesenfantssourds.Cepapierse terminesurlesimplicationsa apporter alaconsultationenpsychoeducation.IntroductionCanadais acountryof immigrants,andtherateofimmigrationhas increasedoverthepastdecade.Moreover,nearlythree-quartersof immigrantchildrenareofschoolage(Coelho,1994;Cole,1998). Among thesearechildrenfromwar-torncountries,developingnations,andcultureswhere servicesforthedisabledareminimalornon-existent.Issuesofmigrationandresettlementarecomplicated,anddeafandhardofhearing childrenwithinthe immigrantandrefugeepopulation oftenexperiencestressthatcanimpactnegativelyontheireducationalexperience.Atypicalcasehistorymightincludebirth andearlyexperiencesinarefugeecamp,livinginmorethanonecountryenroutetoCanada,lackofaccesstoeducationalopportunitiesfor deafchildreninthesecountries,familyseparation(sometimesincludingthedeaf child'sseparationfrom his/herownfamily),thefamily'slack ofabilitytocopewiththechild'sdeafness,exposuretomultiplelanguages duringthe migrationperiod,andthedeafchild'slackofaccesstospoken language,withitscognitiveandlinguisticimplications.ManynewlyarriveddeafstudentslacknotonlyEnglish,butanyform oflanguage(spokenorsigned),aswellasappropriatestudyskills forNorthAmerican schools.Theirfamilies may lack basicinformationaboutdeafness,Downloaded fromcjs.sagepub.comby Anna Dom on October 14, 20122CT.Akamatsu andE.Coletheimportanceof language and communication, thepartnershiprolethatfamiliesandschoolscan play, special educationopportunities,andinformationabout theirown aswellastheir children'srightsandresponsibilitiesasmembers of a new society(Turner,1996). Yet deafchildren, like others theirage, must cometofeel sociallyand academically competent iftheyare tobecomeproductivemembersof society(Benard,1993).Webegin bypresenting informationpertinent todeafchildrenwithintherefugeeandimmigrantpopulation, focusing onmigration,adaptation andacculturation.Next,weexamineissuesofschooling,language,andcognitivedevelopment.Wethenconclude with implicationsforschoolpsychologyconsultationconcerning theneedsof deaf and hard ofhearingchildren.Migration,Adaptation,andAcculturation:ImplicationsforDeaf Childrenand theirFamiliesImmigrantchildrenhavethe advantageofhavinghadaplannedmigration.Thenew countryisspecifically targeted by thefamilyasthe ultimatedestinationfor anewandpossiblyimprovedlife.Incontrast,refugeemigrationisanunplannedmove where peopleareforcedfrom theirhomeswith littlenotice.There isnotarget country.Familiesmayhavetotraveltoseveraldifferentcountriesbeforeonewill allow themtostayonapermanentbasis.Itisnot uncommonforeducation tobe interrupted andlanguages only partiallylearned.On theotherhand,both immigrantand refugeechildrenundergosimilaradaptationandacculturationstresses.Theirhistoriesmayinclude informationaboutdisruptedlives, inadequate healthcareresultingin disease andmalnutrition,social,emotional,andphysicaldeprivation,significantpersonallosses,andeducationalgaps(Cole,1998).Consequentlythe childrenarelikelytoexperienceseriouscognitiveandemotionaldifficulties(Ajdukovic&Ajdukovic,1993;Motta,1995).Inadditiontotheabovestressors,refugeefamilieswithadeafmemberfaceyet another stressorwhilewaiting fortheimmigration decision.Concernbyimmigrationofficialsthatadisabledpersonmightcauseunduestrainonsocial andmedical servicescanbecausefordenyingformalentryinto Canada.Whilewaitingforthisdecision,thefamilyremainsinlimbo.Onceafamilyhas beengrantedentryintoa newcountrytheymustbegintobuilda newlife. Thefamily'sculturalperceptionofdeafnesscaninfluencedecisionsaboutenrollingthe childreninschool, findinghousingandemployment,and creatinga newidentityandattachmenttothenewsociety(Christensen&Delgado,1993).Itiswell-documented thatspecificfamilyresponsestodeafnesscanimpacton animmigrantorrefugeedeaf child'sDownloaded fromcjs.sagepub.comby Anna Dom on October 14, 2012Meetingthepsychoeducationalneedsof deafimmigrant andrefugeechildren3educationalprocessandmental health (Akamatsu,1993; Cheng,1993; Cohen,1993; Gerner deGarcia, 1993;Hammond &Meiners,1993;Jackson-Maldonado,1993).Ifthe child'sdeafnessisperceivedas a sourceofshame,thenbuildingthechild's self-esteemwillbeachallenge.Moreover, ifdeafnessisbelievedtobetheresult of the parents'orthe child'sactions inapastlife, thenanattitudeofhelplessnessmay preventproactivechangefromoccurring.Similarly,ifdeafnessisperceivedas anunavoidablebutunfortunateevent, thefamilymayreactwith helplessness,orconversely,may trytomaximise thechild'spotential.Onecommonmisperceptionis thatadeaf childisincapable of muchlearning.Manyfamilies continuetoconfusethe inabilitytospeakwithalackknowledgeofalanguage',andtoinfertheinabilitytolearnonthebasisof theinabilitytospeak.Thisisunderstandable,particularlyincountrieswherespecial education servicesareunavailable.However,thiscommonconfusionmayalso lead parentstodenytheirdeafchildren theopportunitytolearntosign until aftertheylearntospeak,thusfurtheringlanguage delayandpostponing understandingandacceptance of deafchildrenandtheirneeds.Counsellingafamily throughtheprocessofunderstandingthepsychoeducationalimplicationsof their child'sdeafnessisacrucialroleforschoolpsychologists(MontaniniManfredi,1993).Issuesfor ConsiderationbySchoolPsychologistsIssue#1:EducationalPlacementsfor Deaf Children.Onceachild has been identifiedashavingahearingloss that impactssignificantlyonhisorherabilityto learnin theregularclassroom,thequestionofplacementarises.Typically,mildlyhardofhearingchildren benefitgreatlyfromtheuseofhearing aids,andareeducatedin"integrated"settings,i.e.,intheregularclassroom withsomekindofresourcesupport,especially forlanguage.Moderately and severelyhard ofhearing childrenareusuallyeducatedinsegregated classroomswith fewerthantenchildren,atrainedteacherof thedeaf andpossiblyaneducational assistant.Inthesecases,however, thechildrenarecapable oflearning throughtheuseof theirownhearing. Someprofoundlydeaf childrenmay beplacedin"oral"settings,wherespoken languageis the mediumofinstruction,andtheexpectationis thatthesechildren will learntolip-readandspeak. Otherprofoundlydeaf childrenareplacedin"total communication"or"bilingual" settings,wheresignedlanguage'Signedlanguages(e.g.,AmericanSignLanguage),asnaturallyevolvedhumanlanguages,donot,by theirvery nature,involvetheuseofspeech.Theyarealsonotuniversal;signedlanguages from differentcountries may bemutually unintelligible.Downloaded fromcjs.sagepub.comby Anna Dom on October 14, 2012CT.AkamatsuandE.Coleisthemediumofinstruction.Theexpectationfor these children is thattheywilllearn mosteffectivelythroughsignlanguage.Lip-readingandspeecharesometimes encouraged,butspokenlanguageisnotexpectedtoplayaprimaryroleinstudents'communicativerepertoire.IntheUnitedStates,abouttwo-thirdsof theprogramsfor deafchildrenusesigning.Programsfor deafstudentsmay beoffered throughresidentialschools,special dayschools,or thepubliceducationsystem. Basedonseveral(U.S.)federalregulations,Marschark (1997) notedthatplacement decisionsshouldbe made onthe basis of"1)linguisticneeds,2)severity ofhearinglossandpotentialfor usingresidual hearingwithorwithoutamplificationdevices,3)academic level,4)social,emotional,andculturalneeds,includingopportunitiesforinteractionandcommunicationwithpeers,and 5)communicationneeds,includingthechild'sandfamily's preferredmodeofcommunication"(p.113).Theexpectationsofeachkindofprogram interactswith thespecificabilitiesandresourcesthatachildbringstothatprogram.Asaresult, thetypes ofinterventionsthatschoolpsychologistscanprovideorsuggestwillvarybyprogram.Forexample,aprofoundlydeafimmigrantchild whoisunabletolip-readEnglishmayfindthatanoralprogramisextremelyfrustrating.Insuchacase,counsellingparents aboutthechild's needsandabouttherolethatsignlanguagecanplayforthischildisanimportantservice.Aseverelytraumatisedbutmildly hardofhearing childmaybenefitfrombeingin asegregatedclasstoallow that childtoreceivemoreteacher attention.Onekeyfactorinthedeaf child'sdevelopmentisschoolingandlanguagedevelopment,whichprovidesanavenueforfurthereducation,socialisation,and theacquisitionof lifeskills.Inshort,theeffectsofthemigrationexperienceatboth theindividualandfamiliallevelshouldnotbeignored.Beiser andhiscolleaguesconcluded thatthecombinationofsupportive traditional culturalelementsandnewculturalnormsallowforthemaintenanceof ethnicprideandcontributetogoodmental health(Beiser,Dion, Gotowiec,&Huyman,1995;Edwards&Beiser,1994). Theimmigrantorrefugeedeafchild's eventualacculturationtobothNorthAmericansocietyas wellas tothe NorthAmericanDeaf culture dependsontheinteractionamong generalmigrationfactors,aswellaspersonalandfamilialfactors andethno-culturalviewsofdeafness.Issue#2:TheLanguageChallengeforDeafImmigrant andRefugeeChildren.HearingstudentswhoarelearningEnglishas asecondlanguagemayalreadypossessarange ofcommunication skillsintheir nativelanguagewhentheyfirstarriveatschool.Althoughsome mayhavehadlittleornoschooling,othersmayhavecomefrom communities with strongliteratetraditionsandhighDownloaded fromcjs.sagepub.comby Anna Dom on October 14, 2012 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]