Comment: Judi Devine, President of the New Zealand Federation for Deaf Children
A great deal of change is required in New Zealand if the new Disability Bill is to see Deaf children get a decent education. If the Government is truly going to ratify the Convention, it needs to meet the needs of the individual child.
Parents of Deaf children are hopeful for change but they’re not holding their breath for any real fixes to what is really a desperate situation.
Minister for Disability Issues, Ruth Dyson, has been quoted saying the Disabilities Bill’s passing will ensure all New Zealanders lead highly valued and productive lives and that disabled people’s rights will be valued on an equal basis with others.
If you can’t educate Deaf children, what is their future? Their chance at a fully independent life is limited; they won’t be contributing to society; they live on an invalid’s benefit and face unnecessary hurdles through their lives.
Profoundly Deaf students in mainstream education are learning less than one quarter of the information learnt by a hearing child simply because Deaf children can’t interpret the spoken language.
While trained interpreters in every classroom would be ideal, the reality is who could expect an interpreter that commands nearly $100 per hour to work in the class room for a teacher’s aide rate of $13.50! The Ministry needs to look at where the gaps are and find out how those areas can be better resourced.
In many cases parents are sitting alongside their child in classrooms interpreting for them. The success of a Deaf child hugely depends on the support level of their parents and that can depend on the parent’s socio-economic situation and language skills.
Parents are just living in hope that their child will get some form of education. If parents have to work, that child simply goes to school to eat their lunch, literally.
|
|
Read all the latest information and updates from NFD Inc. Latest Issue Out now