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Raising a deaf child: What you need to know
What you need to know:
- In the beginning, it may be quiet hard to realise your baby is deaf because all they do is cry.
- A 16-year old Fred Mukasa who is deaf recalls the time his father abandoned him and the mother when he realised he was deaf. He says his father claimed they had no deaf people in his family.
Did you ever realise that every child demands for different parenting needs? This is very true and quiet challenging for parents who raise deaf children because they require a lot of love, patience as well as learning sign language.
Many times you will want to communicate with this child but this will only be possible if you know sign language. Even when you know sign language, you will have to make sure you have that child’s visual attention as well as your visual attention in order to communicate.
Vulnerable
In the beginning, it may be quiet hard to realise your baby is deaf because all they do is cry. However, according to Peter Muswali a sign language instructor at Kyambogo University, a parent can know if their child is deaf when they do not respond to sound.
“Hearing babies will respond to sound if you bang or hit something close to them. A deaf baby cannot respond to sound however much harder you may try. If they are sleeping, their sleep will be undisturbed even when you make noise,” says Muswali.
At one time, Muswali says everyone is vulnerable to becoming deaf due to diseases and disorders, continuous exposure to noise or congenital defects present at birth therefore it is important for one to learn sign language.
In many instances, fathers neglect their responsibilities as parents and others claim they do not have any deaf condition running in their line.
A 16-year old Fred Mukasa who is deaf recalls the time his father abandoned him and the mother when he realised he was deaf. He says his father claimed they had no deaf people in his family.
“Many fathers usually leave the parenting responsibility to mothers when it comes to a deaf child. Deaf children need equal love and care from both parents like the normal ones,” says Muswali.
He adds, “If you realise your child is deaf, you can start teaching them the basics of sign language at two years to help you start to communicate with them. Like if they are hungry or want to ease.”
Education
Your deaf child should be able to get equal education opportunities and behave the same way like your hearing children.
Many parents of the deaf children prefer to keep their deaf children at the grandparents’ in villages and are unable to go to school because the parents think it is wastage of resources.
According to Robert Nkwanga, the treasurer Uganda National Association of the Deaf (UNAD) training centre, out of the one million deaf people in the country, only one per cent is able to qualify for higher education because of stigma and a negative attitude from the community. Also, there are very few secondary schools that are specifically for the deaf like Wakiso SS and Mbale SS for the deaf where there is universal secondary education.
“Although there are many deaf people in Uganda, only one per cent qualifies for higher education because of the stigma and a limited number of schools for the deaf. Most of the children are taken for vocational studies yet they too should have equal education opportunities,” says Nkwanga.
Many deaf children have however surpassed such challenges and studied up to university according to Muswali and their basic support is usually from parents.
“A deaf child is similar to any other child but the only difference is that you have to learn to communicate with him or her a little differently from the others.”
Communicating with your deaf child at night may be a little hard because they will not be able to see you so you will have to touch them in order to get their attention.
Deaf children must be groomed in the same way as the hearing ones. This is because they are also part of your family and community so they should not be brought up without any manners.
“If your deaf child does something uncouth, you should correct them. For instance if they make noise while they are eating, they may not know they are making the noise so it is important to tell them because they should be raised and groomed like any other normal children,” says John Ssentongo a sign language instructor.
Be sensitive
For safety, Ssentongo advises parents to teach their deaf children to keep right when they are walking on the road because they only have the sight sense.
He says, “Since they are unable to hear, when they keep right, it will enable them to see the vehicle because they are directly facing them.”
When you are speaking to a deaf child, be very observant about their facial expression.
Although some may be able to control their temper and anger, most of them will never bear it when you call them mute, dumb or kasiru (in Luganda).
Muswali thinks this is a way of discouraging the deaf people by calling them stupid and unable to say any word.
He adds that anyone can become deaf any time but they can never be happy if they are called stupid.
Muswali says, “We deaf people never want to be called mute or dumb because this means we are stupid. Even if we cannot talk, we prefer being called deaf or kiggala (closed ears).”
