WHEN Shericka Mighty gave birth 12 years ago to a bouncing baby girl her last expectation was that when her baby cried she would not respond to noise-induced efforts to calm her.

When her baby would not turn her head to noise or respond to sounds, Mighty was prompted to do a series a tests which eventually confirmed her then worst fears – her last child, Reneque Thomas, was deaf.

“At first I was confused as to what the first step should be, where I should seek help and how she would survive in this world being deaf,” Mighty said as she shared her reaction when she found out Reneque was born with severe sensorineural hearing loss.

Feelings of hopelessness would follow as she was ignorant of the deaf community. Like Mighty, many parents, upon finding out that their child is deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) become overwhelmed with fear because up to that point they would have had no knowledge of how to interact with the deaf.

Mighty admitted that the most challenging part in raising a deaf child is learning the signs to ensure effective communication. The lack of online Jamaican Sign Language (JSL) resources and face-to-face JSL classes in Jamaica added to her struggle to learn the language. This is the reality for many parents and many families who have been unable to meaningfully provide academic support for their D/HH relative at home.

But according to her eldest daughter Renae Brown, who was only nine years old at the time, the new uncharted territory would serve as the catapult for change in the family.

“She didn’t just give up and say no. She went and learnt sign language, and we also learnt and got our level one certification. From an early age mommy tried her best to ensure Reneque was enrolled in the best school. Myself and my other sister had to learn sign language as well,” Brown, now a student of sign language interpretation and language education English at The University of the West Indies, Mona, told the Jamaica Observer.

She added: “This was new for us, and having support and our mom standing firm and saying though it’s something new we can learn to work around it and with it in our space, is a good feeling. I feel good to know this was something we learnt about and can deal with. It is in no way difficult if you accept it. A lot of persons do not accept it and as such it is difficult for them or they see it as a burden but, to be honest, it is a blessing. From you accept it, move forward to learn sign language, love your child and communicate with your child, then everything else is possible. Communication is in no way difficult. There are so many resources available through JAD [Jamaica Association for the Deaf]. Just make the time and accept that your child is deaf.”

Further, between 2017 and 2020, the Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf (PLED) Project, a collaboration between Jamaica Association for the Deaf and USAID, designed and implemented several interventions to address this shortfall. Over 200 parents and relatives of D/HH children, including Mighty, benefited from JSL classes and enrichment weekends, parenting workshops and also shared in reading training sessions.

The highlight for Mighty was learning the ’15 Shared Reading Principles’. These are strategies parents can use when reading to and with their D/HH to promote literacy growth. Mighty expressed that since the training sessions she is better at reading with Reneque. She added that she also feels motivated to try harder every time she sits and reads with Reneque and her daughter beams with understanding.

“Now, I feel confident and she learns more,”she exclaimed, while Reneque too, in excitement, expressed how proud she is of her mom when they sit and read together.

Moreover, the test of the benefits of the interventions came when the COVID-19 pandemic racked the school system and slammed shut the doors of classrooms, forcing the opening of home school and virtual school doors.

Fortunately, prior to COVID-19, Mighty ensured she shared her knowledge of the 15 Shared Reading Principles with Brown and also ensured that she accompanied her to the JSL classes that were offered by the project.

Now, because of her work obligations, Mighty is unable to attend virtual school with Reneque, but it is Brown who monitors her younger sister during online classes.

For Brown, the JSL classes and the shared reading strategies she had learnt from her mom have assisted her tremendously with helping her sister to keep up with online school.

“I have to read with her more and help with classwork and homework because she is now home with us 24/7. She used to board at school before corona came”.

The PLED project has recently embarked upon establishing a learning management system (LMS) that will house and make accessible all the resources to assist parents in learning JSL and the 15 Shared Reading Principles to better face this COVID-19 period. In fact, all other beneficiaries – D/HH students, deaf culture facilitators, school leaders – of the project and the public can soon gain access to the plethora of resources developed by the project to aid literacy development among D/HH students, and by extension increase awareness of Jamaican Sign Language and Jamaican deaf culture.

In addition, the project has made content available through WhatsApp and closed user groups on Facebook, to include videos and games to play with children in sign and English.

Meanwhile, Kimberley Sherlock Marriott Blake, executive director at JAD, said the interventions of the PLED project have allowed parents to have more persons to contact for support and to somewhat ease the circumstances brought on by COVID-19. She also appealed to parents to engage the association and learn JSL.

“Even as parents are working to try and engage with their kids there is still a number of deaf students who need additional support. There are a number of students who do not have parents who are as engaged. We encourage an enabling family environment where it’s not just one person in the household that is willing to sign, but it is multiple people in the family that’s able to sign, multiple people who are wanting to engage with the deaf learner or with the deaf child, because this is how it helps to build a sense of community – which is so important to the development of a child,” Sherlock Marriott Blake said, while appealing for assistance in getting resources to aid online learning for deaf children.

“Anyone willing to give assistance to provide data for our children to come online, we are open to hear from them and having that conversation because they too need support. If you want info on sign language classes, email learnsign@jamdeaf.org.jm or call 876-970-1778-9. For all other queries, including support to students and families, and any general info on JAD and our projects, email admin@jamdeaf.org.jm or call 876-970-1778-9. We often hear of support for children but those with disabilities are often excluded,” she stated.