The Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind should be commended for starting an oral preschool for these children three years ago, but the door on future specialized classrooms ends there. These children are sent back to their individual cities - Hampton, Newport News, Gloucester, Virginia Beach - into a system that does not recognize the specialized support these children require to become independent adults. Instead they are placed in either mainstream classrooms with minimal support, or in classes for children with developmental delays, where, again, their auditory needs are not met.

With the uncertainty of its future, the school was unable to commit to expanding the oral program to elementary grades. Parents are left feeling frustrated. Energy that should be spent working with their children is spent investigating the rights allowed them through IDEA. Each school system interprets the law governing education of children with impairments differently, and no school on the Southside or Peninsula is stepping up to develop a program that addresses the needs of the deaf child pursuing an oral education.

For over 20 years I have watched the fight escalate regarding what to do with the two schools for the deaf in Virginia. A regional school in this area would be most cost effective and reap the most benefit for these children. The goal would be to provide these children the support they need until they are ready to go into mainstream education. Technology has provided this potential, but if we as educators do not provide the fundamental education these children need, they will remain lost in the special education system until they graduate at 21.

By Liz Abeyounis
http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-28711sy0may24,0,166628.story?coll=dp-opinion-editorials