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Show .. y. . , . ..- " i 1 ' " ' 5 v ' ' ' I "I LOVE YOU" sign Karen Finlayson, District teacher of the deaf and her three students, Andrea Lux, Mark Hill, and Jason Jarvis. some of Lindon's 5th graders learned how to sign it, too. Hearing students learn sign language in study of the deaf at Lindon School By LINDA HARRIS A 100-decibel tape in Dolby Stereo blasting its way from a set of earphones ear-phones through their soft gray matter got thumbs down a couple of weeks ago from a group of students who came to know what it was like to be deaf. They decided blaring music was not worth the price. According to Tim Humphrey, audiologist and speech and hearing specialist for the Alpine School i District, loud music heard through earphones can be a source of hearing loss. Normal listening range is between 30-60 decibels and the sound pressure on the eardrum doubles for every 6 decibels that is increased, says Mr. Humphrey. The effect of loud noise on hearing loss was just one of the things Michelle Behunin's 5th grade class learned as part of one of their science modules. The warm-up to an unusual experience ex-perience at Lindon Elementary was a lesson by Mr. Humphrey on the function of the ear and types of hearing loss. After this Miss Behunin, a graduate in speech pathology, immersed the children in a two-month two-month study of the language of the deaf. They learned sentences. They learned the Pledge of Allegience. - Then the challenge came. They had to wear earplugs and could communicate com-municate only by use of signs or writing for one-half day. That included in-cluded recess, as well. "It's hard to understand you," said one 5th grader. Another said, "It's really hard to go out on the playground and have people push you around." i It's one thing to speak a foreign j language to fellow students. The real ! test comes in speaking with a native, j The children had the opportunity when Karen Finlayson, teacher of the deaf at Aspen Elementary, brought over her three students. Miss Finlayson, who is working on a doctorate, is not certified to teach the deaf, but her students speak for her ability. Her experience began as one of 17 LDS missionaries to the deaf. She says she had to learn it to survive. Following her mission, she worked for five years with all deaf students at BYU. She also taught deaf Indian students on a reservation in their language. She has been at Aspen for almost a year. Her students Jason Jarvis, 11, Pleasant Grove, Andrea Lux, 10, Lehi, and Mark Hill, 10, Provo, are now mainstreaming (studying with regular students) for a large portion of the day. One method she has of teaching these students, who have never heard how a normal voice sounds, is by audiophonics. She spells out the sound to them, a sound they have come to know through signs. Then they are able to speak it themselves. When Jason, Andrea and Mark paid the Lindon 5th graders a visit, the conversation didn't differ much from any strangers getting acquainted, except it was a communication in silence. The students asked the three how - they were, what their names were and how many brothers and sisters they have. One of the funnest things for the class was to go home and throw a few sign words at their older brother or sister who had been m Miss Behunin's class before. The older children say the study of deafness was one of the best science units they had had and they doubt if they will forget it. Miss Behunin asked her class before they started whether they would rather be deaf or blind. Most said they would rather be deaf. Some of them changed their mind after the two months were over. I f - ? . . - .-"V I .; f ; -r. ; - - 5 ft." t in - j t -A v :; , ' r t - -Jwl L .... i i: ;' ; ; : ; 1 ' SENIOR STUDENTS named as Vikings of the Month at Pleasant Grove High School meet with their class president Chris Kitchen, center, they are: 1. to r., Shane Brewer, Carolyn Blackham, Leo Biggs and Elene Bunker. |
