www.deafchildren.org
From Birth to the Summer Academy By Sheila Shea Last December, I was scrolling through e-mails with the intent to delete as many as possible. One message caught my eye: 2011 Summer Academy for Advancing Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Computing We are looking for smart and talented deaf and hard of hearing students, who are in college or ready to enter college, who want to explore a career in computing. Could YOU be who we are looking for? Are you up for the challenge? Unbelievable, I thought. I have two deaf sons, Daniel and Matthew, who fit the bill. I immediately called my husband, Alex Seita, and told him of this incredible opportunity. I tried to at once digest and explain the information to him. ”Deaf and hard of hearing students would be accepted for admission,” I said, ”and tuition, room, board, transportation are free!” Students would take a computer programming course for college credit and a class in animation. Better yet, field trips would be scheduled to visit technology companies in Seattle, such as Google and Microsoft, and students would meet successful deaf and hard of hearing role models already working in the computing field.
My husband and I were excited about the possibility for our boys. We had searched, largely in vain for years, to identify academically challenging enrichment programs designed for deaf students. Being on the precipice of such an exciting opportunity was cause for great anticipation, but also for reflection, as I considered how far we had come on our family journey raising deaf children. In February 1994, Daniel, then just 18 months old, was diagnosed with a
severe to profound bilateral hearing loss. Thinking back, I can say without hesitation that this news was devastating. We found support, however, when we were introduced to other parents who were raising deaf children, and joined ASDC. Where we lived, a support network of audiologists, teachers of the deaf, speech therapists and other early intervention professionals led us fairly quickly to the realization that while Daniel’s hearing loss would pose 13