1. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
AND
OBJECTIVES
The Mustard Seed Program is a proposed three-year pilot program that seeks to educate and minister to children, ages 2 to 6 years who are deaf or hard of hearing using an auditory-oral language approach with signed English support. The program design allows for education of students ages 2 years to 2 years 11 months in a weekly language-based playgroup, education of students 3 to 6 years in a full-day pre-primary program 3 days each week with daily individual or small group speech therapy, and ongoing education and support for families.
It is the hope and joy of the Mustard
Seed Program to minister to the educational needs of these children and their families, and in that way to share the everlasting hope of Jesus Christ. The center will be situated in the capital city, Kampala, where otolaryngology and audiology services are being developed.
At its inception, the pre-
primary program will be hosted in classrooms treated with sound proofing materials to suit the auditory needs of the students.
Children will be
grouped according to their ages and individual needs. Each year, the center will enroll up to 20 children in the age range of 3 to 6 years in the preschool classroom category with a maximum of 10 students with one teacher of the deaf and one teaching assistant per classroom.
An additional weekly
instructional playgroup will enroll up to 10 students with hearing loss in the age range of 2 years to 2 years 11 months. These programs will follow an academic calendar that runs from January to November. Program delivery will be specially designed to offer diverse experiences that will address specific educational and communication needs of the student population. The pedagogy will emphasize an auditory oral approach but will additionally integrate sign language and other visual supports. An additional component of the program will be to provide support, instruction, and advocacy for families of children with hearing loss in an effort to educate and, eventually, counteract current social views of deafness in Uganda.
Therefore, the
overall Mustard Seed School Program can be subdivided into the following three focal areas for services offered by the center: an early intervention program, a pre-primary program, and a parent support and outreach program.
A.
The Early Intervention Program
A teacher of the deaf or speech language pathologist will implement auditory-oral
language
strategies
with
English
sign
support
through
developmentally appropriate play. Group play experiences will focus on beginning
auditory
tasks
including
detection
environmental sounds and speech sounds.
and
identification
of
Language elements will be
further encouraged through literacy activities, music and singing, gross motor games, and structured tasks including arts and crafts or morning meetings.
In order to maximize auditory access, the play space will be
treated with acoustic wall and ceiling treatments and the teacher of the deaf or speech language pathologist will utilize a sound field FM system to better amplify her voice for the children. The toddler playgroup will provide initial access to education for children with hearing loss, enabling them more opportunity for success as they develop language at a young age.
It will
serve to create relationships between the families and the school as well as between families, providing a community for parents who have children with hearing loss. Mustard Seed School staff will minister to children and families during these weekly sessions, providing a safe space in which families are welcomed to observe and participate in their child’s education. Early Intervention Program Objectives I.
To demonstrate the love of Christ through the care and support of deaf children and their families
II.
To provide families with access to initial hearing and academic
assessment III.
To supply referrals and recommendations to families in order to acquire hearing aids and maintain equipment
IV.
To allow students opportunities to make use of residual hearing through hearing aid technology in order to develop spoken language and communication skills.
V.
To provide opportunities for deaf children to interact with deaf peers in an environment that develops pragmatic, language, and academic skills.
VI.
To foster development of initial communication strategies for deaf toddlers using spoken language and sign language support
B.
Pre-Primary School Program
The preschool program will admit students beginning at 3 years of age and will group students in the classroom during primarily language lessons according to student strengths and needs.
A teacher of the deaf will
facilitate language acquisition through emphasis on developing auditory and spoken language skills with use of sign as a visual support for representing spoken English.
Lessons will incorporate multiple curriculum areas to
encourage skills in areas such as language and literacy, math, science, and social pragmatics. In order to maximize auditory access, the classrooms will be treated with acoustic wall and ceiling treatments and the teacher of the deaf will utilize a sound field FM system to better amplify her voice for the children.
Each day, students will receive specialized therapy in order to
further their development of language and articulation using Spoken English. Facilitated by a speech language pathologist, therapy sessions will be conducted in one-to-one or small group format with no more than 3 students per group. The speech language pathologist will move through hierarchical
of development of auditory skills (detection, discrimination, identification, comprehension), encourage appropriate receptive and expressive language skills, and instruct students in proper articulation to aid in intelligibility of spoken language. The preschool will provide a safe, caring environment in which to minister to the needs of children with hearing loss. These children will have a routine in which to thrive, and their increased ability to express themselves and to communicate with others will lead to drastic improvement in quality of life. Pre-Primary School Program Objectives I.
To demonstrate the love of Christ through the care and support of deaf children and their families
II.
To encourage consistent use of hearing aid technology in order to gain access to educational curriculum
III.
To promote education for deaf and hard of hearing students from ages 3 to 6 years in the following areas: English, Literacy, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Sciences, Religious Studies
IV.
To provide access to speech and language therapy in order to encourage development of spoken language abilities
V.
To facilitate student interaction with peers in order to develop appropriate communication and social pragmatic strategies
VI.
To engage students in whole language development through use of spoken language with sign supported English
VII.
To demonstrate and develop advocacy skills for deaf and hard of hearing students
VIII. To enable older students to manage and care for hearing aid equipment properly
Auditory, Speech, and Language Therapy Objectives I.
To demonstrate the love of Christ through the care and support of deaf children and their families
II.
To encourage auditory development through detection, discrimination, identification
and
comprehension
tasks
(auditory
hierarchy
progression) III.
To enable students to improve receptive language skills by recognizing various
language
elements
including
nouns/pronouns,
verbs,
adjectives/adverbs, prepositions when presented through spoken language or through spoken language with sign support IV.
To enable students to improve expressive language skills by using various
language
elements
including
nouns/pronouns,
verbs,
adjectives/adverbs, prepositions V.
To instruct students in articulation of vowels in isolation, reduplicated and differentiated syllables, and within words
VI.
To instruct students in articulation of consonants in isolation, on the syllable level, on the word level in all word positions, and in phrases
C.
Parent Support and Outreach Program
Parent support is an integral component to the ministry of the Mustard Seed Program.
With implementation of parent education, families will be given
information regarding hearing loss, instruction on how to communicate with their children, lessons for learning sign support of spoken English, workshop opportunities to continue language and academic education in the home, technical advice about caring for equipment, and practical information for managing behavior in a positive way.
Through parent and community
education, the Mustard Seed School Program hopes to counteract persistent social views regarding deafness to promote long-term change for deaf individuals in Uganda.
Parent Support and Outreach Program Objectives I.
To demonstrate the love of Christ through the care and support of deaf children and their families
II.
To promote and offer support to parents and families of deaf and hard of hearing children
III
To work to demystify the cultural stigma and beliefs associated with deafness by empowering the parents with information regarding hearing loss.
IV.
To
provide
monthly
parent
workshops
in
order
to
deepen
understanding of their child’s audiology, language, and academic needs V.
To instruct parents in ongoing development of skills in use of Signing Exact English
VI.
To empower parents to advocate for themselves and their children in the community
VII. To cultivate relationships with area churches in order to develop awareness of deafness and needs associated with hearing loss
D.
Additional
In order to maintain progress in program areas, it is additionally necessary to provide encouragement and training for staff members working in the Mustard Seed School Program. The following goals have been developed to ensure the ongoing support and development of staff skills: Staff Training and Mentoring Objectives I.
To maintain spiritual support of staff members through prayer and Scriptural studies as a group
II.
To
provide
daily
collaboration
time
for
all
staff
members
to
brief/debrief ongoing program and student goals III.
To provide opportunities for mentorship to staff members who are not specifically trained in working with deaf and hard of hearing students so they can attend to language, academic, and equipment needs of students
IV.
To seek continuing education in the field of deaf education for all staff
2. ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES At the end of three years, the Mustard Seed School Program seeks to achieve the following: I.
presentation of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to children who are deaf and their families
II.
Establish fully fledged early intervention and pre-primary program for deaf or hard of hearing children in Uganda under the age of 6 years old
III.
Create firm support system and network for families of children with hearing loss
IV.
Provision of accessible auditory-oral therapy with English sign support for communication
V.
Referrals for audiology services, including acquisition of hearing aids to students with hearing loss
VI.
Advocacy for the welfare of deaf and hard of hearing children in
Uganda VII.
Awareness for abilities and needs of children with hearing loss to transform social perceptions of deafness
VIII. Build moral and social support system for children who are deaf through Encouragement and advocacy of parents