i Page 6 ^ ^ THE BATTALION TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1979 ^ «r" ^ *r ^ PEARL/FIJI First Annual Slowpitch Softball Tournament Special programs offer alternatives for parents, teachers of deaf children DATE: APRIL 6, 7, 8 PLACE: BEE CREEK PARK ENTRANCE FEE: $40.00 Send Entree fees to: FIJI SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT FIJI HOUSE 1414 S. College Bryan 779-9696 or contact Lonnie Copps at 696-8442 Schaffhauser Dist. Co. 101 Luther West College Station 696-7231 THE ORCHID TREE Specializing in orchids suited to home growing. Take Hwy. 30 east, turn right just past Jose’s Restaurant, then right at Vista Lane. Sunday 1-5 p.m. and Weekday evenings 693-2399. By DEBBIE PARSONS Battalion Staff Try sitting in a room full of deaf people talking in sign language sometime and you may get an idea of what it is like for them to live in this world. There would probably be a definite communications gap. They wouldn’t hear you and you wouldn’t understand them. Parents of deaf children make several decisions on how they are going to teach their children to pre vent such a communications gap. The class for the deaf at Sul Ross Elementary School and the homebound program are options for parents offered by the Bryan Inde pendent School District. Another option is the Texas State School for the Deaf in Austin. Sarah Pack, an inquisitive 2Vfe- year-old, was left severely deaf after she caught spinal meningitis at 20 months of age. Sarah has two hearing aids, some times mistaken in stores for ciga rettes or transistor radios, which she carries in her vest pockets. After having tests run to make sure the cause of her hearing loss wasn’t psychological, Frank and Robbie Pack decided how to teach their daughter. There are three methods for teaching the deaf: the total com- INTERNATIONAL WEEK ’79 APRIL 1 st-6th Sunday, April ft KY’ MOVIE: ‘STAVINl time: 4:00 p.m. place: rudder theatre admission: 50c ABDULLAH TARIKI (former Saudi Arabia representative to OPEC) time: 8:00 pm place: msc 206 Monday, April CULTURAL DISPLAY time: 9:00-5:00 pm place: 1st floor msc Tuesday, April 3 MOVIE: ‘STATE OF SIEGE’ time: 8:00 pm place: msc 201 admission: 50c Thursday, April 5 FOOD FAIR time: 6:30-8:00 pm place: msc 228 By Invitation Only TALENT SHOW time: 8:00-10:00 pm place: msc 201 Wednesday, April 4 ‘ENERGY, OPEC & the U.S. SPEAKER: SHEIKH Friday, April 6 DANCING PARTY time: 8:00 pm-1:00 am place: quonset hut b munication method, the oral method and the aural method. The total communication method uses sign language, hearing aids, lip reading and whatever residual hear ing the child has. The oral method uses lip reading and residual hearing. The aural method works only with residual hearing. The Packs chose the total com munication method. “We feel that Sarah should take advantage of any form of communi cation open to her,” Frank Pack said. The Packs have taken courses and learned as much as possible to teach Sarah themselves. They took a one-week course last summer at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders in Dal las. The center counsels parents on techniques for working with deaf children, and helps them deal with their emotions. The center also of fers audiological testing and infor mation on new research activities. The Packs also learned the basics of auditory teaching from Carolyn Brown in Conroe. Some basics include teaching Sarah to listen, to watch lips, to make everyday experiences into a lesson and to take sound walks. Sound walks teach a child to understand what it is that makes a specific sound which is “half the bat tle,” Robbie Pack said. Sarah is able to hear pure tones, which are high pitches and vowel sounds, through her hearing aid. “We wanted Sarah to get used to r-“-—i EASD& ■SPAGHETTI (Formerly Mama’s Pizza) WE STILL DELIVER THE SAME GREAT PIZZA! 5-11 Sun.-Thurs. 5-12 Fri.-Sat. 696-3380 807 Texas Ave. There’s still time to realize a substantial tax savings on 1978 income. If you are not covered by a retirement plan you can still qualify for a tax-sheltered savings plan that reduces 1978 income tax. The Individual Retirement Account (IRA) offers self-employed workers (and others not covered by any pension or retirement program) an easy way to set aside savings and reduce current income taxes. The maximum amount, established by law, is 15% of income or $1,500 (whichever is less). Married workers can set aside a total of $1,750 if their spouse is not employed. A new feature olthe law this year permits workers to exercise their option to create an IRA for 1978 income any time before they file their 1978 income tax return (normally prior to April 15, 1979). So you still have time to take advantage of this tax savings. Every IRA dollar invested in BBfifL earns 8% interest (an effective annual yield of 8.33%), the maximum interest permitted by law. No financial institution can pay you more. It’s easy to set up an IRA with BBfifL. We’ve streamlined the procedure and minimized the paperwork. You can handle all the details in one visit. For information on your specific tax situation, talk to your accountant or yonr attorney. For information on IRA, talk to Hazel Holland, BB&I<’s IRA specialist. IF THE AMOUNTS SHOWN ARE DEPOSITED MONTHLY, THE BALANCE IN YOUR ACCOUNT WILL GROW AT 8% COMPOUNDED CONTINUOUSLY. RETIREMENT? ACCOUNT GROWTH TABUS Your savings institution RAJUAUCE AT END OF: 1st 'Fear $88 $ 311.89 $80 $ 622.58 $ioo $ 1,245.16 $188 $ 1,556.43 and 'Fear 648.50 1,297.00 2,594.00 3,242.50 3rd Year 1,013.80 2,027.60 4,055.20 5,068.99 4th Year 1,409.58 2,819.04 5,638.08 7.047.60 8th. Year 1,838.20 3,676.40 7,352.80 9,191.01 6th Year 2,302.59 4,605.18 9.210.36 11,512.93 7th Year 2,805.65 5,611.30 11,222.60 14,028.24 8th Year 3,350.61 6,701.22 13,402.44 16.753.05 9th Year 3,940.96 7,881.92 15,763.84 19.704.79 XOth Year 4,580.48 9,160.96 18.321.92 22,902.38 18th Year 8,671.47 17.342.94 34,685.88 43,357.35 aoth Year 14,774.51 29,549.02 59,098.04 73,872.57 asth Year 23,879.19 47,758.38 95,516.74 119.395.93 30th Year 37,461.76 74,923.52 149.847.04 187.308.80 38th Year 57.724.58 115.449.16 230.898.33 288,622.91 40th Year $87,953.16 $175,906.32 $351,812.63 $439,765.79 BB&L/Bryan, 2800 Texas Ave./779-2800 her hearing aid and lip reading be fore teaching her sign language so she would get used to being deaf, Frank Pack said. The Packs including their 4-year-old son, Chris, are learning sign language. “Chris has fun learning sign lan guage and makes games out of it, Robbie Pack said. “He’s super in helping other people understand Sarah. He’s her interpreter.” The Packs take pictures of things they do, such as taking trips to the zoo, to show Sarah what they are teaching her. “The picture album is very useful for explaining the past tense,’ Rob bie Pack said. “Past and future tenses are difficult for the deaf to understand and having pictures to explain helps a great deal. Sarah’s other senses have become stronger. For example, she is very perceptive about moods and can tell when someone is not comfortable around her. “You have to be more honest with yourself and with Sarah,’ Robbie Pack said Melody Hall, from the home- bound program, teaches Sarah for one hour three days a week. Because Sarah was 20 months old when she lost her hearing, she al ready knew a lot of words. So she is basically relearning how to express herself. Hall said. It is very common that a child who is lacking in one skill will com pensate for it in another, she said. Sarah is at about a four-year level in motor skills, so she basically works with verbal and perceptual skills, Hall said. Sarah and Hall have recently been working on learning about animals. They took a field trip to see barnyard animals so the concepts she learns are based on reality. Teaching deaf children isn’t easy, Hall said. The teacher always has to think about what he is saying. “With regular kids you can be talking while thinking about some thing else, but with a deaf child you have to really concentrate on what you are teaching, or he will be con fused,” she said. Hall uses the total communication method to teach Sarah. She gives the Packs ideas on how to teach Sarah. Next year Sarah will probably go part time to a class for the deaf. “It is important for Sarah to be around other deaf children for her self-concept,” Hall said. “She needs to know that she’s not weird; that she’s not the only deaf child. ” It will depend on Sarah when she will be ready to attend full time. It is easy to try to be “super par ents” by pushing Sarah to learn all the time, the Packs said. “I want Sarah to be a normal little child and play with her toys or in her sandbox, just like any other child her age, Robbie Pack said. When Sarah is ready, she will go to the class for the deaf taught by Jayne Davenport. There are three full-time and two part-time students in the class. Their ages range from 5 to 12 years. Each student has a specific curriculum depending on his hear ing loss and capabilities. Each curriculum is based on lan guage development. Quarterly goals are made for each student and are later evaluated. For example, Chris, a 5-year-old deaf and blind boy, recently achieved his quarterly goal by walk ing with correct balance. Davenport and her teacher aide, Nancy Harris, teach in two basic areas; developmental and content. her,’Harris said. “Hertea^ learn signs that are Davenport uses" 6 ^ while teaching the chilf en is a microphone thatp icks ; she says and transmits her J hearing aids the students J at a certain frequency to £ static background noises Two students attend Dave, class during semester break the Texas State School forS in Austin. Donna and Herbert Rich ar j cently decided to enroll i 6-year-old daughter, Holly ir state school. Developmental works with the child’s self-concept and content teaches language, math, English, social studies, science and reading. There are very few textbooks for the deaf, so they make their own. “Everything has to be visual since a major concept to get across is that words stand for things,” Davenport said. Harris is an interpreter for Robin, a 12-year-old who attends fifth grade classes at Lamar School for gym, lunch and social studies. “Other children look at Robin dif ferently, but they try to help her by learning signs to communicate with Holly has attended the deal at Sul Ross since she was 16® old. The Richards feel she will more by being with childrea own age with similar hearingli “There is only one teaclie children with an age range 3-12 years, with various fo losses, Donna Richards “Holly was caught in themiddl wasn’t learning as much as we she can.” Nancy Harris’s 9-year-oldsoi attends the school in Austin goes there mainly to be with deaf students his age, Harriss “Right now it is hard to just the state or special program partment creating another cl* the deaf with so few studentsi class as it is,” Davenport said, hope that eventually we wil more than one class.” Children to get math, reading ai By REGINA MOEHLMAN Battalion Reporter Many Bryan elementary children who are behind in math or reading can get some special help this sum mer and have fun, too. For the 15th year, Bryan Inde pendent School District is offering summer school at Lamar Elemen tary to second through sixth graders who are below grade level in read ing or math. Summer school runs from June 18 to July 27 and a child may attend any of three sections: 8-10 a. m., 10 a.m. to noon or 1-3 p.m. In addition to spending time in the classroom, students will work with computers to develop reading and math skills. They will also par ticipate in field trips, math contests and reading clubs, and will get a chance to cook snacks in the school cafeteria. Sammie Hollis, director of reme dial programs for BISD, estimates that 900 children will be ii federally-funded program summer. To participate in the progn child must be recommended! remedial and homeroom tea Recommendations are based test given at the end of each s year. Though parents may re that their child be put in the gram, it is not intended to ad the children beyond their pr grade-level, Hollis said. Parents of eligible childrei receive letters and registr forms in the mail. Free meals will not be o! during summer school as the during the regular school yeai free bus transportation will be able. Hollis said the program has a success, as many students advanced in their reading and levels and been promoted out( program. She said many teal have seen improvements it children returning to their( il l \» I I All FOR A CLASSY CUT, CALL VERONICA 846-4771 Advertise an item in the Battalion. Call 845-2611 Gburt’fel _ OUffl ImpDrter$|& purveyors of the. world’s finest wines & foods. The most orgjmlEbficy 4301 Garter Creek Dky. Bryan.Tx. 77801 846-3 J ! -rrrr* ’ <%edalty meats and cheeses and Gfiees and Teas and (Spices and Gtviar and Rite and Chsta and T&rty trays tor special occasions and MkcfeandCtbatosand French cookware and...