The fate of deaf students
The fate of deaf students
From Kompas
Each human being has a different fate. The origin of suffering
is unknown -- hence our fate as the parents of a deaf child. We
devote almost all our time to enable him to communicate with sign
language as well as lipreading. This is a sort of provision or
foothold that we can give him for his future.
Many people do not realize that the difficulty a deaf child
experiences in communicating is caused by his low hearing
ability; some children are even totally unable to hear anything.
These children seem to live in a quiet cave. Their hearing
disability renders them incapable of uttering a word. Deaf
children need special care and guidance. Like other normal human
beings, they also have emotions, intelligence and ideals.
In Indonesia the number of people suffering from deafness is
estimated at close to two million, but the schools available for
them are less than the fingers of both hands. In the few special
schools available in the regions, these children are categorized
in Group C. In this group the disabilities of the children are
not differentiated; all of them are merged into one group, which
includes even mentally retarded children.
The problem is that our comprehension regarding the
capabilities of deaf children is itself a cause for great concern
and therefore puts them in a more complex situation.
Take for example, my own child who received a high rank in his
class in Notre Dame Junior High School, West Jakarta. Prior to
that he had attended Pangudi Luhur Special School, West Jakarta.
As I wanted to upgrade his education, I registered him at
Laurensia International Senior High School. He passed the
entrance exam and he felt very happy, and as parents, so did we,
as it was something to be proud of. But during the completion of
administrative requirements, when I revealed that my child was
deaf, the school administration staff were shocked and
immediately said that they did not accept deaf students.
Our happiness immediately disappeared and our child became
depressed.
We keep wondering: "Must children with hearing difficulties
suffer discriminatory treatment? Should we add to their lifetime
burden?"
MAGDALENA BUNGAWAN
Jakarta