California Educators Teach Deaf and Hard-of Hearing Children Essential Health/Safety Skills.

Business & News Editors/Education & Publishing Writers

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2002

New Grant-Funded Program by HiP Publishing Group

Finds a Home in Public School Classrooms

On a recent morning at John Muir Elementary School in Berkeley, Calif., two 10-year old deaf boys in veteran deaf educator Pam Ormsby's 4-6 grade class are having an intense, sign language dialogue about bicycle safety.

"You need to tell your parents where you are going," signs the lean and energetic R.J. Hamp as Ms. Ormsby writes this on the blackboard.

"If you are riding at night, be sure to have a reflector on your arms or legs," chimes in blonde, cherubic Micah Norris, as Ms. Ormsby adds to the list.

Soon the boys have brainstormed and Ms. Ormsby has written down at least 10 bike safety tips. Along the way, they have discussed if they should use sign language and ride bikes at the same time, or stop first and sign while stationary. They've also reviewed some techniques to alert them to cars and pedestrians who might not see them -- ringing bells, honking horns and screaming among them.

But the lesson has not been just talk, or rather signing. The boys have also practiced strapping on a bike helmet and, perhaps most important of all, role played having an accident and coming up with strategies for what to do next.

This lesson was inspired by a series of booklets on health and safety written specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing children called "HiP on Health and Safety," produced by HiP Publishing Group, a San Francisco Bay Area-based publisher. Last spring, copies were printed and distributed free to teachers throughout the state of California's estimated 10,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

The program has been made possible by a $260,000 grant from The California Endowment, the state's largest health foundation, and is now finding its way into classrooms like Ms. Ormsby's as a practical tool to help this population of children learn skills that are often more difficult for them to acquire than their hearing peers.

"The biggest challenge for deaf and hard-of-hearing children is being shut off from communication -- not being able to overhear conversations or understand what is said in large groups, radio broadcasts or television programs," says Ellen Dolich, the co-founder of HiP Publishing Group and the director of the new health and safety series. "This is especially significant in natural disasters and emergency situations, when the inability to understand mass media or use devices like pay telephones takes on crucial significance."

In addition to the lessons on bicycle and health/safety skills covered in Ms. Ormsby's class, the booklets also address topics that include using telecommunication devices for the deaf for emergency calls, coping with natural catastrophes like earthquakes and fires, learning Internet safety skills, understanding body language and protecting oneself from sexual and substance abuse.

Ms. Ormsby has found the booklets to be excellent springboards for health/safety lessons. "The visuals are especially strong, with lots of good pictures and cartoons. So even for kids with reading difficulties, these booklets can hold their interest." She adds that the vocabulary lists and glossaries printed throughout the booklets are highly useful. "You aren't just teaching health and safety, you are teaching language."

Three versions of the booklets are available, one each for elementary, middle school and high school students. Materials for older students cover more sophisticated subject matter, such as HIV/AIDS prevention. English and Spanish language editions of the booklets can be downloaded at HiP's web site (www.hipworks.org/hiponhealth) and printed teaching guides are available in both English and Spanish.

"We are sending this release to alert teachers and parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children that these free materials are still available while quantities last," says Dolich, "and to encourage all California educators and parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children to make use of this opportunity. Posters and a videotape on peer pressure will also be available later in the year as part of this program."

For more information, to download electronic versions of the materials, or for pictures of Micah, J.R. and Ms. Ormsby in the midst of their bike safety lesson, visit our web site at www.hipworks.org/hiponhealth or call program manager Ellen Dolich at 510/523-4221.