Week 1: Snot and Traffic

Snot and traffic. So far, those are the two negatives to my project. In other words, the project has begun, and it is going well! Other than the fact that many of the children are sick and the drive to CEID in Berkeley takes almost two hours, it has been amazing. I forgot how much I love working with children; just being surrounded by them and their infectious happiness and laughter have brightened my days immensely. CEID, which practices “Total Communication,” is a completely different, eye-opening experience. For the past few years, I have immersed myself within Deaf communities, seeing the worlds of ASL and cochlear implants. However, I had never seen the two mix. And CEID is that mixture. Everyone at the center, including the little children, is signing and speaking simultaneously. Although it is still difficult to adjust to, it’s cool to watch. For example, one of the kids, Charlotte, had run up to my new-face on the playground this week and started asking me questions. A few minutes into the conversation, Charlotte couldn’t remember the words and was stuttering; so, she began to sign and solely relied on ASL to converse. At CEID, I will be mostly focusing on two to three children, who will be referred to as T and S.

As for the Weingarten Children’s Center, where I interned this past summer, I love being back. I see many familiar faces, and many of the children remember me. It’s quite extraordinary seeing how far the kids have advanced in their language skills over a short few months. The teachers, therapists, and staff are incredibly nice and welcoming. At WCC, I will be observing and working closely with 3 children, who will be referred to as M.K., M.P., and K.S.

At both centers, I have begun to hand out weekly surveys to the teachers/therapists that work with the children whom I’m observing for my project. These surveys ask them to rank the child’s level and progress in both verbal language and peer interaction from 1 to 10. Through these, I will be able to quantitatively track and compare the children’s growth.