Deaf Children Learn to Tell About Dangers

Fingers were doing the talking. And they were saying, “Keep your hands off me.”

That was the message being given to deaf children Saturday as child abuse experts Allison Sepulveda and Missy Barone used sign language to explain how to avoid molesters and other dangers.

“If someone tries to touch you here, or here, say ‘No!’ and run tell someone you trust,” Sepulveda said.

The youngsters--among nearly 300 deaf and hearing-impaired children gathered for an unusual safety seminar near downtown Los Angeles--watched wide-eyed.

One by one, Barone had them demonstrate how they would run to their parent if a stranger tried to lure them into a car by offering candy or money.

Five-year-old Emily Schwartz of Long Beach raced to her mom’s arms. “I screamed. I did a good job,” the little girl proudly told Deborah Schwartz in sign language.

“This is really important for these kids,” Schwartz said as her daughter returned to her seat in front of Sepulveda and Barone, who work for the Boys & Girls Aid Society of Los Angeles. “This is the age when parents have to start turning loose of their kids. These kids are easy victims.”

That’s why the House Ear Institute was staging its Safety Patrol at its 3rd Street headquarters Saturday. Parents could have their children fingerprinted and get basic first-aid instruction. And police officers, firefighters, earthquake experts and others were there to explain who they are and what they do.

“A firefighter fully suited up, wearing a mask with a tube connected to an air bottle, really does look like a monster to a kid who has never seen one before,” said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Gregg Olson, himself the father of two deaf children.

And sometimes deaf children do not yell for help when firefighters are looking for them in a smoky house. “They don’t scream because they can’t hear themselves scream,” Olson said.

Ambulance driver Robert Allison demonstrated his siren for hearing-impaired youngsters such as 4-year-old Dash Dornbush of El Toro. Dash can hear through the use of a cochlear implant--an electronic device that allows him to hear some sounds.

Allison showed off the 32 flashing lights on his Schaefer Ambulance for others, like 9-year-old David Bailey Jr., who are totally deaf.

“It’s important for him to be able to learn like this among his peers,” said his father, David Bailey of Carson. As his son becomes older and more independent, Bailey plans to outfit their home with flashing lights connected to the doorbell and smoke detector, he said.

The Safety Patrol was started nine years ago by Charlie Lahaie, the institute’s director of community outreach. Many parents of deaf children are so overwhelmed coping with the disability that they don’t have time to teach special safety tips, she said.

“It’s very difficult if you can’t really communicate with your child,” said Lahaie--whose last day at the institute was Saturday (she starts a new job at Cedars-Sinai on Monday). “You have to learn a new language just to say ‘I love you’ to your child.”

Because deaf children are often sheltered by their parents, they are particularly vulnerable, said Jennifer Cihigoyenetche of Chino.

“My son, Nicholas, is 7 1/2. He’s used to being in a cloistered environment. He’s much more naive than other kids. He’s too trusting. Nicholas didn’t have a clue about molesters,” Cihigoyenetche said.

San Pedro parents Sid and Sharon Booty described the program as “a reality check” for them and their 6-year-old daughter, Kimberly.

They had been concerned about their child not being able to hear the smoke detector at night with her hearing aid off, or not being able to hear the footsteps of strangers walking behind her. Seeing how other parents handle such situations was reassuring, they said.

The safety messages, they added, had come in loud and clear.