Club Offers Support for Deaf Students

The deaf teenagers sit in a circle at an Oxnard storefront office, venting their frustrations.

Joshua Jones, 16, complains about having to travel 50 miles from his house in Ventura to see a movie with closed captioning.

Angela Stegman, also 16, grouses that many of her peers at Rio Mesa High School seem to write her off as “dumb” because she can’t hear.

Quickly, others chime in, their hands flying wildly. Through an interpreter, some say they’re upset that their parents have yet to learn sign language. They are tired of being left out of events or even portions of class lectures when interpreters are unavailable.

And now, they say, they’re ready to do something about it.

With the help of Tri-County GLAD, an Oxnard-based advocacy group for the deaf, the students have started the state’s first deaf and hard-of-hearing chapter of a well-known teen leadership program.

Their group, called Friday Night Live, is at Rio Mesa, the site of the county’s program for deaf high school students.

“Some of us are fed up with the way things are,” Joshua said. With the club, he said, the students can educate the community while supporting each other.

Isolation Drives Many to Drugs, Alcohol

At schools, churches and recreation centers across California, teenagers in Friday Night Live organize volunteer projects, mentor younger students and hold dances, movie nights and other events.

Such activities are especially important in the deaf community, said Carla Cook, an outreach coordinator for Tri-County GLAD. Isolation caused by communication barriers drives an inordinate number of deaf people to drugs and alcohol, Cook said.

One report by the California Attorney General’s Commission on Disabilities found that deaf adults are twice as likely to be substance abusers, she said.

The club will help young people who feel exiled from the hearing world, said Rio Mesa teacher Sandra Jahn.

“They are getting confidence and a willingness to work with other people,” said Jahn, who is also deaf. “They want others to know that they can go out and do something.”

Recently, the youth group performed “A Christmas Carol” in sign language for deaf children and their parents at a holiday festival in Oxnard.

Future projects may include pushing for closed-caption technology in Ventura County movie theaters--none offer the service now--and doing drug education for deaf elementary and middle school students, Cook said.

The students also said they want to encourage more parents of deaf children to learn signing.

Of the nine teenagers in the Rio Mesa club, only three have at least one parent fluent in sign language. Nationwide, just 10% of hearing parents with deaf children learn sign language, Cook said.

“I want to be closer with my parents,” said 17-year-old Olga Uribe, “but I can’t communicate with them.”

Although the Rio Mesa chapter was started by the deaf teens, it will not exclude hearing students, Jahn said.

Rio Mesa once had a Friday Night Live club for everyone, but the events never included interpreters.

“Now we’re doing it so that we make sure it’s accessible to the deaf students first,” Cook said.

Programs Beginning at Other Schools

Friday Night Live clubs are run by students but coordinated by Annette Preciado, who works out of the Ventura County superintendent of schools office.

Programs also are starting for deaf students at Cabrillo Middle School and Loma Vista Elementary in Ventura.

“I think it’s great,” Preciado said. “It’s an opportunity, not only for the deaf youth to learn and grow, but also for the other youth involved. Once we start doing countywide activities, it will be a learning experience for both.”