One Family’s Journey

Deaf Nanny Immerses Family in ASL

By Amanda Wernicke, Maryland/D.C. H&V

Our son, J, was born in spring 2019. Because he had a cleft palate, he spent a few weeks in the NICU at a children’s hospital, learning how to eat from a special bottle. His deafness was identified early; at nine days old, he had his first ABR with an audiologist. At that time, all signs pointed to profound bilateral deafness. We were told J was very unlikely to benefit from cochlear implants because no hearing nerves were visible in his MRI. My spouse, Tom, and I immediately began researching ASL resources, schools, Deaf culture, and deaf education.

I was delighted to find Gallaudet University has an elementary school with a program that starts from birth. I envisioned a new future for J, with a community and friends like him. He would have full access to be anything he wants to be, attending school on the Gallaudet campus maybe all the way through to a terminal degree. How lucky that we live so close! We went on a tour in May and met the Birth-2 Parent Infant Program (PIP) teacher. We were very impressed with the language-rich, play-based classrooms. We made plans to enroll J in the fall, but September seemed so far away.

Immersion in ASL

We wanted to give J fluent language models, not just us, his hearing parents, who were just beginning to learn signs. ASL is his foundational, fully accessible language so that he can learn to read and write English when he is older. I planned to go back to work part time, so we started looking for a Deaf nanny to provide childcare and be a fluent language model for J. We also wanted to practice ASL with a Deaf nanny as we learned.

The PIP teacher introduced us to a woman who had a background in early childhood education. When we interviewed her, Claudine was a great fit for our family and we quickly became a team of three, all working together to raise and educate J. Before Claudine started work, we discussed what adaptations we would need to make to the house. We installed smoke detectors with strobe lights, a flashing doorbell, and bought a video baby monitor. Hiring a Deaf nanny forced us to think about making the home environment safe and deaf-friendly even before J would use any of the technology himself.

My ASL vocabulary took off through daily conversation with Claudine. We wrote down new words as they came up, and she quizzed me as J napped. When extended family visited, they also benefited from interacting with Claudine. For most, she was the first deaf adult they had ever met. Godparents and relatives learned to communicate through pictures, gesture, and written English when basic signs needed support. We also reserved some of Claudine’s hours for Saturdays to work with Tom. As I prepared to return to work, we started including Claudine in some of J’s appointments. Together, we experienced freezing Video Relay Interpreters and VRI set ups that kept Claudine from being able to work with J during the appointment; we successfully advocated for an in-person interpreter. I got a crash course in the type of advocacy I needed to learn as J’s mom.

Isolated but Thriving

Under COVID-19 isolation and the switch to virtual learning, Claudine has become an even more critical team member. Fortunately, she was willing to move in with us, so we are all able to continue learning and practicing ASL on a daily basis while maintaining the household’s physical isolation. Tom’s skills have especially improved, since dinner is now signing time. Claudine also spends some of her working hours with J’s grandparents, practicing ASL over video chat. This helps them stay motivated to continue learning even though they live several states away, greatly benefitting their relationship with J as he grows.

J is now 16 months old, and signs constantly. In his recent Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP), his social and communication skills are at or even above age level. We know that Claudine has been absolutely key to creating this strong language foundation, and her help in fostering ASL as a shared language for the whole family will help J become a well-adjusted successful kid and (eventually) adult.

We recognize that we have a lot of privileges, especially geographic and financial, to be able to hire Claudine. We feel very lucky to have found her. Even if a hearing family can’t afford full time childcare in ASL, connecting with the deaf community can allow you to replicate parts of our experience. For example, you could meet regularly with a deaf adult mentor, set up play dates with other deaf children online or in person, or find a deaf teenager or college student to babysit your deaf child on occasion. I recommend reaching out to your state school for the deaf to see if they have a Shared Reading Program, deaf mentor program, or can recommend a Deaf childcare provider. A Facebook group called Childcare in ASL is another great place to search.  ~

H&V Communicator – Summer 2020