Deaf Student Teaching Lessons On Accessibility

<i><b>Deaf News: Deaf cosmetologist student teaching lessons on accessibility at the Colorado community college.</b></i><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://deafyouvideo.blogspot.com/2016/03/deaf-student-teaching-lessons-on.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Deaf Cosmetologist Amanda Schuster"><img height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmJHW-WBt3XMWMXv_8MNXZan-uaJZskYJmwLFaAWYVvn2i4JyYJf3JX3C5fxrYBVxYFBvQd2e0Hnh6_k7kGFy9KD8jIV-1qfsc899Z-uFk32KK3qEhNZOLJgvBN3Zn8rGe5yJggPNuPss/s200/deaf-cosmetologist-amanda-schuster.jpg" width="200" /></a>CORTEZ, CO -- <a href="http://www.starherald.com/news/regional_statewide/deaf-student-teaching-lessons-on-accessibility/article_370f5ee4-d57a-5aba-af53-80a617d4800b.html" target="_blank">Scottsbluff Star Herald</a>: Going back to school as a single parent with two kids is challenging for many.<br /><br /><br /><br />For <a href="http://www.coloradolicensing.org/amanda-f-schuster" target="_blank">Amanda Schuster</a> getting certified as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmetology" target="_blank">cosmetologist</a> has had an additional layer of complexity because she is completely <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_loss" target="_blank">Deaf</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br />To get the most from her classes, she taught her instructor and others at the <a href="https://www.pueblocc.edu/SCCC/" target="_blank">Southwest Colorado Community College</a> how to accommodate her, helping to pave the way for other students that might follow her.<br /><br /><br /><br />"I've never allowed my deafness to stop me," she said, through her interpreter Dawn Kern-Anderson.<br /><br /><br /><br />Styling hair has always been one of Schuster's passions, but when she decided to go back to school to get certified it required some coordination with the college.<br /><br /><br /><br />The college didn't have an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_interpretation#Sign_language" target="_blank">interpreter</a> on staff, so she got in touch with Kern-Anderson, her interpreter from high school to translate her classes. It's a service that the college pays for.<br /><br /><br /><br />While Schuster can read lips, Kern-Anderson makes it much easier for her to keep up with her peers.<br /><br /><br /><br />"It makes me feel like a normal person in the classroom," she said.<br /><br /><br /><br />Schuster is Brenda Knapp's first Deaf student and the experience has taught her to slow down and avoid tangents in her lectures that might be hard to translate.<br /><br /><br /><br />"You have to be very structured," Knapp said.<br /><br /><br /><br />While Schuster appreciates help from Kern-Anderson, she has been in the hearing world her whole life and she doesn't need an interpreter all the time.<br /><br /><br /><br />Her parents always pushed her to communicate in both <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language" target="_blank">English</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sign_Language" target="_blank">American Sign Language</a> after she lost her hearing at 14 months to spinal meningitis.<br /><br /><br /><br />She attended <a href="http://www.projecttalk.org/" target="_blank">Project Talk</a> in California, which specializes in helping Deaf children learn to talk, and speech therapy through the <a href="http://www.sjboces.org/" target="_blank">San Juan Board of Cooperative Educational Services</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br />Growing up she also excelled in sports including tennis, cheer leading, volleyball and sharp-shooting. After high school, she attended two years college in California and majored in photography.<br /><br /><br /><br />"I never let anything stop me, although people do try," she said.<br /><br /><br /><br />Her long-term goal after she finishes classes in cosmetology and aesthetics is to open a salon and photography business.<br /><br /><br /><br />But before she can take her state test to get certified, she has to complete 1,800 hours in class.<br /><br /><br /><br />During all her time in school, she has noticed several ways the school can be more accessible and safe for Deaf students.<br /><br /><br /><br />For example, after the school held an assembly on school safety following a college shooting in Oregon, she suggested the school install TVs and more lights as part of the alarm system. These could help make Deaf students aware of an emergency.<br /><br /><br /><br />In addition, none of the other students are able to bring their phones into class. But Schuster can't be reached through a regular telephone during personal emergencies, so Knapp made an exception for her.<br /><br /><br /><br />But rather than being given special treatment, Schuster would be prefer the school have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videophone" target="_blank">video phones</a> available so she could communicate not only with her family, but with school administrators on different campuses.<br /><br /><br /><br />"I'm trying to improve the systems, not just for me but for everyone," she said.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.starherald.com/news/regional_statewide/deaf-student-teaching-lessons-on-accessibility/article_370f5ee4-d57a-5aba-af53-80a617d4800b.html" target="_blank">SOURCE</a>

Deaf Student Teaching Lessons On Accessibility

Deaf News: Deaf cosmetologist student teaching lessons on accessibility at the Colorado community college. CORTEZ, CO -- Scottsbluff Star He...

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