Rachel Kolb Ph.D. Candidate, Emory University rachel.r.kolb@gmail.com What is “Success”?: Evaluating Attitudes About Language Access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Rachel Kolb Ph.D. Candidate, Emory University rachel.r.kolb@gmail.com

Opening Introductions Briefly, share with the group: Your name Where you are from Your institution/workplace Your role in the early intervention system #1 goal for deaf kids?

Opening Brainstorming Exercise For a DHH child born to a hearing family, what sorts of things might define “success”? Jot down your ideas: try to be as specific and tangible as possible. Then: convene with a small group of 3-4 people and share definitions with each other. Discuss and come up with a collective definition.

Group Discussion: Starting Questions General responses? Are any other groups’ definitions of “success” radically different from your own? Why/how? Describe the process of coming to a collective group definition. Was there immediate consensus? Or any differences you had to work out? How might these definitions of success allow flexibility for different children, families, approaches?

Group Discussion: Continued What are some different (general) ways that these definitions of “success” might be measured? Finally, what might be some common barriers to these goals and ideals of success, from your experience? Has anyone encountered a situation where their goal differed radically from a family’s goal? How did you work this out?

Second Brainstorming Exercise Write down, as best as you can, what you feel the larger cultural definition of “success” might be. Are cultural expectations for success different (in general) for deaf people than for hearing people? How does this play out? (NOTE: how you define “culture” is up to you: maybe the place you live or work, what you’ve seen in the media or larger conversations, etc.)

Let’s Discuss: Media Representations of Deafness The Family Stone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB5PMwcYLqg Mr. Holland’s Opus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0IMASimhRo Children of a Lesser God: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pb1vdt-SnQ&list=PLH0q_HZi- puGj1_9tstFfjLIvig5oiBnz Johnny Belinda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB8yQ3Bp6ZA (NOTE: we won’t have time for all of these. This is a starting list.)

Group Discussion #2 What are other ideas about deafness (or deaf success) that circulate in popular culture, literature, and media? Where have you seen those stories, specifically? Can you help the group come up with a list?

Discussion with a Partner How might the larger cultural attitudes that we’ve seen about deafness (during this brief conversation) affect families and their expectations, in whatever way? Come up with one or two open-ended questions that you might ask families of young DHH children, to invite them into a larger conversation about 1) what success can be, or 2) what kind of success they imagine for their children.

Group Discussion #3 Briefly: why does cultural representation matter? What kinds of stories can you tell in your professions (or your everyday interactions with people) about success and what is possible for deaf kids? Share more ideas for concrete ways to start discussions with parents, about how they imagine their child’s potential.