Anecdotes/success stories

Yesenia (East Wenatchee)
Yesenia, a nine-year-old Hispanic deaf girl, is mainstreamed in her local elementary school with a sign language interpreter. She first met Howie on a site visit that SRVOP staff made to her school. Yesenia was very shy, but talked quietly with Howie and a teenage deaf girl from the high school for about half an hour. When it came time for Howie to meet her classmates and read a story, her school principal arrived on the scene to watch. As Howie called for volunteers to read a page, Yesenia's principal walked up to the front of the classroom and lifted his hands to sign. Yesenia’s face lit up in surprise and pride. Her deafness was recognized in a positive way, with the principal of her school learning, along with her classmates, from a Deaf adult. The principal was learning her language!

Three Boys (Forks & Aberdeen)
Special SRVOP sessions were scheduled to allow deaf students from rural areas to "meet" each other, with Howie acting as facilitator, prior to the official bookreading time. A special videoconference was set up between Forks and Aberdeen (two remote communities on the Olympic Peninsula) so that three deaf 9-to-11 year old boys could meet and talk with each other. A "split screen" was used—two boys in one section of the screen, the third boy in a second section, and Howie in the third. When the boys saw each other on the TV, three faces broke into grins. The little boys leaned forward in their chairs eagerly discussing what sports they liked to play and what color their bicycles were. This sports talk was followed by a description from one boy about his Makah tribe's successful hunt for a gray whale! "I touched it and it felt. . .ewwww, yucky!"

"Daddy Is Learning Sign!!" (Walla Walla)
Monica, a deaf first grader, lives in a rural area near Walla Walla in the southeast corner of Washington State. Her family has been attending evening parent sessions offered in Spanish for three families with deaf children in the area. When the teacher called on the family for her home visit, the girl’s mother reported about a recent visit from the girl's uncle. When he walked in the door Monica ran to him, hands flying, to tell him excitedly that her dad was learning to sign!

Darren (Aberdeen)
In SRVOP's pilot year we, the core staff, spent our fall visiting all the sites with whom we would be connecting during the coming year. Aberdeen was one of our first visits. When we first met Darren, a bright-eyed eight-year-old with a buzz cut and a ponytail, he stared at Howie in disbelief. Darren, the only deaf boy in his community, didn’t believe that Howie was deaf! During the break between the afternoon staff training and the evening session with parents, Darren went out to pizza with us. He stayed close by Howie's side throughout the entire meal: Howie ordered root beer, Darren ordered root beer; Howie ordered pepperoni, Darren ordered pepperoni. During our first videoconferences with Aberdeen, Darren was tearful upon saying goodbye. Every possible holiday for the rest of the year, Howie received a card from Darren. At the end of that year, Darren moved to the residential school where a whole new world opened to him—but he continues to have a special bond with Howie.