Fifteen Central Florida middle and high school students with hearing disabilities gained some confidence to succeed in school thanks to a recent weeklong Deaf Leadership Camp sponsored by the nonprofit Center for Independent Living and held at the 麻豆原创.
Led by volunteers who are聽deaf and fluent in American Sign Language, students took part in team-building activities based on 鈥淭he Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens鈥� by author Sean Covey.
Facilitator Malia Johnson, president of the Deaf Talk consulting firm, shared strategies for common challenges, such as addressing classmates鈥� misconceptions, applying for college, and participating in extracurricular activities. Students also interacted with a panel of successful people who are deaf, including a NASA employee and 麻豆原创 political science graduate student Jacob Salem.
The camp was also sponsored 麻豆原创鈥檚 Toni Jennings Exceptional Education聽Institute, with support from the 2013 Disney Helping Kids Shine Grant.
鈥淏efore this camp, I was not ready to go back to school. I was bored and not able to make friends,鈥� said 13-year-old Dakota Rochette, a 7th-grade student at Greenwood Lakes Middle School. 鈥淣ow, I am ready for school, hoping to keep getting A鈥檚 in my classes, and ready to make friends by being helpful, respecting others, talking, and staying friendly.鈥�