The Louisiana Chapter of AG Bell would like to congratulate Asahel Barahona! This amazing six-year old is a Class of 2006 graduate from New Orleans Oral School. After three years of auditory/oral instruction and a cochlear implant, Asahel was mainstreamed in a regular 1st Grade classroom this fall. Initially, it was thought that Asahel might mainstream in a regular kindergarten class, but following kindergarten testing, it was determined that the 1st Grade would be a better placement for him.
As a toddler, Asahel was diagnosed with a severe to profound bilateral hearing loss. He was quickly fitted with hearing aids, and his family received early intervention services through the State of Louisiana. He attended a total communication program until the age of three; however, his parents were concerned because he had a limited sign vocabulary and only a few spoken words. Their desire for him to be able to communicate orally led them to New Orleans Oral School, the only auditory/oral, early intervention program in the state of Louisiana.
Over a short period of time, Asahel lessened his use of sign language and started using single words to communicate. As he continued in the auditory-oral setting, he displayed language growth both receptively and expressively. As time passed, Asahel’s parents and teachers noticed that while he continued to acquire and incorporate new grammatical elements and vocabulary in his spoken language, improvements came slowly. Although Asahel was making significant language progress with his hearing aids, perhaps it was time to look at the possibility of a cochlear implant.
July 2006
At the age of five, Asahel received a cochlear implant. Eight months post-stimulation, Hurricane Katrina impacted our region. New Orleans Oral School, like so many other schools and businesses, flooded and was unable to reopen immediately after Katrina. The school provided home services to Asahel during this time to ensure that his speech and language growth continued without interruption. In January 2006, the school reopened its doors, and Asahel was thrilled to rejoin his friends in the classroom.
At New Orleans Oral School, Asahel was able to work in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 3-1 and benefitted from daily individual speech therapy. The past year and a half have made a tremendous difference in Asahel’s listening and speaking abilities. He is using complex sentences 12-14 words in length. He is also reading on a first grade level.
This school year, he will attend a public school in the Jefferson Parish Public School system. As Asahel continues to learn and grow in his mainstream placement, we wish him the best learning, listening, and language his life experience can offer!
