Amy Signs: A Mother, Her Daughter, and their Stories

26. Residential Life in the Primary Dorm

174 26 Residential Life in the Primary Dorm Amy Mother and I attended the NSD Summer Workshop for parents and deaf children when I was three, and again when I was four years old, but I don’t remember that. Nor do I remember my first day of school at NSD, when I was only four-and-one-half years old, or even my first year or two. My first memory of NSD was seeing so many deaf girls who I would live with all week, and also my house parent, Kathy Becker, who was deaf. This memory is from when I was seven or eight years old. The primary dorm where I lived as a young child was for students in Prep 1 through fourth grade. The boys and girls each had their own wing. The dorm had wardrobe closets, dressers, a big living room, bathroom, and playrooms so the deaf children would feel like it was a home. I was one of the many deaf children who had to live in a dormitory because my family’s home was so far away. It was not possible for me to go home daily, but I went home on Fridays and came back on Sunday afternoons. Staying at school all week and coming home for the weekend and for vacations was my early childhood routine. I saw the staff and students of NSD daily in the dormitory, classes, and the dining room. We all knew each other. The students were a Amy Signs Main Pgs 1-320.indd 174 6/27/2012 10:37:45 AM Residential Life in the Primary Dorm 175 big family of sisters and brothers who were from ages four to twentyone years old. On the first day of school when I entered second grade, I remember opening the door to the primary dorm and seeing a long hallway down the middle of a large room. When I turned my head to the right, I saw three beds, each with their own individual closet and dresser. On the left side it was the same, but only two beds instead of three. I walked a little further, and there was another divided area with the same design as the first area. Kathy Becker, our house mother, had put our names on the closet doors. I looked around to find my name, so I would know what area I would live in for the school year. Finally, I found “Amy”on a closet. It was near the front entrance on the right side. My bed was the first of the three beds in this area. I was curious. I peeked at the second closet to see whose name was there,“Jeannie.”I knew Jeannie Wruble from when we were in therapy together in Grand Island several years ago. Then I saw that the third closet had no name. I only had one roommate, not two. Mother put my big blue trunk on the bed and started to unpack my clothes, placing them into the drawers and the closet. Another school year had begun. Many people might think that attending a residential school for the Deaf is not a good place to be.They may think residential schools are filled with many rules, and the staff does not provide love and care. Well, in a child’s private home, there are rules and some parents provide love and good care and some don’t. So residential schools and private homes are alike in many ways. However, the rules and feelings are a bit different at a residential school. For example, if a person spilled a soda on the carpet in the living room of the dorm, everyone might be punished and no one could have any drinks in the living room. That would not have happened at my home. At the dorm we had to be in bed at a specific time, and children living at home might not have to do that. We also ate at specific times and were not allowed to roam freely outside to play without house parents present.We usually had the same routine daily. In the morning, we woke up at 6:30 a.m., dressed, and brushed our teeth. Next we walked to the cafeteria to have breakfast. After thirty Amy Signs Main Pgs 1-320.indd 175 6/27/2012 10:37:45 AM 176 Amy Signs minutes of...