Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor Susan J. Rupp, The Role of the Interpreter in Habilitative and Rehabilitative Educational Setting. Jean F. Waldorf, Burnout: Occupational Hazard for Rehabilitation Counselors with the Deaf. Kathleen M. Whitesell, Adaptations/Accommodations in College English Requirements for Deaf Students. Letters to the Editor To the Editor: Currently there are few, if any, comprehensive programs designed to teach drug and alcohol abuse prevention to deaf adolescents. My experiences at Gallaudet College, reading, research, and discussions with students and faculty, as well as my work in the field of education , has convinced me that there is a desperate need for such programs. Drug and alcohol educational programs are needed even if substance abuse is not currently an issue in your facility. The adoption of an educational program does not need to imply that such a problem exists, but rather can suggest that the school is concerned with the total development of the student in a society where, according to DHEW, 82% of the population has used alcohol and an estimated 21% has tried marijuana. A study done by Morton Isaacs of The Rochester Institute of Technology has indicated that the incidence of alcoholism among the deaf is similar to that of the hearing population. Regardless of how well a school is managed, most of the students will have some contact with drugs and alcohol while in attendance at the school or after graduation. If contact does not occur at school, it may when the student is at home through older brothers and sisters or friends from the home community. Though strict controls in a residential school may in fact keep the school free from substance abuse, I feel it is the responsibility of the school to prepare the students for what they will encounter in the outside world. Although programs in substance abuse education are a part of the curriculum in many public schools, the language level of the resources used is higher than is suitable for many hearing-impaired adolescents. To aid you in setting up a comprehensive program in your facility I have listed resources which can be useful for staff education, or as staff-guided resources for students. (Copies of the list may be secured by writing to the editor of Comments.) In any drug education program I emphasize the importance of an affective program which focuses on acceptance of responsibility as well as social and emotional development, all of which are crucial parts of a program stressing not only education about but prevention of substance abuse. Emily Rosten Ann Arbor, Mich. ANNOUNCEMENT Film on Psychological Evaluation of Hearing-Impaired Children and Adults (Available to Professionals at No Charge) The Boys Town Institute for Communication Disorders in Children has produced an award winning, 20-minute, 16mm color sound film on the psychological evaluation of deaf children and adults. The film and appropriate supplementary literature will be made available on loan, at no charge, to interested professionals and other parties. The film received the award for Creative Excellence in Medicine and Health at the U.S. Industrial Film Festival, 1981. Those desiring to borrow the film should contact Lori Smith, Film Distributions, Boys Town Institute, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131. The telephone number is (402) 449-6511. 988 A.A.O. I December 1981 ...