(Page 2 of 2)

Town Extends A Learned Hand To The Deaf

July 26, 1992|By Rob Thomas.

Kolodziej is one of those who has gone on to the advanced classes. He said he has been interested in signing since college, where he had a number of deaf friends but he was only able to sign the alphabet.

``I knew as many as 18 deaf people at college,`` Kolodziej said. ``I always felt left out because I couldn`t sign. I always needed an


When the village`s program was announced, Kolodziej said he jumped at the chance to learn sign language. Since then, he has become well-known throughout the deaf community in the village, and has many deaf people come in to pay parking tickets or complain about a water bill, giving the hearing-impaired a chance to participate in all the day-to-day functions of a village citizen.

``The word has gotten out that I know sign language, and my name is known in the deaf community,`` Kolodziej said. ``I`ve had deaf people in my office delinquent on their water bills.``

When he`s not at work, Kolodziej also can use the sign language he`s learned to communicate with deaf people in his church, and once acted as translator between a deaf woman and a clerk in a supermarket.

But beyond learning the language of the deaf, employees taking the course are learning about the prejudices and attitudes against the hearing-impaired. ``I think the class goes further past sign language,`` Kolodziej said.

``It looks at understanding the barriers that have been put up against that community.``

The class has had deaf visitors speak with the class (entirely in sign language) and even went out after a class for pizza, where they saw first-hand the difficulties the deaf can face trying to communicate even a dinner order to a hearing person.

``People are very uncomfortable in dealing with people with disabilities, especially people who are deaf, because you couldn`t communicate with them,`` Stocking said. ``I think it`s changed people`s attitudes quite a bit. They are volunteering to want to learn.``

The program promotes positive attitudes both ways, making it easier for the employees to serve deaf citizens and for deaf citizens to function within their village.

Stocking said that taking the courses has also brought employees in the village closer together, as police officers are learning alongside clerks.

In other towns throughout the northwest suburbs, some training programs have been used, though not for both emergency and village personnel as it is in Arlington Heights.

Hoffman Estates, for example, has been periodically training police officers and firefighters since 1984, and is considering expanding that training to other departments, personnel director Judy Griffin said.

But other communities said they don`t have the need or the resources that Arlington Heights has to start up a teaching program for all its employees.

``I don`t want to come off sounding not sensitive, but we don`t have the resources and we don`t see a need right now,`` Niles personnel director Christa Ballowe said. ``We are putting together a new training program for safety-sensitive personnel, and I would believe that would include some signing.``

Still, Arlington Heights officials feel that the rewards their community is receiving from the sign language program is well worth the investment.

``It`s something that municipalities and bureaucracy can implement without a tremendous impact on the budget,`` Maki said. ``It`s just a common sense thing.``