March is Deaf History Awareness month, and an important part of deaf history here in the Valley is the Youngstown Hearing and Speech Center.
Poland Seminary High School junior Fred Seitz lost his hearing at age three, but that hasn't stopped him from excelling in the classroom, though he admitted that it's not always easy.
Through an interpretor, Fred said, "I'm mainstreamed at Poland High School here. Most people maybe think it's hard because I'm deaf. It's true. It's tough."
However, with the assistance of an interpretor and tutor, the 17-year-old Poland student manages to maintain a 3.7 grade pointa verage.
"If he didn't have an interpretor, I really don't know where would be academically," said Fred's mother, Rose Seitz.
Thanks to the Youngstown Hearing and Speech Center, which opened 85 years ago, Fred and his family are able to receive important services like an interpretor. The center serves 5,200 people, both children and adults, across a 14-county area.
"One of our most important missions is to bridge the gap between the deaf and the hearing worlds," said Crissi Jenkins, of the center.
The center provides assistive listening devices, such as video phones or flashing doorbells. It also offers case management, job coaching and American Sign Language classes.
Kevin Youngblood teaches one of those classes. Like Fred he's also deaf, and that didn't hold him back. He works as an engineer for Ohio Edison.
"Kevin serves as a leader," Jenkins said. "Kevin is living proof to deaf and hearing people that the deaf can do anything they put their mind to."
"Deaf people are just the same as anyone else," he said. "They just can't hear."
In observance of Deaf History Awareness month, Monday we will feature a story about a local high school where they are working to break the communication barrier between the hearing and deaf communities.
