Signs of literacy

LAWRENCE -- Learning English is hard. That much Rosario Mendoza knew. The Nashua resident is still learning the language, and speaks mainly Spanish. An immigrant from Colima, Mexico, the 27-year-old mother just hoped her son, Jose Munguia, would pick up the language faster than she. After all, Mendoza had heard stories about the children of Spanish-speaking parents picking up English as fast as they learned to walk.

But when doctors told Mendoza her son was nearly deaf, she didn't know what to do. Not only would her son struggle with learning the language of their adopted home, but picking up basic literacy skills seemed impossible, she thought.

That was before she found out about a program at Northern Essex Community College that teaches Spanish-speaking parents how to read to their deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

At the monthly ''Shared Reading" sessions, classes are conducted in three languages -- Spanish, English and sign language.

The program, a collaboration between the local college and Gallaudet University, the world's premier university for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, gives parents tips on how they can introduce literacy to their deaf children using children's books. Each month, the school hosts classes that help parents with sign language, show them ways to improve students' reading skills, and provide a chance for deaf children and deaf adults to interact with one another.

''For me it's very important because it's the only place I can come to learn [sign language] for my son," Mendoza said in Spanish after one of the sessions.

Since it began two years ago, the free program has reached more than 20 families in the Greater Lawrence area, according to Kathy Vesey, director of the Gallaudet Regional Center in Haverhill and Northern Essex. The goal is simple: get deaf and hard-of-hearing children interested in reading at an early age so they continue later with their education.

When the program first began, only the parents and their children came to the ''Shared Reading" sessions, said Vesey. But as word spread, extended family members such as uncles, aunts, and cousins began showing up, wanting to see how they could help.

''People involved in the child's life wanted to be there, it seemed," Vesey said.

Gallaudet University offers similar workshops across the country, said Vesey. But, she said, the Northern Essex program is unique because a number of the participating families speak only Spanish.

''So really these are trilingual sessions," Vesey said. ''We have interpreters in Spanish, English, and sign language."

Mendoza said ''Shared Reading" has been helpful for her and her son. They have been attending sessions since the program's inception. ''He still is in his first year of learning how to read, but he has much to learn," said Mendoza with a slight grin. Her son is now 8 years old and attends a specialized school in Manchester, N.H., she said.

During a recent session, around 20 parents gathered to read the children's book ''Five Little Pumpkins" by Dan Yaccarino. Parents read through the story with a bilingual translation on a video projection screen while teacher Frances Conlin told the story in sign language. Two interpreters, one in Spanish and another in English, spoke through hearing devices so that all parents could understand the story. To encourage parents to convey the introduction of a friendly ghost into the story, Conlin told them to make facial expressions when reading the story to their children. Mendoza sat attentively, asking questions in Spanish and sometimes in sign language.

While Mendoza and the other parents sat in the workshop, their children were in another room playing. Placing deaf children and hearing siblings in the same room teaches both how to interact with each other, Vesey said.

After the workshop ended, parents were reunited with their children and went over the new reading techniques using the new book. When Mendoza showed her son ''Five Little Pumpkins," he flipped through the pages and pointed at the pictures as if asking questions.

''That's what this is about," Vesey said. In addition to the monthly workshops, Vesey said, Gallaudet also works with Lawrence public schools to help families of deaf children.

Organizers say participation from families has been consistent, though some have dropped out because parents' schedules have changed or the family has moved from the Lawrence area. New families have also shown up, giving the program new life.

Bob and Cathy Essex attended their first class this month so they could help their two young daughters learn to read. Everyone in the family is deaf.

During the session, Bob Essex joyfully followed the workshop along with his wife. He even announced to the other parents that he and his wife were expecting another baby.

''We think the baby's deaf," Essex said in sign language. He was smiling.

Russell Contreras can be reached at rcontreras@globe.com.