Film Review-The Silent Child
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School
Dallas County Community College *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
3301
Subject
Communications
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
Pages
3
Uploaded by karaa15
Summary
State in your own words:
Libby is a young girl who suffers from speech and hearing. Her parents do not spend much
time focusing on Libby’s developmental needs and struggles. They do not provide her with
the assistance she needs in order to live up to her fullest potential. Libby’s parents bring in a
social worker named Joanne who teaches Libby sign language for the first time. Joanne was
the only one who could communicate with Libby, she was the only one to truly be there for
her and show her love and support. The family never learned sign language, therefore when
Joanne would leave they could not understand Libby’s needs and wants. This film portrays
exactly the damage that can be done to children when parents do not properly take actions
that are necessary for deaf children.
Main Character
Name: Libby
One general personality trait (explain):
-Playful, when given attention she is very kind and
sweet. She seems to love interacting and
experiencing new experiences with Joanne. When
Joanne took her to the park and the pool, you
could just see how excited Libby was and how
much fun she had while playing!
One strength (explain):
-Intelligent, when Joanne came into her life and
began teaching her things Libby picked up on it
quickly. Even though Libby didn’t get the same
academic chances as other students you could
still tell she could understand so much, her future
is very bright.
Exceptionality
Name: Deaf
IDEA definition (cite):
-Deafness is defined as “a hearing impairment that
is so severe that the child is impaired in
processing linguistic information through hearing,
with or without amplification.”
Deafness and hearing loss
. Center for
Parent Information and Resources. (n.d.).
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/hearingl
oss/#:~:text=Definition%20in%20IDEA,-It’s
%20helpful%20to&text=Deafness%20is%20
defined%20as%20%E2%80%9Ca,%2C%20w
ith%20or%20without%20amplification.%E2
%80%9D
List and explain two characteristics of the
exceptionality that the main character exhibits:
-Libby is unable to follow directions and pay
attention, while in class she was completely
zoned out because she can not hear or
understand anything that the teacher is saying.
-Libby exhibits the use of sign language to
communicate. Once Libby is taught sign language
she could finally communicate with Joanne. Libby
uses sign language to exhibit her wants and needs
instead of speech.
Challenges
Academic challenges (list and explain one):
-Communication, Libby’s school doesn’t
understand her challenge and does not support
her in the way she needs. The school does not
have anyone in place who knows sign language to
communicate and teach Libby. Libby is not unable
to understand anything the teacher is saying in
Accommodations Made
Initially (list and explain):
-Hearing Aid- The only accommodation for Libby
before Joanne got there was a hearing aid which
she refused to wear.
Ultimately (list and explain):
class and the teacher does nothing to try to
communicate with her.
Behavioral challenges (list and explain one):
-Libby is very shy and quiet, Libby stays to herself
for the most part and hardly ever shows emotion.
Libby did not interact and play with her
classmates, you could tell she was inner-focused
as a result of reduced stimulation from the world.
How does the main character cope with the
challenges faced?
-Because Libby is unable to communicate with
anyone she isolates herself, she passes time by
staring at everyone and everything around her.
Libby sits silently in her own thoughts.
-Sign language- Libby was taught sign language by
social worker Joanne, she was then able to
communicate with other people. Libby was finally
able to express her needs and wants to her family
and Joanne.
Takeaway
List and explain your biggest takeaway from the
film.
My biggest takeaway from the film was the
importance of sign language communication skills
to give children who are deaf the same
opportunities as children who aren’t.
Film Assessment
Rate (1 the lowest and 5 the highest):
1
2
3
4
5
Explain:
The film sheds light on the struggles of deaf
children, it gives a clear insight on what it’s like to
be inside Libby’s head. The film did a great job of
showing the huge negative consequences a child
could get if their needs were not supported by
their parents. The film brought out emotions that
I never had on the topic and did an amazing job
raising awareness of deaf children and their
needs.
Final Thoughts
State your thoughts with regarding parents and their role in special
education/non-instructional services. Justify by referencing material discussed in chapter 1 –
4. Eight to 10 sentences minimum.
“Parents represent a valuable resource for professionals. In comparison to teachers and other
service providers, parents typically have a greater investment in their children, not only of
time but also of emotion. Generally, no one else will know the child as well as the parents do;
their experiences pre-date and exceed those of the professional.” (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2016)
Parents of children know their child’s strengths and weaknesses therefore they are able to
bring important necessary information to special education/non-instructional services. I
believe that the knowledge that parents have of their children can help schools figure out
what works best for the students. “In many instances, parents function as educational
decision-makers who are actively involved in the identification, planning, and evaluation
process—in addition to offering input regarding educational goals and placement
recommendations.” (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2016) Parents are decision-makers for their child and
they should always be kept in the loop and involved so that when they do make decisions it
will be the best one for their child. When schools and parents come together it leads to a
more positive impact on each student's academic success and overall well-being. The
relationship between parents and schools helps the child because the parent knows what
they can work on with their child outside of school that correlates to what their child is doing
in school, these experiences help children perform better at school.
Work Cited-
Gargiulo, R. M., & Metcalf, D. (2016, January 1). MindTap - Cengage Learning.
https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=55110225252
54171045833692138&eISBN=9781305638112&snapshotId=3835675&id=20102800
25&
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