Coding, or supplemented spoken language, very useful for deaf and hard of hearing children, has become rarer in Calvados classes since the start of the 2023 school year. Too much, in the opinion of the Nantes Court of Appeal, which asks the rectorate of Normandy better support for these students in a ruling dated June 20. “There is nothing on offer. We want the law to be respected, for equal opportunities for children,” argues Agnèse Valette, president of the Association of Parents of Hearing Impaired Children of Calvados (Apedac).
National Education will formulate a new offer, with reinforced training for eight “coding” assistants for students with disabilities (AESH) and better care for the children concerned (with up to two AESH per child, the one dedicated to coding and another for the other facets of the disability The supplemented spoken French language or coding makes it possible to explain speech through gestures, in order to better understand the subtleties and syllables and thus avoid confusion for the hearing impaired. It is a language in its own right, different from sign language.
Coding “allows a better understanding of everything that is said in class, by teachers and students and reduces fatigue”, explains Aurélie Lemarié, mother of a deaf child in CE1 and member of the association. Since his son no longer has his coder, “he is more tired and fatigue, this year, gives way to weariness and isolation”. According to the association, some young people are already dropping out of school or are at risk of doing so. Others “still managed to get their baccalaureate”, since the departure of the coders, notes the rectorate all the same.
The search for a unanimous formula stumbles on the coding level of AESH volunteers to learn the completed spoken French language. “It is estimated that it takes more than 400 hours of training and practice to become a coder,” says Aurélie Lemarié, mother of a deaf child in CE1 and member of the association. At the start of the 2023 school year, we appealed because the National Education AESHs were not sufficiently trained, with around twenty hours of training. Their course has continued and they have up to 40 to 45 hours of training today.
-Until 2023, Apedac worked in establishments with its eight professional coders. But it lost its regional and departmental subsidies. “These communities have been replacing the State for years. They stopped, while extending their support until the end of the 2022/2023 school year,” recalls the association. A turning point. “It was proposed to the coders to sign a (partial activity) contract with National Education as assistants to students with disabilities (AESH)”, specifies the rectorate, the coder not existing in the institution's job grid. An arrangement deemed untenable by the coders and the association and ultimately declined.
At the time, a family had accepted the support. “Some have hired coders at their own expense, which not everyone can do,” says Agnès Valette. With Aurélie Lemarié, they are uncompromising on the importance of having coders trained and “operational right away. Otherwise, it creates confusion, misunderstandings and awkward attitudes in class.” They are also concerned about the lack of AESH, in general. Families are awaiting the new road plan from the rectorate but note that other academies have called on professional coder structures.
