Chess connects hearing-impaired students with friends and family
December 19, 2013
By Darrell Davis, Jr.
Staff Writer
Everyone knows that playing chess is a great activity for the mind, but for a hearing impaired person, it is also a great way of interacting with your unimpaired siblings.
Juwan Mueller, a senior at Frederick Douglass who is hearing impaired, plays twice a week with his older sister.
“She’ll win one game and cheer with a lot of enjoyment,” Mueller said through an interpreter. “We’re bonding a lot better with one another.”
According to Mueller, his sister is starting to understand how to speak in sign language.
“The more we play chess, the better we communicate,” Mueller said.
Mueller and his sister have grown closer, if more competitive, because of their regular chess matches. After a recent victory over his sister, Mueller admits to bragging.
“If I could talk, I’d make my sister angry every time I win. It makes the game more intense, but it’s all love, and we both know it,” Mueller said.
“My usual strategy is to get my sister off task so that she’ll make a mistake and make the wrong move,” Mueller said. “My younger brother Cawan wouldn’t even attempt to play me in chess because he already knows the outcome.”
The Douglass Chess Club is led by social worker Brian Gallagher. They meet every Wednesday morning before school. Gallagher has led the club for three years at Douglass.
“[Chess] teaches self-control and discipline,” Gallagher said. “It also teaches sportsmanship.”
The Douglass chess club has had great success in the past, ranking second in the district to Cass Tech two years ago, according to Gallagher. That year, the team was nominated to attend the national tournament in Minnesota, where they ranked 25th in the nation.
As many as 12 students crowd Gallagher’s office on Wednesday mornings before school starts. With interpreters accompanying the hearing impaired students, it often becomes crowded. Gallagher says it is worth it.
“It gives them an opportunity to learn something new, and it’s something they could bring with them for the rest of their lives,” Gallagher said.
Source: http://www.freep.com
Great story.