Written By Lisa Breslin
A community of educators and philanthropists have opened up a new world to Mechanicsville Elementary first grader Abby Manning. And every day that new world expands.
When Abby started first grade at Mechanicsville Elementary School in 2007, she rarely spoke. She mainly communicated by drawing or pointing to pictures, and she trusted only a few teachers and peers.
When school assessments revealed that Abby was legally deaf, her parents, teachers, assistants and her school principal at the time, Robin Townsend, rallied to get her the resources she needed.
Abby’s teacher and one of her biggest champions, Pam Blank, searched internet resources to learn everything she could about the hearing impaired and sign language.
By late October, Abby had hearing aids. She heard well for what some believe to be the first time.
One of her classmates marveled “’Oh, Abby, you have ears,’” said Abby’s mother, Linda Manning. “The children have been so supportive and so protective of Abby, it’s incredible.”
In the beginning, many sounds that most people take for granted startled Abby: a telephone ringing, a dog barking, a lot of people talking at once. Her mother remembers Abby’s awe when she heard the sound of gravel underneath car tires and how she appreciated going to the airport with her parents to listen to the planes.
As Abby grew accustomed to the hearing aids, she quickly went from being reserved, to coming out of her shell and becoming a girl with amazing spunk, Blank said.
“I have never been so excited to tell someone to be quiet,” said Blank. “By January, Abby read for the first time. Well, she read and Mrs. Williams, her assistant, and I both cried at the same time.”
Townsend tapped school funding to pay instructor Kathy McMillan to teach Abby and her classmates sign language. McMillan, like many other people who had made Abby’s journey, agreed to discount her rates. During recess, twice a week, she taught Abby and her classmates “necessary kid talk – words that helped them socially,” Blank said.
When the funding for sign language lessons ran out, Townsend applied to the Carroll County Education Foundation for a $1,500 grant to keep them rolling.
Mechanicsville Elementary got the grant, and in mid-January, Abby and her classmates continued the twice-weekly lessons.
The sign language lessons, the hearing aides, and an additional year in Blank’s first grade class helped Abby blossom even more. Now she also uses a new audio system that mikes her teachers so that she can hear them.
Abby’s assistant, Sandy Williams, helps her navigate all the new resources.
“Everyone is ecstatic about what is happening to Abby,” said Townsend. “And as educators, it is so rewarding to break down barriers and be able to help a child.”
Linda Manning nominated Blank for the county’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year and noted on the application that if she could nominate an entire school, Mechanicsville Elementary would receive her enthusiastic endorsement.
“That school is amazing. Everyone’s devotion to these kids is amazing,” Linda Manning said.
Blank, Townsend and the others who have become mentors in Abby’s life are quick to say that what they do is far from heroic.
“As teachers, we are here to move children forward,” said Blank. “No matter what the challenges are, we have to find a way. This has been hard work, but it is also so rewarding.”
