Rosie Solouota with her parents Taini Sr Solouota and Kupa Solouota. Rosie was an infant who became permanently deaf after contracting measles. Photo / Supplied
Rosie Solouota with her parents Taini Sr Solouota and Kupa Solouota. Rosie was an infant who became permanently deaf after contracting measles. Photo / Supplied
Health authorities are working hard to stop the spread of a measles outbreak in New Zealand, with 17 cases confirmed nationwide. In May this year, through a sign-language interpreter, Niuean-Kiwi Rosie Solouota shared her story of contracting measles as a baby and becoming deaf.
“Your daughter is deaf. She’sbecome deaf because of the measles.”
They were the words that changed everything for Rosie Solouota’s parents, Kupa and Taini Sr Solouota.
Rosie had contracted measles as a baby and been taken to hospital in Wellington.
Measles can sometimes cause hearing loss in babies due to the increased risk of ear infections that can damage the middle ear structures.
It can also result in swelling of the brain in babies, damaging the auditory nerve or brain areas responsible for hearing.
Experiencing language for the first time
Rosie Solouota’s parents, from Niue, had no knowledge of sign language. They took their baby home and improvised what they called “home signs”: hand gestures and signals they used to communicate with their toddler.
When Rosie was old enough, they put her in a mainstream kindergarten and then primary school with her siblings in Porirua.
Rosie’s three brothers invented unique signs for her, too.
A young Rosie Solouota in the deaf unit at Rangikura School in Porirua.
“They all have their own signs and different ways of communicating, so it was a real mixture,” Rosie told the Herald through an interpreter.
“Home signs ... pointing around and using body language and gestures with my three brothers, so we could understand each other.”
As luck would have it, Rosie’s primary school, Rangikura School, opened a deaf unit. When Rosie was 8 or 9, a new teacher introduced her to NZ Sign Language, her first formal language.
Rosie Solouota at Rangikura School, where she was first introduced to NZ Sign Language.
Even now, she remembers the wonder of that time. “Wow. It had such an amazing impact on me, to have access to the language of deaf people.
“[The teacher] was very expressive with me and I was able to understand her,” she signed.
“Sign language was developed by deaf people, and it’s the language of deaf people. I struggled ... and then I was able to access this normal language for me.”
Rosie Solouota (far right) with her brothers Soul, Jonathan and baby Clayton.
Today, Solouota is a single mum to three hearing children aged 4, 6 and 7, who can all communicate using NZSL.
“It’s their first language – New Zealand Sign Language – because that’s my language and I’m their mum.
It’s their first language - New Zealand Sign Language - because that’s my language and I’m their mum
“When they were babies, I signed with them. And as they’ve grown ... they were already starting to pick it up at six months old.
“Now, as they’re getting older, they know how to sign, they know how to use body language and facial expressions as part of NZ Sign Language from me, their mum.”
Now in her mid-30s, Solouota works as an NZSL tutor and advocate for the Deaf community.
Almost 25,000 people in New Zealand use the language, one of New Zealand’s official languages.
Rosie with her brothers (from left) Clayton, Soul and Jonathan.
Loss of mother tongue
Solouota feels a sense of loss that she couldn’t learn Niuean growing up, given there were no Niuean sign interpreters.
“I’m a deaf person, so I can’t access spoken language.”
Her children all speak Niuean, te reo Māori and English, and communicate using their first language, NZSL.
She says NZSL changed her life’s trajectory, and she hopes more Kiwis will learn it.
“NZ Sign Language is essential for me. I use it every day in my life. It’s part of who I am - it’s how I access life and a part of who I am as a person.”
New Zealand’s measles outbreak
There have been 17 cases of measles confirmed in the current outbreak, and more than 2000 close contacts identified. Several schools are under close watch.
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that can spread easily when an infected person coughs, breathes or sneezes. Anyone can catch it, but it is most common in children and young people.
Two doses of the vaccine after the age of 12 months protect 99% of people from measles, Health NZ Te Whatu Ora says.
If you have had measles before, you are considered immune. You are also immune if you received the recommended two doses of the MMR vaccine after the age of 12 months.
Anyone born in New Zealand before 1969 is considered likely to be immune, as most people were infected during childhood, given there were no measles vaccines before then.
People can also contact their family doctor or healthcare provider to check their immunisation records.
Measles symptoms include a high fever, a cough, a runny nose and a rash all over the body.
