Concept & Language Development in Young Children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing or Visually Impaired Renee Ellis, M.Ed. VI Educational Consultant - Infants/Early Childhood Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired Mari Hubig, M.Ed. Birth-3 Outreach Specialist Texas School for the Deaf What did you say? AI - Auditory Impairment DB - Deafblind D/HH - Deaf or Hard of Hearing TAI - Teacher of the Auditorily Impaired TDHH - Teacher of the Deaf or Hard of Hearing LB - Legally Blind VI - Visual Impairment TVI - Teacher of the Visually Impaired Hearing and Vision Loss Simulation
Hearing aids Bone conduction hearing aid Hearing technology does not fix the hearing loss Hearing aids make everything louder Cochlear implants replace natural sounds with electronic sound Bone conduction hearing aids might restore Cochlear Implant normal hearing when child is wearing it Glasses don't fix everything
Impact of Hearing or Vision Loss on Young Children Delays in: Difficulty with: Communication and language Isolation from family, peers, and adults Social skills and emotional regulation Motor, cognitive, social skills Understanding directions/ information without visual or auditory cues Learning without additional auditory and/or tactile cues to support learning Self help skills Concept Development - What Do You See? social-emotional, communication self-help, fine motor cognition, fine motor, language gross motor
What happens to concept development when we have limited experiences: outandaboutinparts.com A few concepts.. How things are the same and how they are different How the physical environment is arranged and how to navigate it Where things come from and where they go Past, present, and future Skills are not the same as Concepts A person might have the skills to do a task like the laundry but not understand the concepts related to doing the laundry.
Strategies to Promote Concept Development Choose activities that happen regularly and are meaningful, such as daily routines Provide activities that the child enjoys and are developmentally appropriate Attach language to all experiences using mostly phrases and/or sentences (directional, positional, descriptors) Build on language the child already knows Generalize the concept across various situations ( ness of objects - attributes/same and different) Provide experiences with many opportunities for repetition Strategies to Promote Language Development Get down on the child s level (eye to eye or mouth to ear) Make eye contact with child or make child aware you are there (touch, voice) In a noisy room, take child to a quiet place if possible (deaf or deafblind) Speak in a clear, normal voice D/HH: Use pictures, gestures, or other visuals (signs if appropriate) VI: Opportunity for tactile exploration Use modeling to show child what you want (hand-under-hand) Use facial expressions and/or tone of voice that match your message Sensory Walk
Embedded into daily routines Science Social Skills Math Language Motor Skills Concepts Expanding Language Experience-Based Learning Children: Learn based on their own experiences Live in the here and now Remember things they touch, taste, smell, see, hear Use concrete experiences to cement learning Learn language as it occurs naturally within a routine or activity Rely on auditory and/or visual access to check for understanding of concepts, language, and routines
The Importance of Play Making decisions and choices Learn about emotions of others Learn about compare/contrast (hot vs cold; soft vs hard) Learn how to handle own emotions & impulses Develops social skills Allows for learning without consequences (no right or wrong ) Lowers stress or distress levels Teaches the why of daily routines (ex: Why do we do laundry?) Calendars, tactile symbol systems, picture schedules Calendars... Can be used to structure a symbol system that promotes reading and writing, language and concept development Organize a child s symbols (literacy) around a structured time frame. Are a way to make abstract concepts more concrete.
Remember to PLEASE return your vision simulators and sleep masks! The earplugs are yours to keep!
If you have any questions or if we can be of assistance, please don t hesitate to reach out Mari Hubig, M.Ed. Birth-3 Outreach Specialist Educational Resource Center on Deafness mari.hubig@tsd.state.tx.us (512) 516-1647 (voice/text) Renee Ellis, M.Ed. VI Educational Consultant Infants/Early Childhood Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired ellisr@tsbvi.edu (512) 206-9301(voice)