You and Your Student with a Hearing Impairment

You and Your Student with a Hearing Impairment HEARING IMPAIRMENT - is a physical disability resulting in diminished levels of hearing in one or both ears. There are different degrees of hearing loss, all of which interfere with communication to some extent. Hearing impairment can affect speech production. The degree of residual hearing a person has, and how well he/she has learned to use it. determines the accuracy in speech production. The rhythm and pitch of speech as well as the production of vowels and consonants can all be affected by a hearing impairment. The student in your class can have a hearing loss as indicated : Mild Hearing Loss 25-35 db Individuals in this category may require auditory, speech and language instruction as well as academic support. Moderate Hearing Loss 40-65 db Individuals in this category generally require educational support; they may also require auditory, speech and language instruction. Severe Hearing Loss 70-90 db Individuals in this category may require ongoing auditory, speech and language instruction as well as academic support. Profound Hearing Loss. 90 db and beyond Individuals in this category may require intensive auditory, speech, and language instruction as well as additional academic support. Auditory, speech and language instruction in addition to academic support should be provided by qualified itinerant teachers of the hearing impaired. AUDITORY EQUIPMENT Most hearing-impaired students will wear hearing aids and/or an FM system to help him/her hear. It is important to remember that these devices only make sounds louder... they do not make sounds clearer. Certain sounds will not be heard by the hearing- impaired child no matter how loud they are. There are three main types of hearing aids. Body aids - Hearing aids worn on the chest with cords leading to receivers attached to earmolds. Earlevel aids - Compact aids worn behind the ears with small plastic tubing leading to the earmolds. All-in-the-ear aids - tiny compact hearing aids which fit directly in the ear. FM systems help the student hear the teacher's voice even though he/she may be some distance from the student. This is achieved through the use of a teacher worn cordless transmitter which sends sound to the student-worn unit. Other advantages of an FM system include: -The FM unit allows the child to receive the teacher's voice at a louder level than background noise. -Teacher transmitter sends sound directly to one student thus allowing the

student to make optimum use of his her residual hearing. -Freedom of movement by teacher and pupil. -Teacher transmitter works over a distance of 15m indoors or outdoors. -Teacher transmitter or student's receiver can be attached to audio-visual equipment. -FM units are powered by a rechargeable battery system. COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES - Do seat the student near the front of the class and to the side, but away from sources of noise (i.e. hallways, furnace systems). - Do stand still when you are speaking. This makes it easier for the hearingimpaired student to follow your speech. - Do stand allowing light to fall on your face. - Do speak naturally and clearly using a natural tone of voice and inflection. Do not exaggerate your lip movements, or mumble. - Do rephrase a statement or question if the student has not understood rather than repeating it verbatim. - Do ask the student to rephrase information if you have not understood. - Do check the student's comprehension by asking questions about what you have just told him/her. Try not to elicit yes/no answers. - Do get the attention of the student before speaking to him/her. - Do not talk while writing on the blackboard with your back to the class. ACADEMIC CONSIDERATIONS -Establish realistic goals in collaboration with the resource personnel available to you. -Encourage oral responses as much as possible. Students should be encouraged to use complete sentences when appropriate. -Use a multisensory approach in order to facilitate the student's learning. -Vocabulary is a problem for many hearing- impaired students. Check word knowledge when introducing new material. -Appoint a "buddy". A "buddy" can repeat information for the hearing- impaired student who may have missed keywords and/or instructions. -Use the student's parents as resource personnel. They most often can answer many of your questions and provide reinforcement of class work at home. - Do write new and difficult vocabulary words/or language structures on the board. -Write important information (i.e. cum dates) on chalkboard BEHAVIOURAL EXPECTATIONS The teacher can expect the hearing-impaired student to: -interact with peers and staff in age-appropriate manner in and out of the classroom. -accept the same responsibilities as other students for personal and group tasks (i.e. oral reports and speaking contests). -work independently in group situations. -deal adequately with interpersonal conflicts. -display age-appropriate social skills. -show signs of fatigue, particularly toward the end of the day, due to greater than ordinary demands on vision and concentration. -require monitoring to ensure that he./she is aware of verbal information necessary for full participation in a classroom.

Some Suggestions for Helping a Deaf/Hard of Hearing Student with Videos 1. Provide the deaf/hard of hearing student with a general summary of the content of a video. 2. Provide the deaf/hard of hearing student with a verbatim script of a video. (This is the most useful and most helpful way of helping a deaf/hard of hearing student. It is also the most time-consuming for the teacher to prepare!) 3. Allow the student to preview the video at home before it is shown in class. It would also be helpful if the student had access to the summary of the video to use at this time too. 4. Have another student take notes for the deaf/hard of hearing student during the in-class discussion stage of the video. 5. Allow the student to. view the video at home (a third time) following the inclass discussion. (This is an optional viewing which many students do not choose.) 6. If time permits, the deaf/hard of hearing student might be asked to provide an oral/signed or written synopsis of the video's content. An educational assistant might do this with the student during a study session. 7. Follow up with further instruction or -clarification about the video as necessary. ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS 1. ARRANGE SEATING SO THAT STUDENTS ARE NOT DISTRACTED BY EXCESSIVE NOISE, AND VARY SEATING SO THAT INTERACTION CAN HAPPEN WITH ALL STUDENTS IN THE ROOM 2. SUPPLEMENT TEACHING WITH VISUAL MATERIALS 3. SPEAK CLEARLY AND DISTINCTLY AND ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO WATCH THE TEACHER'S FACE. 4. MAINTAIN FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT WITH STUDENT WHEN SPEAKING, REINFORCE GOOD EXPRESSION, MAINTAIN APPROPRIATE VOICE VOLUME, AND ENCOURAGE COMPLETE SENTENCES WHEN STUDENTS SPEAK. 5. ENCOURAGE THE USE OF HEARING AIDS AND CHECK FOR THEM DAILY 6. USE BUDDY SYSTEMS FOR NOTES IN CLASS, ORIENT STUDENT TO THE SCHOOL. 7. EXPLAIN CONCEPTS CLEARLY, QUESTION STUDENT TO ASSURE

COMPREHENSION AND WATCH FOR STUDENT FATIGUE. MONITOR ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL PROGRESS REGULARLY. 8. SHARE LESSON PLANS WITH TEACHER OF HEARING IMPAIRED SO THAT REVIEW AND DRILL CAN HAPPEN AND CERTAIN VOCABULARY CAN BE REINFORCED 9. WORK CLOSELY WITH PARENTS TEACHER AWARENESS OF THE CHILD Accept child positively. Each is an individual; teach according to his or her abilities for the most positive outcome. Determine the "gaps" in language, general knowledge, social skills, etc. Encourage independence. Be aware of overprotection. Find a strength that will allow the child to excel in a particular area and pursue it. Create realistic expectations. Discuss with child what works. Ensure that the student knows when you are available for extra help. METHODOLOGY TIPS Enhance the Classroom Listening Environment Face the class when speaking. Speak clearly with moderate speed. Lighting should not be behind the teacher, so students can focus their attention on you, not the light. Place carpet pieces on desks to muffle sounds of math manipulatives. Allow the child to change his seat as needed to best focus his attention. Use hand held sharpeners or sharpen pencils at recesses or lunch only. Consider 2 R's to enhance understanding: rephrase, repeat. Seat child away from noisy radiators, fans, aquarium pumps. Use visual back-up to reinforce concepts and auditory cues. Keep classroom door closed in high traffic areas. Post schedules on the wall. Due dates should always be on the blackboard. Much positive feedback can be given in writtenform suchas post-it notes on the desk. Often, there is the support of trained, qualified educational assistants. Working closely with your Educational Assistant and Resource Teacher gives students ample opportunities to work in small groups with close support and much feedback. Mapping, graphs and diagrams may help the student to organize andfile information in a logical manner for easier retrieval. Using Support Materials: Phonic Ear Be consistent with structure and routine. Eliminate background noise: Put tennis balls on the bottom of students' chairlegs. There are programs available on computer where the student "talks" to the computer via a microphone and the computer types this on screen. In another program, the child types into the computer and it will state back what has been entered using the letters, words or sentences given by the child.

Tape recorded notes are also an invaluable resource, where the student hears the notes while he reads them. Overhead projectors enable students to better focus. Pre and post teaching often works well. This enables the child to better participate in classroom discussion and gives the child a good under standing of what is being taught. Post-teaching gives confirmation that concepts are understood with misinformation clarified. Enhancing Students' Products All students need good notes to study from. Copy paper may be helpful or a set of photocopied notes for the student with disabilities. If students are taking notes while the teacher is talking, have another student take notes for the child so his/her attention is focused on what you're saying. Modify work assignments re: amount, time extensions, buddying up with a student, using a word processor program for written work. Encourage choices for various assignments and working conditions which will advocate ownership Enhancing Evaluation Process Testing can be done in small amounts with teacher support, e.g. highlighting cluewords, encouraging point form and any kind of mneumonic devices to assist in remembering, information If necessary, give the student an example of how he/she is to respond Allow student to do the test in the resource room with the assistance of the resource teacher Read test over. out loud, to all students. This is an opportunity for all students to benefit and learn test taking strategies in order to complete the test successfully. Again, highlight clue words on test to assist those who would benefit from this. UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS Unilateral hearing loss (UHL) refers to the existence of a permanent hearing loss in one ear and normal hearing sensitivity in the other ear. Often the loss of hearing in the one ear is severe to profound. Often, however, the use of conventional hearing aids is not possible. Unlike children with bilateral hearing loss, UHL children typically demonstrate normal speech and language ability upon school entry. However recent research indicates that despite normal cognitive and language ability, these students frequently experience more academic difficulty than the general population. Classroom Listening Implications The noise and reverberation levels of average classrooms are such that UHL children have greater difficulty receiving speech clearly, although it is loud enough. Even with speech directed to the good ear, in the presence of background noise, UHL children perform worse on a formal word recognition test than their hearing peers. UHL children exhibit poor localization skills. This has significant implications for

physical safety. Classroom Behaviour Implications The teachers of student with unilateral hearing loss may notice the following behaviours: they give up easily on new or difficult tasks; they are easily distractible, less able to follow directions; they daydream; they are frustrated, anxious;they misbehave to gain attention; they may be aggressive towards peers; initiate peer interaction less frequently; they fatigue earlier in the day.