Hearing Impairments

Definition Hearing Impairment means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a childs educational performance but is not included under the definition of deafness. http://nichcy.org/disability/categories#hearin g Hard of hearing: can process linguistic information (using hearing aids and other devices) More about Hearing Impairments More than 12,000 babies are born with a hearing loss Profound deafness occurs in 4-11 per 10,000 children Ranges slight, mild, moderate, severe, or profound In one or both ears Characteristics Does not respond consistently to sounds or to his or her own name Asks for things to be repeated or often says huh? Is delayed in developing speech or has unclear speech May sometimes be delayed in developing language and communication skills Can become confused in interactions with many people May avoid social situations because they are confusing Greatly affects their ability to understand language which affects learning Learning Strategies Speech reading: watching others lips, mouth, and expressions. Face the class, stand where there is no glare or shadow, stand in one location as opposed to moving around the room Placement in classroom (near the teacher) Use visual aids Using pictures to explain directions For safety: Assigning a buddy for fire, tornado or earthquake drill Captioned films/videos Assistance of a notetaker, who takes notes for the student with a hearing loss, so that the student can fully attend to instruction (Cprint) Services of an interpreter for those students who use sign language Regular speech, language, and auditory training from a specialist FM system where teacher wears a microphone and the student wears the receiver Resources

http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/heari ngloss
Including Students with Special Needs: A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers Chapter 6 pages 187-190 Strategies for Effective Inclusion: http://www.gallaudet.edu/clerc_center/infor mation_and_resources/info_to_go/educate_c hildren_(3_to_21)/resources_for_mainstrea m_programs/effective_inclusion.html Hearing Loss Association of America: http://www.hearingloss.org/ National Association of the Deaf: http://www.nad.org/