Hearing Impairments
Hearing Impairments
Introduction to Hearing Impairments
About 79,000, or 0.2%, of public school students ages 6-21 in 2009-2010 had hearing impairments and were eligible for special education services (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010). This is a number that has been largely consistent over time. The term "hearing impairment" describes a wide range of hearing loss, and is defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as, "an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance." A form of hearing impairment known as deafness describes a condition that prevents students from receiving almost all forms of sound (National Dissemination Center for Students with Disabilities, 2013).
Watch the short video below (1 min, 3 sec) by Ear Science Institute Australia. You will watch a music video at different sound levels to illustrate what hearing loss sounds like.
What kinds of accommodations might you provide in your library to ensure that all students can follow spoken instruction?
Accommodations in the Library
In Creating Inclusive Classrooms: Effective and Reflective Practices, S.J. Salend explains that while the intellectual abilities of students with hearing disabilities are equivalent to their peers with hearing, they may experience difficulties with communication that may hinder academic performance (2008). Deaf or hearing impaired students may also struggle with literacy skills due to potential barriers with oral language.
Some ideas for supporting students with hearing impairments include**:
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Using a sound amplification system. |
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Modeling successful nonverbal communication strategies (e.g., notes) and use written language for communication. |
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Learning some basic sign language. |
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Using total communication: a strategy in which students with severe hearing loss are communicated to with both verbal and sign language. The theory is that if the student can learn to speak, then the stimulation is being presented. Even if they do not learn to speak, they will still be provided with a language-rich environment. |
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Supplement spoken language with visual information:
write key words on the board use visual aids or manipulatives use closed-captioned videos seat student strategically with a good view of the librarian require students to raise hands and be recognized before talking |
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Use peer mentoring or peer buddy systems. |
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Provide resources that cater to diverse learning needs, such as closed-captioned DVDs and videos. |
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Offer books or other resources on hearing impairments, deaf culture, and American Sign Language. |
**From Briggle, 2005; Weil, 2011; Herbert, 2012
References
Briggle, S. J. (2005). Language and literacy development in children who are deaf or hearing impaired. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 41(2), 68-71.
Herbert, S. (2012). Including the listening needs of students with mild to moderate hearing loss in your upper primary and secondary school setting. SERUpdate, 22(1), 20-21.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). Fast facts: Students with Disabilities. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/FastFacts/display.asp?id=64
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. (2013). NICHCY disability fact sheet: deafness and hearing loss. Retrieved from http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/hearingloss
Salend, S. J. (2008). Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflective practices (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Weil, M. (2011). Listen up! T H E Journal, 38(7), 16-19.
*The video activity included has been adapted from one presented in the Disability Awareness Packet, originally created by the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).