Hearing Impairments and Inclusion
When teachers understand the educational and social impacts of hearing impairments, teaching strategies can be put in place to promote acceptance and enhance learning. In the case of hearing impaired children, communication is one of the main problems to be addressed in inclusive settings and the learning environment should be adapted to overcome this barrier of learning. When students are included in the regular classroom, they should be supported by Interpreters, Resource Teachers, and Educational Assistants.
Issues Related to Inclusion:
According to Winser (2008), and Bennett (2008) there are many concerns related to the inclusion of students with hearing impairments. This Includes the following:
1. Achievement test scores are normally lower for students with hearing impairments
2. The general environment of most classrooms is very noisy. Children with hearing impairments are challenged to hear spoken language at a distance with the presence of background noise
3. Students with hearing loss can be affected by the development of auditory discrimination, processing skills, phonological awareness, and short term auditory memory skills
4. Speech can be inaudible to the student, even with the most sophisticated hearing aids. This means they can face difficulties in learning language, articulation, voice quality, and tone discrimination problems
5. Students who are seriously hearing impaired require extensive curriculum modifications to compensate for the educational lags
6. Many general classroom teachers are not very knowledgeable about hearing impairments and don’t possess the effective teaching techniques. They require a lot of communication and social supports
7. The majority of classroom teachers are not proficient in sign language
According to Hearing Impairments (2000) there are many classroom strategies that teachers, and support staff can use when working with students who have hearing Impairments.
If the student lip-reads:
Ø Have students sit closer to the lecturer.
Ø Look directly at the student.
Ø Speak slowly, naturally, and clearly.
Ø Slowing down slightly may help.
Ø Do not exaggerate your lip movements or shout.
When writing materials for hearing impaired students:
Ø Break up long sentences.
Ø Reduce difficult vocabulary load.
Ø Reduce concept density.
Ø When using a pronoun be sure that the antecedent is very clear.
Ø Stay with simple coordinating conjunctions (e.g., but, so, for, and) and avoid less common transitional words (e.g., however, nevertheless, although).
Ø Use of visual cues in the classroom in terms of flashcards, charts, teaching aids, etc., is vital to supplement the understanding level of these children
The inclusion of students with hearing impairments into a regular education classroom provides an opportunity for these children to communicate more effectively with people who can hear. It allows them to adapt strategies they can use to successfully interact with others.
Winser, M. (2008). Children with Exceptionalities in Canadian Classrooms (8th ed.). Toronto, Canada: Pearson Prentice Hall, pp. 167.
Bennett, S., Dworet, D., Weber, K. (2008). Special Education in Ontario Schools (6th ed.).St. Davids, Canada: Highland Press, pp.194-195.
Bennett, S., Dworet, D., Weber, K. (2008). Special Education in Ontario Schools (6th ed.).St. Davids, Canada: Highland Press, pp.194-195.
(2000). Hearing impairments: Strategies. Science education for students with disabilities, Retrieved from http://www.sesd.info/histrategies.htm
For those children who just received a hearing aid or cochlear implant are learning a language that was previously silent to them. It can take some time for them to get used to hearing all these new sounds and they may have delayed language and speech problems. But using the strategies that are laid out will help them feel more included rather than excluded. Using a FM system (microphone), making sure there is adequate lighting, and reducing background noise would assist them in the learning process as well.
ReplyDeleteMy father is deaf. And he went to a deaf school when he was younger. But today times have changed, some say for the better and others will say for the worse. It's all opinion based really. I say for the better when it comes to Inclusive schooling. I have known sign language since I was 5 yrs old, my parents taught me so I could communicate with my father. I am very blessed that they did so :) I will be able to use my signing skills for ceratin circumstances or even a certain student once I finish my schooling and retreive my EA diploma. Even on a daily basis at the grocery store...if I see someone struggling whom is hearing impaired I will jump in and offer my voice to help their hands. I think that more people should invest in sign language, it's very interesting and oddly enough, not too many people know it. Once you learn, you'll never wanna stop signing! It's a pretty amazing thing :)
ReplyDeleteI have always said I would love to know sign languaage as my second language. Where some people think French is a beautiful langauage, I feel that signing is the most beautiful. Margie I think it is wonderful that you have learn this. My Mom is very hearing impaired, and it really is a very difficult situation as some days you can have a conversation with her and the next day you cannot, so you have to write things down.
ReplyDeleteIt is great the amount of technology that is available to assist those with hearing impairments so that inclusion into the general classroom is an option. There was a boy in my son's primary grades that used what I am assuming was the FM (microphone) system, Shea was mentioning above. The teacher would wear a microphone and the boy would have a device in his ear. This allowed him to participate in the general classroom just like the other students. I did notice that on class trips, assemblies, etc. he was not able to participate to the same degree, but overall inclusion was the best option for him.
ReplyDeleteHaving a close friend who is hard of hearing has helped open up this disability on a more personal level for me. She received early intervention, as her older sister had the same problems so it was caught much earlier in her than in her sister. Most days, if you're talking to her one on one, you wouldn't really notice she was hearing impaired besides the bright orange aids. This helps prove that with early intervention children can adapt to function more seamlessly with non hearing impaired peers.
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