Chapter 11 Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

A Brief Historical Overview Debate over how to teach communication skills – oralism vs. gestures: Heinicke (Germany) – oral speech de l’Épée (France) – gestures Gallaudet (US) – gestures Graham Bell (US) – oralism © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

A Brief Historical Overview Total Communication Method Coined in the 70s by Holcomb Combines the use of American Sign Language (ASL) with oral speech Currently the emphasized educational approach © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Profiles How do Keisha, Carlos, and Raymond illustrate the wide range of needs of students who are deaf or hard of hearing? About 12% of the US population has some degree of hearing loss; that includes 3 million children under 18. Because profound hearing loss is a low-incidence disability, many schools have difficulty providing students with needed supports. © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Defining Deafness and Hard of Hearing Degree of loss Determined by sound loss in decibels Deafness: loss greater than 91 dBs; individual cannot process linguistic information through hearing, even with aids or amplification Type of loss Structural: Conductive, Sensorineural, Mixed Auditory processing disorder Age of onset Pre-linguistic vs. post-linguistic © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Anatomy of the Ear © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Causes of Hearing Loss Genetics: Hearing loss can be inherited from one or both parents; can be present at birth or develop later 30-40% of children with hearing loss have other associated disabilities Environmental: Illness and infections (including otitis media) Trauma/injury © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Assessing Hearing Loss in Children Infant screening: Otoacoustic auditory emissions (OAE) Auditory brainstem repsonse (ARB) Auditory steady state response (ASSR) Children under 3 Bone conductor test Play audiometry tests Children 3 and up Pure-tone audiometry Early Intervention is Critical!! © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Cognitive and Academic Development Children with hearing loss can be of average intelligence, gifted, or have other disabilities that cause cognitive delay. Because most intelligence tests are designed for hearing children, it can be difficult to accurately assess the intelligence level of a child with hearing loss; many of these tests do not adequately capture strengths. © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Cognitive and Academic Development Children with hearing loss have challenges in learning to read as they cannot rely on phonemic awareness. Intensive vocabulary work and whole- word approaches as well as explicit instruction in sentence structure are effective approaches. © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Language and Social Development Infants with hearing loss will still cry and babble; as their peers began speaking, children with hearing loss will begin using gestures. If they are not taught a sign system, they develop their own “home sign.” Communication problems associated with hearing loss can cause social problems. Family support, early intervention, and professional/educational supports are key. Mastering a communication system – whether oral language or sign - is critical. © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Bilingual Approaches to Deafness Deaf culture has its own language – ASL – and cultural norms. Many individuals who are deaf are bilingual – they are fluent in both ASL and English (for writing and reading). Many use “code switching” to move between languages. Some specialists advocate for teaching ASL as a first language and English as a second language. © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Organizational Structures and Supports Children with hearing loss should be frequently assessed as their needs change over time. A multidisciplinary team including audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and parents, must meet to construct the IEP. RtI is important as many children with hearing loss spend much of their day in the general ed classroom: Tier I: more hands on activities Tier II: small group reading skills instruction Tier III: instruction in the use of hearing aids or ASL © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Curriculum and Instruction UDL provides access to CCSS; many classroom modifications can help students with hearing loss be more successful in the classroom. Assistive technology is a critical part of improving communication for students with hearing loss. Hearing aids, cochlear implants, alerting systems, and other devices can be used in educational settings. © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Family and Lifespan Issues Families play a key role in helping the child with hearing loss to develop successful communication skills. Transitions to adulthood must begin in high school. Many students who are hard of hearing will go on to success in the work place and/or post-secondary education. © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.