Deafness
Legal Definition of
Deafness:
Deafness
is defined as “a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is
impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without
amplification.”
*Important
to understand the distinction between Deafness and Hearing Impaired.
Hearing
impairment is defined by IDEA as “an impairment in hearing, whether permanent
or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.”
Characteristics of Students Who Are Deaf:
1.
Typically no visible indicators, but students
who are deaf often use hearing aides or cochlear implants to amplify
sound.
2.
Students have difficulty learning vocabulary,
grammar, word order, and idiomatic expressions.
3.
Frequent requests for repetition or
clarification.
4.
Tendency to bluff when not hearing someone due
to the fear of asking them to repeat themselves.
5.
Students can lack maturity for the following
reasons:
a.
Rules of etiquette are acquired through
listening and imitating, which is not possible for individuals who are deaf.
b.
Students fail to develop group social skills
because interactions involving multiple conversations are confusing.
Types of Hearing Loss:
1.
Conductive: Disease or obstruction in the outer or middle
ear.
Students can derive benefit from hearing aids and cochlear implants.
2.
Sensorineural: Occurs in the cranial nerve, inner ear, or
central processing center of the brain.
Sensorineural deafness is very difficult to treat.
3.
Mixed hearing loss: Occurs in the outer, middle, and inner
ear. Hearing aides may help but have
limited effect.
4.
Central hearing loss: Damage or
impairment to the nerves or nuclei of the central nervous system, either in the
pathways to the brain or the brain itself.
Central hearing loss is very rare and very hard to treat.
Suggested Learning
Strategies:
-Teacher Tips:
1.
Reduce ambient noise in the classroom.
2.
Face the class while presenting
information.
3.
Use appropriate body language, facial features, and
signals while speaking.
4.
Stand in one location, rather than moving around
the room. Make sure the student is
sitting near the teacher to facilitate lip-reading.
5.
Use visual aids as often as possible.
6.
Speak clearly, but do not exaggerate sounds
while speaking.
7.
Enroll in a sign language course, or at least
learn some useful signs.
8.
Create peer support
9.
Help students learn to use their residual
hearing to the maximum extent possible.
-Learning
Tools:
1.
Assigned services- including interpreters, note
takers, teachers’ aides or integration assistants.
2.
Amplification devices for students with some
residual hearing
a.
Hearing aids
b.
FM system (student has a small speaker, teacher
uses a small microphone)
c.
Cochlear implants (sophisticated electronic
hearing device that transmit electric signals to the brain).
3.
American Sign Language (ASL)
4.
Manually Coded English (MCE) such as: Signed Exact English (SEE)
5.
C-Print (a typist is present in class using
standard abbreviation to capture what is being said. Students read information on a computer
screen).
6.
Teachers should include closed captioning when
showing videos.
Additional Resources:
•
National Dissemination Center For Children
with Disabilities: http://nichcy.org/tags/deafness-or-hearing-impairment
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