Child's perspective on hearing loss - needs
Needs of Learners who are Hard of Hearing or Deaf:
To be made welcome and to belong where successful social relationships can occur. Smiled at, introduced, given time to talk and share personal information, find other people with common interests, invited to extra-curricular activities.
To expand the ability to communicate with others. Encouraged and actively taught communication skills or questioning, listening, speaking, reporting, reading, writing for all sorts of occasions.
To be challenged to take risks and grow. Lots of praise, encouragement, high personal-interest work.
To have opportunities for experiential and incidental learning. First hand experience (labs, workshops, dramatizations, projects) field trips, team projects, group or paired activities.
To have as much visual access to information as possible. Board notes, handouts, glossaries, course books, multi-media materials, closed captioning, hands-on research, other students' notes, pictures.
To have assistive listening devices, and appropriate technology, made available. FM systems, phone amplifiers, silent overhead projectors, closed caption decoders.
To have a classroom which provides the optimum listening environment. Low general noise level, not beside a gymnasium or band room.
To take responsibility for learning (help plan, produce, assess). Be made aware of strengths, learning styles, interests, and goals for growth and improvement; encouraged to keep a portfolio of work in progress; opportunities for periodic assessment and new goals.
To have optimum lighting situations. Faces of peers and teacher need to be clearly lit for speech reading.
To have people speak clearly and normally and directly with them.
To work with people who understand the educational implications of hearing loss. Positive inclusion of information about people with hearing loss. (Books, films of positive role models, artists, writers, scientists, teachers).
To have people ask questions and expect full participation in the classroom . Teach questioning skills, share class work equitably.
To have opportunities to work cooperatively in groups. To extend communication skills (paraphrasing, reporting, summarizing ) and experiences.
This information was gathered from the BC Ministry of Education and are ideas they have gathered over the years from experience. As teachers we need to remember all students are different and these things are not set in stone; it is important to talk to your individual student(s) and their parents at the beginning of the year.
To be made welcome and to belong where successful social relationships can occur. Smiled at, introduced, given time to talk and share personal information, find other people with common interests, invited to extra-curricular activities.
To expand the ability to communicate with others. Encouraged and actively taught communication skills or questioning, listening, speaking, reporting, reading, writing for all sorts of occasions.
To be challenged to take risks and grow. Lots of praise, encouragement, high personal-interest work.
To have opportunities for experiential and incidental learning. First hand experience (labs, workshops, dramatizations, projects) field trips, team projects, group or paired activities.
To have as much visual access to information as possible. Board notes, handouts, glossaries, course books, multi-media materials, closed captioning, hands-on research, other students' notes, pictures.
To have assistive listening devices, and appropriate technology, made available. FM systems, phone amplifiers, silent overhead projectors, closed caption decoders.
To have a classroom which provides the optimum listening environment. Low general noise level, not beside a gymnasium or band room.
To take responsibility for learning (help plan, produce, assess). Be made aware of strengths, learning styles, interests, and goals for growth and improvement; encouraged to keep a portfolio of work in progress; opportunities for periodic assessment and new goals.
To have optimum lighting situations. Faces of peers and teacher need to be clearly lit for speech reading.
To have people speak clearly and normally and directly with them.
To work with people who understand the educational implications of hearing loss. Positive inclusion of information about people with hearing loss. (Books, films of positive role models, artists, writers, scientists, teachers).
To have people ask questions and expect full participation in the classroom . Teach questioning skills, share class work equitably.
To have opportunities to work cooperatively in groups. To extend communication skills (paraphrasing, reporting, summarizing ) and experiences.
This information was gathered from the BC Ministry of Education and are ideas they have gathered over the years from experience. As teachers we need to remember all students are different and these things are not set in stone; it is important to talk to your individual student(s) and their parents at the beginning of the year.
Child's Perspective on Hearing Loss - interview
I (Kirsty) conducted an interview with a good friend that I went to school with that has hearing loss to get some information about how it feels from the student/child's perspective. Erica was born with mild-moderate hearing loss and started out in a mainstream school, and relied on hearing aids to get her through class without any other assistance, then after a short time, she was given an assistant who helped her follow along in class. Next, it was decided Erica should move to a special needs classroom where she could get some more individualized attention. Erica says she enjoyed her time in the special needs class but knew it wasn't quite the right fit, so she decided to move into the Alberta School for the Deaf in Edmonton in grade 7. At ASD high school students will still go to a mainstream high school for their options class but are given an interpreter to help them communicate. Erica told me this was the best decision she made because when moving to ASD she was finally able to learn American Sign Language and communicate much more effectively with everyone around her and learn better in general. However, since it isn't realistic or possible for (or maybe even desired by) every student with hearing loss to be in a special needs class or even a special school like ASD, Erica gave me some tips and information from her perspective to help out with the whole process. The interview is below and was conducted in Sign Language and then transposed into the written word.
How would you like the teacher to handle your hearing loss with the class?
I liked when the teacher would tell the class a little bit about it on the first day of school so that the other students knew why I had hearing aids and why I talked different. When I was little I liked to answer questions and was only a bit shy, but when I got older I got shyer about it and didn't want people to know. So I would suggest maybe the teacher talk to the student first and they can work it out.
I have read a bit about teachers/researchers using the "buddy method" to help out students with hearing impairments; what do you think about this?
Well, it would really be best if someone just wanted to be that students friend to just let them be friends, but sometimes kids are shy and don't want to be friends with someone that is different, but think how you would feel if a teacher had to force someone to be friends with you? So I do think it is a very good idea and so helpful to me but the teacher needs to find a way to do it so that no one is being forced to do anything because it can hurt feelings.
Was bullying an issue for you at all? How can a teacher or other school staff help with this?
Bullying was always an issue; of course there were people that were my friends and treated me nice, but there was always someone that was rude and hurt my feelings. I think a way to help with this is maybe you could have a Sign Language Club where students could get together and respect one another. Also make sure the student reports the bullying so the teacher can help with it. I know one year at my hearing school we had an Acceptance Assembly where we learned to respect one another and be nice, so maybe that could help too.
Are there certain things that can be done to the classroom to make you feel more comfortable and help you learn?
It was always easier for me to sit at the front of the class so that I can lip read and follow along better, if I had an interpreter or not. If other students know they might need to speak a little bit louder so that I can hear and be included too. I sometimes wished more teachers took time to talk to me after class to make sure I caught everything so maybe if teachers could try and do more of that with checking in and things. During the summer if a teacher opened the window it made it harder for me to focus because all the little sounds were made louder by my hearing aids, so maybe ask the student what they need to learn best because everyone is different. A last thing I can think of is if the student knows ASL then the teacher can make an effort to learn some things like how are you and do you need help and simple things like that so that I can have some interactions too. Before when a teacher was playing a video, she didn't put on the captions for me so I had no idea what was going on and it wasn't fair. If a teacher is going to do something like that they need to make sure it is fair to everyone. It is hard to look at the lip reading of the teacher, the signs from the interpreter and take notes, so if the teacher can print out notes or have someone write notes that can also be very helpful. There are so many things that can be done to make everyone feel more comfortable; be inviting and welcoming and make me feel like everyone else.
Is there anything else a teacher should know when working with an interpreter in the classroom?
Well I'm not an interpreter so I can't really answer that, but the teacher needs to know that speaking to the interpreter (giving them eye contact) is very rude if they are talking to me. You need to look at the student when you are talking to them, not the interpreter because you look at who you want the conversation with, not who is translating it.
Is there any more information that you would like to share with future teachers who may experience a student with hearing loss in their classroom?
I think it is very important for teachers to know that we can do all the same stuff as the other students, we just might need a little extra help. We can learn just as well and be just as smart, it is just easier to get lost and behind. So I want teachers to know to treat all the students the same, but maybe check in more often with hearing loss students because I remember being behind a lot and too shy to ask for help with things. Just go out and do your best, and make sure you get educated about teaching to these special students because we are worth it too!
How would you like the teacher to handle your hearing loss with the class?
I liked when the teacher would tell the class a little bit about it on the first day of school so that the other students knew why I had hearing aids and why I talked different. When I was little I liked to answer questions and was only a bit shy, but when I got older I got shyer about it and didn't want people to know. So I would suggest maybe the teacher talk to the student first and they can work it out.
I have read a bit about teachers/researchers using the "buddy method" to help out students with hearing impairments; what do you think about this?
Well, it would really be best if someone just wanted to be that students friend to just let them be friends, but sometimes kids are shy and don't want to be friends with someone that is different, but think how you would feel if a teacher had to force someone to be friends with you? So I do think it is a very good idea and so helpful to me but the teacher needs to find a way to do it so that no one is being forced to do anything because it can hurt feelings.
Was bullying an issue for you at all? How can a teacher or other school staff help with this?
Bullying was always an issue; of course there were people that were my friends and treated me nice, but there was always someone that was rude and hurt my feelings. I think a way to help with this is maybe you could have a Sign Language Club where students could get together and respect one another. Also make sure the student reports the bullying so the teacher can help with it. I know one year at my hearing school we had an Acceptance Assembly where we learned to respect one another and be nice, so maybe that could help too.
Are there certain things that can be done to the classroom to make you feel more comfortable and help you learn?
It was always easier for me to sit at the front of the class so that I can lip read and follow along better, if I had an interpreter or not. If other students know they might need to speak a little bit louder so that I can hear and be included too. I sometimes wished more teachers took time to talk to me after class to make sure I caught everything so maybe if teachers could try and do more of that with checking in and things. During the summer if a teacher opened the window it made it harder for me to focus because all the little sounds were made louder by my hearing aids, so maybe ask the student what they need to learn best because everyone is different. A last thing I can think of is if the student knows ASL then the teacher can make an effort to learn some things like how are you and do you need help and simple things like that so that I can have some interactions too. Before when a teacher was playing a video, she didn't put on the captions for me so I had no idea what was going on and it wasn't fair. If a teacher is going to do something like that they need to make sure it is fair to everyone. It is hard to look at the lip reading of the teacher, the signs from the interpreter and take notes, so if the teacher can print out notes or have someone write notes that can also be very helpful. There are so many things that can be done to make everyone feel more comfortable; be inviting and welcoming and make me feel like everyone else.
Is there anything else a teacher should know when working with an interpreter in the classroom?
Well I'm not an interpreter so I can't really answer that, but the teacher needs to know that speaking to the interpreter (giving them eye contact) is very rude if they are talking to me. You need to look at the student when you are talking to them, not the interpreter because you look at who you want the conversation with, not who is translating it.
Is there any more information that you would like to share with future teachers who may experience a student with hearing loss in their classroom?
I think it is very important for teachers to know that we can do all the same stuff as the other students, we just might need a little extra help. We can learn just as well and be just as smart, it is just easier to get lost and behind. So I want teachers to know to treat all the students the same, but maybe check in more often with hearing loss students because I remember being behind a lot and too shy to ask for help with things. Just go out and do your best, and make sure you get educated about teaching to these special students because we are worth it too!
Child's Perspective on Hearing Loss - Videos
Here are 2 videos that talks about implications for both teachers and students in the classroom, but they do have a large focus on the student. In the first one, there is a demonstration of what different situations sound like to the student with hearing loss, and how some things are the responsibility of the the student, and others of the teacher. The second video talks about how you can have hearing loss and still be 'normal' in a classroom. By exploring the 'related videos' sections within these videos, you can also find many other helpful viewpoints.
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Child's perspective on hearing loss - articles and books
Here is a list of some interesting books/articles from a child/students perspective if you would like some more examples of personal experiences.
Alone in the Mainstream
Amy Rowley and Me
Classroom Ghost
Mainstreamed and Left Out (this article is very negative about mainstreaming deaf students, but by reading this account and the others we can become better inclusive teachers and help prevent these negative associations with mainstreaming)
Alone in the Mainstream
Amy Rowley and Me
Classroom Ghost
Mainstreamed and Left Out (this article is very negative about mainstreaming deaf students, but by reading this account and the others we can become better inclusive teachers and help prevent these negative associations with mainstreaming)