Education
Vocabulary, reading, language skills, cognitive and executive functioning can all be effected when a child has a hearing loss. Vocabulary in children with a hearing impairment develops more slowly due to the misheard words. Often times, the gap between children with normal hearing and those with a hearing impairment widens as they age. With a small range of vocabulary, a child with a hearing loss may find it difficult to read (“Effects of Hearing Loss on Development”).
Observation
Without hearing aids, academic success is going to be difficult to achieve for a child with a hearing loss. Multiple research studies have been preformed to determine the prevalence of hearing loss in school-aged children. The studies then assess the relationships of the hearing loss to the educational performance.
Study #1
A sample study of all schools in a district was created for third, sixth, and ninth grades. To make each grade proportional in size, 1218 children were chosen. Children identified with a minimal sensorinueral hearing loss (MSHL) and children with normal hearing were identified. Each group took the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. Teachers were then asked to complete the Screening Instrument for Targeting Education Risk and the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist on both the kids with MSHL and the kids with normal hearing. The data of the children with MSHL was compared with the school districts average performance on these tests. Finally, children with MSHL and normal hearing children in the sixth and ninth grade were compared on the COOP Adolescent Chart Method (COOP). (Bess, Fred H., et al.).
Results showed children with MSHL showed significantly lower sores then normal hearing children on the series of tests. T...
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... of Hearing Loss on Development”). With all the noise around the child, they can often miss conversation with their peers, especially in the lunch room or the outdoors. To help solve this problem, a child can use a piece of hearing technology called the FM System. Both the person talking, and the person with a hearing loss wear the FM System. The microphone picks up the voice of the speaker and transmits it to the person listening. This helps a hearing impaired person follow large group conversations better. The only way to make the FM System work is to have a hearing aid. Due to the expense of the hearing aid, some families cannot afford them, which means their child will not have access to the FM System or any other hearing related technology (Kovacs).
Socially, it can also be difficult for these kids to communicate with others when they have a speech impediment.
When a problem is noticed by parents or teachers a child gets diagnosed based on his/her difficulties. Sometimes a diagnosis may not be possible, or necessary. Many children with milder SLCN (speech, language and communication needs) can be supported well in their school or nursery setting, or respond well to general support strategies, and they don’t need specific help.
There are many everyday devises that we hearing people take for granted, among these are telephones, smoke alarms, doorbells, and alarm clocks. When we look at how members of the deaf community use these everyday items we must consider that members within the community have very different communication needs, abilities, and preferences. Hard-of-hearing people for example can use a standard telephone with the addition of a headset or amplifier, while some hard-of-hearing people may prefer a TTY deaf persons rely on it, or a relay service to communicate as we (hearing people) would on a telephone.
Lane, Harlan (1992). “Cochlear Implants are Wrong for Young Deaf Children.” Viewpoints on Deafness. Ed. Mervin D. Garretson. National Association of the Deaf, Silver Spring, MD. 89-92.
Mark started losing his hearing when he was about six or seven years old. This was manifested in confusion in music class, misunderstanding the words that the choir was singing, and discombobulation in noisy rooms. Eventually, it was noted that Mark’s hearing was deteriorating.
Darrow advocates that music education is just as important for students with hearing loss as it is for those without. Students with hearing loss often have just as much a desire and interest to learn music as any other student and should not be withheld from the opportunity to explore and learn about this field. Darrow states that one of the most important adaptive strategies for teaching students with hearing losses is “the use of visual and tactile aids.” It is also mentioned that “special attention should be given to [appropriate] am...
The “deaf and dumb” stigma as well as the delayed language and cognitive development of some Deaf children concerns this topic. “Ninety percent of deaf children have hearing parents, and usually there’s a significant communication gap” (Drolsbaugh 48). Therefore, it is not that being born deaf or hard of hearing that makes children unintelligent. It is the lack of access to language in the critical early years, as hearing parents often do not know sign language, that causes later issues in education. This can be seen from the fact that the brain’s plasticity, or its ability to acquire new information and establish neural pathways, is the greatest at birth and wanes throughout development. Therefore, if a child does not have sufficient access to language before five, significant language, and thus cognitive impairment, can result (100). Additionally, children learn about the world around them and develop critical thinking skills through asking questions. However, hearing parents often “wave off” such questions as unimportant due to difficulty explaining them (48). Therefore, early exposure to an accessible language such as ASL is crucial in developing language and cognitive abilities. When hearing families are fully aware and understanding of this, it can greatly facilitate improvements in education for Deaf
The documentary “Only God Could Hear Me” was interesting and beneficial in the same time. It showed me the life of non-speakers who use AAC devices, and how their lives become after use them. In the past, their communications were about saying yes or no by moving their heads or eyebrows. They did not have the ability to communicate as normal people. They were not able to express themselves and their feelings. They also could not say what they want to say. They were isolated and did not engage with others. However, after they used the AAC, every aspect in their lives changed. They are now able to interact with other people and making relationships. They also can talk about different topics and participate in any discussion. Moreover, they can play and enjoy
Especially for infants and children, loss of hearing at such a young age can be detrimental for a developing child (Williams & Jacobs, 2009). The first two years of life are the most important as they hold critical milestones of language acquisition (Zumach, Chenault, Anteunis, and Gerrits, 2011). If these milestones are not met, then the subsequent ones will be harder and take longer to learn. The loss of hearing in young individuals can alter the perception of words and sounds, and this can lead to a difficulty in learning language (Williams & Jacobs, 2009). For example, the child will not be able to determine the difference between similar sounds, which negatively affects speech perception, which then leads to the inability to interpret and acquire language later on (Williams & Jacobs,
Singleton, Jenny and Matthew Tittle. “Deaf Parents and Their Hearing Children.” Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. 5.3 (2000): 221-234. PsycINFO. EBSCO. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (November 2002). Retrieved October 17, 2004, from http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/coch.asp
From a deafness-as-defect mindset, many well-meaning hearing doctors, audiologists, and teachers work passionately to make deaf children speak; to make these children "un-deaf." They try hearing aids, lip-reading, speech coaches, and surgical implants. In the meantime, many deaf children grow out of the crucial language acquisition phase. They become disabled by people who are anxious to make them "normal." Their lack of language, not of hearing, becomes their most severe handicap. While I support any method that works to give a child a richer life, I think a system which focuses on abilities rather than deficiencies is far more valuable. Deaf people have taught me that a lack of hearing need not be disabling. In fact, it shouldn?t be considered a lack at all. As a h...
When the parents found out that those children become to losing hearing. This is an impact to the parent hard to decide, and which is those deaf children can go to school. Most of the parent did not know about how they can communicate with deaf children. The board school will give them to choose to institute for the deaf or mainstream in a hearing school. Which is deaf children should go to deaf school or mainstream.
For example, pg. 136 of our book, Speech, Language & Hearing Disorders: Guide for the Teacher by Barbara Hall, Herbert Oyer and William Haas, states that “hard of hearing children consistently show a 2-to3 year lag in vocabulary development, while deaf children show a significantly wider gap.” As the project taught us, in addition to helping improve any phonological, articulation and social language issues, as well as helping the patient learn to hear with their hearing device in noise, the speech-language pathologist is responsible for expanding a deaf child’s mental lexicon; an educator should do the same, and offer additional instruction after school. The book does say that “many mainstreamed hearing-impaired students cannot achieve the same goals as their hearing peers” (Hall, Oyer and Haas, 2001, pg. 136) and by the teacher talking to the parents and offering this assistance after school – or in the case of an older student, study hall – this will help to close the gap. While another point of the project was that some deaf children are more successful in speech/language learning than others, again, I do believe this additional assistance can help the child in getting to the same level as their normal hearing
Congenital hearing loss is described as hearing loss that exists at birth. Factors responsible for this condition include those present during pregnancy (such as hereditary factors), as well as factors present after pregnancy. An inherited congenital hearing loss could be conductive, sensorineural, or even a combination of both. The amount or progression of this type of hearing loss varies according to each individual’s case. According to Richard Smith, congenital hearing loss is “syndromic (associated with malformations of the external ear or other organs or with medical problems involving other organ systems) or nonsyndromic (no associated visible abnormalities of the external ear or any related medical problems)…” Over 400 genetic syndromes are associated with congenital hearing loss. These include Treacher Collins, an autosomal dominant disorder and Down syndrome, an x-linked hearing loss. Although congenital hearing loss can be difficult to live with, hearing aids, surgery, and therapy are all available as forms of treatment. Hearing loss must be treated as soon as possible to prevent as many delays in the child’s language development as possible.
Hearing loss or hearing impairment are descriptive terms used for children and adults who have less than normal hearing. Hearing Impairment refers to “any dysfunction of the hearing organ, regardless of the etiology, degree of hearing loss, and service provision implications,” (Eleweke, 2011). An audiogram is a test that measures the softest sounds a person can here, (see graph below). This research paper will examine the history of hearing impairments, important federal and state regulations that relate to hearing impairments, the educational considerations teachers must be aware of in working with a hearing impaired student, and specific classroom strategies to support a child with hearing impairment. I will also include valuable resources and agencies for the families of children with hearing impairments, and the services the agencies provide. This paper will include identification of three primary researchers in the field of hearing loss and will describe their specific contributions. In summation, I will include my personal reflection after conducting research on the topic of hearing impairment. During the time of 355 BC the philosopher Aristotle was quoted to say, “those who are born deaf all become senseless and incapable of reason,” (EAD: Timeline, 2014). Aristotle’s quote provides us with insight as to how the most respected teachers in society viewed individuals with hearing impairments. “The history of hearing impairments can be traced back to centuries before Jesus Christ. For instance, around 1000 BC a Hebrew law provided those with deafness and hearing impairments limited rights to own property and marry,” (Eleweke, 2011). During this time period, it was not a good time to live as an individual with hearing loss beca...