What does it mean to teach kids how to read text effectively?1 Initially, it means making certain that they can decode so proficiently that they can decode the words without much conscious attention. Texts are going to place increasing demands on students’ linguistic...
Reading Comprehension Delays – An Expectation for Most Students with Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss and Sarcasm: The Problem is Conceptual NOT Perceptual
Individuals with hearing loss often have difficulty detecting and/or interpreting sarcasm. These difficulties can be as severe as they are for persons with autism spectrum disorder and challenges often continue into adulthood 1,2. Even children with good language and...
Only One Ear CAN be a Big Deal
About 25-30% of children identified by universal newborn hearing screening have hearing loss in only one ear. This prevalence increases with age to about 1 ½ -2% of the school-age population. Students with unilateral hearing loss are at 10 times the risk for...
“Special Considerations” and LRE for Students who are DHH
Early January 2019 While the educational prognosis for students with hearing loss has never been as promising as it is now, we continue to have students who are deaf or hard of hearing who have not been identified, or who have not received intervention, prior to...
Self-Advocacy Skill Development is Required for Full Participation in the Classroom
December 2018 Students do not know what they didn’t hear because they didn’t hear it – yet they are held accountable for receiving and fully understanding this information. Full participation in the classroom requires that a student recognize when a communication...
Inclusion – Factors that Make it or Break it
Late November 2018 Every parent and teacher want children with hearing loss to be successful in the classroom, both academically and socially. There are benefits to including students with disabilities in their neighborhood schools and having them be fully included in...
Reducing the Impact of Stigma and Teasing
Early November 2018 About 30% of all school-aged children experience bullying or peer-victimization. The risk of this negative treatment increases for children who have lower social competence, presence of special needs, or overall seem “different” from their peer...
Identifying Student’s Functional Issues in the Classroom
The evaluation process requires1 that a variety of assessment tools and strategies are used to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the student to determine if there is a disability that is adversely affecting educational performance. We also must develop a statement about the student’s present level of academic achievement and functional performance. Classroom observation provides the opportunity to collect data on how the student with hearing loss functions in the classroom in comparison to typical peers. Using the ‘deaf lens’ during observations, systematically considering performance, and obtaining teacher checklist information all help to paint the picture of functional performance and identify issues.
More Tips For Itinerant Teachers
Itinerant teachers must be ready for anything. Many itinerant teachers have evolved into their role, rather than trained for it. Just as “deaf children are not hearing children who cannot hear,” itinerant teachers are not simply classroom teachers with cars. Itinerants are also consultants, technology experts, cultural attaches, collaborators, and communicators. Itinerants know that planning and preparation are essential; we also know that all the best planning and preparation can be thwarted. Supporting our low incidence students so that their needs can be met in the inclusive classroom takes knowledge, heart, and stamina.
Technology Monitoring Is Necessary For Hearing Device Users
Late September 2018 The job of hearing devices is to improve the audibility of speech, allowing students to perceive much more of verbal instruction and all other spoken communication more fully. By funneling more audible speech information into the brain, the student...
