What does an appropriate preschool for a child with hearing loss look like? Kym Meyer, M.S., CCC-A...

What does an appropriate preschool for a child with

hearing loss look like?

Kym Meyer, M.S., CCC-A

Educational Audiologist/Certified Teacher

Director, The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP) The Learning Center for the Deaf

kym_meyer@tlcdeaf.org

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

Hearing Loss 101

Degree of Hearing Loss

Degree refers to how severe the hearing loss is (measured in a hearing test)

• MILD • MODERATE

• SEVERE• PROFOUND

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Explaining the different degrees of hearing loss makes

absolutely no sense…just sit back and listen…

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

Acoustic Filter Scenario

• Hearing loss is invisible

• Hearing loss is an invisible acoustic filterWe don’t see hearing loss, what we see is the negative repercussions of not hearing well

Carol Flexer (1998)

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“Can you hear me?”

YUP!

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

“Hearing” ≠ Understanding

Audibility – Speech can be heard but not clearly enough to understand what is said (you are “hearing” the vowels).

Intelligibility – Speech is heard clearly enough to hear word distinctions (you are hearing both the vowels and consonants)

Carol Flexer (1998)

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

“Make two columns – number 1 to 10 in each column”

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Devices to make speech louder to be heard (audible)

• Hearing aids

• Cochlear Implants (CI)

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So, hearing aids make children hear normally. Just like glasses, right?

Unfortunately…no

Remember listening to the examples of distorted speech?

What does a hard of hearing child need to

access the curriculum in preschool?

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Environment• Acoustically appropriate

classroom • Does the child need

assistive technology? (FM system? Soundfield system?)

• Educational audiologist consultation

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

• “We have one of those speaker sound systems, let’s put Johnny in that room”

• “We had a student with an auditory trainer who left the district. Let’s hook it

up to Susie’s hearing aids.”

Examples of misunderstandings Tuesday, March 13,

working 1:1 with different SLPs

• The Indians were dying because of the drought and famine.– “Why were they dying if they had all that fish?”

M, age 9

• “Today we learned about cocoon trees” Z, age 6– After observing a classroom lesson about coconut

trees.The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

Instruction

It’s much easier for a hard of hearing student to learn new information 1:1 or in a small group.

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Students may need direct instruction of new vocabulary

• Pre-reading books

• Nursery Rhymes• Songs• Pledge of

Allegiance • Peers’ names

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…and may need direct instruction of phonemic awareness.

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

Accommodations

• Setting up seating – Noise sources– Sunlight?

• Classroom acoustics• Visual supports• DAILY hearing aid

checks! (IDEA 34CFR300.113)

• Announcements?• Assemblies,

lunchroom, gym?• Bus?• Emergency plan?

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Not every child will need every recommendation

• A team working together can make appropriate recommendations: – Teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing– Speech-language pathologist – Educational audiologist

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

•Anderson, K., Smaldino, J. “Providing audiology services to school children more than just preferential seating,” The Hearing Journal (March, 2012). http://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/Fulltext/2012/03000/Breaking_News__Providing_audiology_services_to.9.aspx

•Roles of Speech-Language Pathologists and Teachers of Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Development of Communicative and Linguistic Competence (Joint Committee of ASHA and the Council on Education of the Deaf) http://www.asha.org/policy/GL2004-00202/

•Educational Audiology Services Under IDEA: Pertinent Regulations. http://www.edaud.org/associations/4846/files/Advocacy_Services.Under_IDEA.pdf (accessed June 3, 2013).

•Hands and Voices Guide to Preschool Programs: http://www.handsandvoices.org/comcon/articles/preschool.htm

•Meyer, K. “In class hard of hearing children face misunderstanding ,” In “Hard of Hearing, Facing Challenges in Class,” Odyssey (Winter, 2003). pp. 18-21. http://www.gallaudet.edu/Documents/Clerc/Odyssey-2003-v4i2-full.pdf

•Supporting Success With Kids With Hearing Loss http://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/

RESOURCES

The Outreach Partnership Program (TOPP)

Don’t be overwhelmed…let’s answer your questions…