Without Ears or Eyes

TEACHING STUDENTS WITH HEARING OR

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT.
CARRIE SUN

EDST 476 DECEMBER 10, 2014

Ninja and Trail game

Outside or in a cleared space inside
Listen to facilitators instructions for
how to play and for debrief
afterward

Personal Story
Listen to facilitators story!

What is Visual Impairment?

o Physical disability
o Any kind of vision loss: Blind or
partially sighted
o Need adaptations to learn
through channels other than visual

Etiology: What Causes Visual

Impairment?
Parts of eye(s) and/or brain get diseased
and/or damaged
Medical treatment, surgery, glasses, or
contacts CANT restore vision
Can be congenital
Usually inherited via genes or caused by an
infection that's transmitted during pregnancy

Etiology: What Causes Visual

Impairment? (ctd)
Can also be developmental (after birth):
Amblyopia (lazy eye)
Diabetic retinopathy
Macular degeneration
Glaucoma
Cataracts

Learning challenges attached

& instructional implications
Motivation for learning can be
hard because they can often get
discouraged easily

Learning challenges attached

& instructional implications
VI child or baby may not have developed ability to:

focus on faces, objects

follow movements
realize an object is there and so reach out to grasp it

see different facial expressions and gradually attach meaning to them

see lips move and realize language is emerging
realize that even if an object cannot be touched, it still exists and is
still there
copy movements

Creating access to an optimum

environment
Encourages use of functional vision
1. Lighting
2. Good colour and contrast
3. Safety
4. Good acoustics

1) Lighting
Each individual will have different lighting needs
Condition
Corneal opacities e.g.
cataracts, albinism
Macular disorders

Optic nerve disease

Lighting Environment
Avoid focal light sources in
front of child which may cause
glare.
Bright focal light sources
placed behind child and
directed onto target may
improve detailed vision.
Increased level of background
lighting may be beneficial.

2) Clarity and Contrast

Printed material
Font may need to be brighter,
more contrasting, and/or bigger

Environment
Colour contrast can aid
orientation (e.g. Doorways,
stairs, and light switches can be
outlined in a contrasting colour
to the rest of the room)

3) Safety and Ease of access

for mobility and independence
Orderly and predictable layouts of
classroom!
Clear pathways and routes between areas
Organized storing of materials and resources
Come to school before the year starts to
familiarize oneself

Be aware of hazards (e.g. raised steps,

carpets)

4) Sound environment: Good

acoustics
Reduce unnecessary background noises (e.g. radio)
If possible, have sound-absorbing walls and floors
(e.g carpet)

If VI learner has sound-creating technology (e.g.

Perkins brailler), assign designated place to work

Tips for teachers of students

who are visually impaired
1. Point out the classroom rules to which the student must
adhere
2. Dont take the easy route of simply removing parts of the
curriculum you may assume that it would be too difficult
for your VI learners to access; instead, find alternative ways
to make it accessible. Expect the same quality of work,
rather than the same quantity
3. Dont move furniture in the classroom without warning the
student
4. Reduce glare on boards, desks, etc.

Tips for teachers of students

who are visually impaired
5. Provide multi-sensory experiences, learning by
doing, and support without dependence
6. Stress legibility, not size, as students will tend to
print or write in large size, if at all
7. Remind individual speakers to name themselves

8. Help everyone in the class to provide non-visual

feedback to the student with the visual impairment
(using verbal praise instead of smiling or nodding)

Tips for teachers of students

who are visually impaired
9. Encourage peers to be friends, not helpers
10. Encourage the visually impaired student to share their
experiences with you, so that you can understand the
students perspective ask them to write them a letter of
experience (and keep it updated) to all teachers (like in one of
the cases)
11. Do not assume that all VI learners access information through
the medium of Braille. The majority of them do not
12. Do not enlarge documents for your VI learners without asking
them about the font size that they prefer. Ultimately, enlarge
the font size and not the size of the sheets.

Intermission Game:
Interference
Listen to facilitators
instructions for how to play
and for debrief afterward

What is hearing impairment?

Hard of hearing or deaf
A problem with one or more parts of
the ear or ears, physically
Context of education: categorized as a
communication exceptionality, because
it usually affects development of
speech and/or language and causes
students to need adaptations to learn
how to communicate effectively.

Etiology: What causes hearing

impairment?
Can be congenital (born with parts of ear that didnt
form correctly or work well) or developmental (injury
or illness)
middle ear fluid
serious infections, such as meningitis
head injury
listening to very loud music, especially through
headphones or ear buds
repeated exposure to loud sounds, such as machinery

Learning challenges attached

and instructional implications
1. Noisy
2. Most appropriate placement for
classroom setting and technology
3. Missing instructions easily
4. Literacy development

Tips for teachers of students who are

deaf or hard of hearing
1.

Make a lot of face and eye contact so the student can speech-read and get
meaning clues

2.

Encourage students with hearing loss a lot with non-verbal communication

like eye contact and smiling

3.

Try to make your classroom have as much lighting as possible, and avoid
standing in front of lights and windows because your face may be placed
in shadow

4.

Speak naturally. Do not talk very loudly or over-enunciate or too fast. If

you have an accent, it can be a difficult challenge, so you may have to
communicate in other means

5.

Discuss the best seating arrangement in the room with the student.
Choose the best place for the student to receive maximum information
within the normal flow of classroom activities

Tips for teachers of students who are

deaf or hard of hearing
6. During class discussion, or group work, ensure only one person
speaks at a time (use role-rings and role cards). Then summarize on
the board or have the groups report their work on large paper that
can be read by everyone
7. Use visuals, handouts, and outlines (for the day, for the unit, for the
term, etc.). Helps the student see the purpose and timing for shortterm tasks and how they fit into the longer-range planning
8. Provide vocabulary lists with definitions of new terms and concepts
to be used during the day to help the student to develop a personal
dictionary of words learned
9. Ask other students in the class to volunteer as a buddy to take note
sand help you watch the need for more clarification

Works Cited
Admin. "The Needs of Visually Impaired (VI) Learners in Education: Key Issues and
Principles." TeachingEnglish. BBC, 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
Bowman, Richard, Ruth Bowman, and Gordon Dutton. "Disorders of Vision." Scottish
Sensory Center. University of Edinburgh, 2001. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
"Hearing Impaired Children Have to Deal with Extra Challenges in School." Hearing Loss
and Hearing Loss Treatment. Hear It, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
Hutchinson, Nancy. Inclusion of Exceptional Learners in Canadian Schools. 4th ed.
Toronto: Pearson, 2014. Print.
Thibodeau, Linda M., and Cheryl D. Johnson. "Serving Children With Hearing Loss in
Public School Settings." The ASHA Leader. ASHA, 27 Sept. 2005. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
"Visual Impairment." KidsHealth. Ed. Jonathan H. Salvin. The Nemours Foundation, 01
Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

"What's Hearing Loss?" KidsHealth. Ed. Thierry Morlet. The Nemours Foundation, 01
May 2012. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

Kindness is a
language that the
deaf can hear and the
blind can see
- MARK TWAIN

QUESTIONS?