Course: General Introduction to the Hearing Impairment (680)

Level: M.A/M.Ed in Special EducationSemester: Autumn, 2015

Total Marks: 100
Pass Marks: 40
ASSIGNMENT No. 2
Total Marks: 100
Pass Marks: 40
Q.1 STATE THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN EAR. WHAT IS THE
FREQUENCY RANGE OF HEARING OF A NORMAL HUMAN EAR?
(20)
Answer:
Functions of the Ear
The two main functions of the ear are: assist with our balance, and hear the sounds
around us.
Although it has been shown that otitis media will have an impact on both of these
areas, the main focus of this section is the impact that OM will have on the childs
ability to hear. To help us understand the affect OM may have on our ability to hear,
we first need to be familiar with the structure of the ear and how it works.
Structure of the ear
The ear consists of three areas: outer ear; middle ear, and inner ear.
The middle ear is the area we are most interested in when looking at the cause and
effects of OM.
Outer ear
The outer ear consists of the pinna, the part you can easily see and feel, and the ear
canal. The pinna helps to gather the sound waves around us. These sound waves
travel down the ear canal where they strike the ear drum. The ear drum separates the
outer and middle ear.
Middle ear
When sound waves strike the ear drum they cause it to vibrate, which in turn causes
the three small bones in the middle ear to move. These three small bones are
collectively called the ossicles or easily known as the middle ear bones. The ossicles
consist of the: malleus (hammer); incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup).
The stirrup is connected to a tiny membrane on the inner ear called the oval window.
Inner ear
The oval window forms the entrance to the inner ear or cochlea. The cochlea is coiled
and filled with fluid. If we magnify a section of the cochlea, we can see that the inner
cochlea is lined with tiny hair cells.
How the parts of the ear work together
When the bones in the middle ear move due to sound waves striking the ear drum,
the stirrup pushes rhythmically on the oval window. When the oval window moves it
causes the inner ear fluid to move and the hair cells to move backwards and forwards.
The movement of fluid and hair cells can be likened to the wind in a field of long
grass, as the wind blows, the grass sways backwards and forwards. This movement
causes electrical impulses to be sent to the brain, which are then converted into the
sounds we hear. Anything which interferes with the journey of sound down the ear
canal, past the ear drum or through the middle ear, will result in conductive hearing
loss.
Role & function of the Eustachian tube

The Eustachian tube allows ventilation of fresh air into the middle ear and drainage of
fluids from the middle ear. If we have a cold or flu, have large adenoids or tonsils, or
are prone to allergies such as hay fever, the Eustachian tube may become inflamed,
swollen or blocked. This will reduce or stop the ventilation and drainage of the middle
ear. When this happens it could lead to one of the following three types of otitis
media: acute otitis; chronic otitis (sometime referred to as glue ear), or
chronic suppurative otitis (better known as runny ear).
FREQUENCY RANGE OF HEARING OF A NORMAL HUMAN EAR
Hearing range describes the range of frequencies that can be heard by humans or
other animals, though it can also refer to the range of levels. The human range is
commonly given as 20 to 20,000 Hz, though there is considerable variation between
individuals, especially at high frequencies, and a gradual loss of sensitivity to higher
frequencies with age is considered normal. Sensitivity also varies with frequency, as
shown by equal-loudness contours. Routine investigation for hearing loss usually
involves an audiogram which shows threshold levels relative to a normal.
Several animal species are able to hear frequencies well beyond the human hearing
range. Some dolphins and bats, for example, can hear frequencies up to 100 kHz.
Elephants can hear sounds at 14-16hz, while some whales can hear subsonic sounds
as low as 7hz (in water).
Bibliographic Entry

Result
Standardized
(w/surrounding text) Result

Cutnell, John D. and Kenneth W.

Johnson. Physics. 4th
ed. New York: Wiley, 1998: 466.

"Experiments have
shown that a healthy
young person hears all
20-20,000 Hz
sound frequencies from
approximately 20 to
20,000 hertz."

"Ear". Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. CDROM. 2000.

"The maximum range

of human hearing
includes sound
frequencies from
15-18,000 Hz
about 15 to about
18,000 waves, or
cycles, per second."

Acoustics. National Physical Laboratory

(NPL), 2003.
"Body, Human." The New Book of

"The general range of

hearing for young
people is 20 Hz to
20 kHz."

20-20,000 Hz

"The human ear can

15 or 16-

Knowledge. New
York: Grolier, 1967: 285.

hear vibrations ranging

from 15 or 16 a second 20,000 Hz
to 20,000 a second."

Caldarelli, David D. and Ruth S.

Campanella. Ear. World Book Online
Americas Edition. 26 May 2003.

"The full range of

human hearing
extends from 20 to
20,000 hertz."

20-20,000 Hz

The ear is an amazing body part because it enables humans and animals to hear what
goes on around them. Hearing is one of the five senses of the body. The ears help the
body to pick up sound waves and vibrations. Sound travels in waves through the air,
the ground, and various other substances. Sound cannot be seen, but it can be felt by
vibrations.
The number of vibrations that are produced per second is called frequency. Frequency
varies for each sound and is measured in hertz. One hertz is equal to one vibration
per second. A sound with a low frequency will have a low pitch, such as a human's
heartbeat. A sound with a high frequency will have a high pitch, such as a dog
whistle. Humans cannot hear sounds of every frequency. The range of hearing for a
healthy young person is 20 to 20,000 hertz. The hearing range of humans gets worse
with age. People lose the ability to hear sounds of high frequency as they get older.
The highest frequency that a normal middle-aged adult can hear is only 1214 kilohertz. Also, the hearing range for men worsens more quickly than the hearing
range for women. This means that women will have the ability to hear notes of higher
pitch than men of the same age do.
Christopher D'Ambrose -- 2003
Result
Standardized
Bibliographic Entry
(w/surrounding text) Result
"The human ear has
receptors that can
Sebastian Haskel and David Sygoda.Biology,
detect sound
A contemporary Approach. New York:
1620,000 Hz
frequencies raging from
Amsco, 1996.
16 vibrations to20,000
vibrations per second."
"The maximum range of
human hearing includes
Lerder, Francis C. "The Human Ear." Encarta sound frequencies from
1518,000 Hz
Encyclopedia Deluxe 2004. CD-ROM.
15 to about 18,000
waves,or cycles, per
second."
Peter Hamlin, St. Olaf College. Basic
Acoustics for Electronic Musicians. January
1999.

"The human ear can

hear frequencies
ranging from about 20
cps. to about 20,000

2020,000 Hz

cps (although an
individual might have a
considerably smaller
range)."
"The normal range of
hearing for a healthy
Harris, Wayne. Sound and Silence. Termpro. young person is 20 to
Originally appeared in the March/April 1989 20,000 Hz; hearing
2020,000 Hz
issue of Car Stereo Review magazine.
deteriorates with age
and with exposure to
unsafe volume levels."
"Hearing or audition is
the sense of sound
perception and results
from tiny hair fibres in
the inner ear detecting
the motion of
atmospheric particles
2020,000 Hz
Sense. Wikipedia. 2004.
within (at best) a range
and higher
of 20 to 20000 Hz.
Sound can also be
detected as vibration by
tactition. Lower and
higher frequencies than
can be heard are
detected this way only."
What is sound and frequency? Sound is a longitudinal mechanical wave of any
frequency. Frequency is the number of cycles, or complete vibration experienced at
each point per unit. Frequency is measured in hertz. The hertz, Hz, is the derived SI
unit of frequency. The frequency of a sound wave determines its tone and pitch. The
frequency range of a young person is about 20 to 20,000 hertz.
The human ear is capable of hearing many of the sounds produced in nature, but
certainly not all. Some low frequencies like a heart beat of 1 or 2 Hz can not be heard,
just like sonar sounds produced by dolphins which are too high. Any frequency that is
below the human range is known as infrasound. It is so low that it may be detected by
a creature with big ears, such as an Elephant. In fact, recent research indicates that
elephants also communicate with infrasound. Ultrasound, on the other hand, is above
the range of the human ear. Bats, whales, porpoises, and dolphins use ultrasound for
navigation. Most bats can detect frequencies as high as 100,000 Hz!
Q.2 DESCRIBE THE PARENTAL FEELINGS OF ISOLATION. DISCUSS THE
IMPACT OF THIS FEELING ON CHILDS PERSONALITY. SUGGEST SOME
MEASURES TO REDUCE THIS IMPACT. (20)
Answer:

A common problem amid the parents that are raising autistic children is social
isolation. Whether it be our friends leaving us after our childs diagnosis or us
personally isolating ourselves in order to simply cope with our childs disorder. Parents
are inclined to forget how important it is to be social, to interact with our peers. It
seems that our own needs and emotions are often put on the back burner in order to
accommodate our familys needs. It also becomes progressively harder to maintain a
friendship, even with those friends you thought would always be there.
The Friendship Effect
When your child is diagnosed with autism you lose friends. It is an extremely hard
reality to deny and an even harder situation to understand how you play a role in.
Some parents feel like their friends just left them, and in some cases perhaps they
did. However, in a large number of cases, a big part of it is that you grew apart. Face
it, your life is completely different now. You think about CBT appointments, ABA
therapy, meltdowns, stimming, paraprofessionals, PECS cards, and hoping you will
be blessed with more than 2 hours sleep. Your friends, generally, have no inkling of
what any of that means or what its like to be excited over sleeping 4 hours. You just
dont understand each others lives anymore.
As the days go by I bet you notice/noticed how much it gets under your skin when a
friend talks about how smart their child is, how easily things come to them. After a
while you tend to not want to be around the person. Or those moments when a friend
rudely asks what is wrong with your child. Whether they meant to come off offensive
or not doesnt lessen how it ultimately made you feel. Inevitably you are going to start
isolating yourself, especially in thefirst several years. Its hard to talk about your
childs disorder with friends/family because, more than likely, the simplest thought of
your childs autism brings you to tears. Given this how are you supposed to help a
friend understand? In turn your friends are going to start distancing themselves
because they do not get it. There are those cases where the friend is tremendously
ignorant and they distance themselves simply because they dont want to be around
your child or whatever other reason they may have. Try not to take it personally.
Ignorance is everywhere, you cant educate the whole wide world-all you can do as a
parent is try to help your little corner of it.
Parents also isolate themselves from their family, especially when their child is first
diagnosed. It is a well-known and talked about fact within the autism community that
family members sometimes say the meanest things, meaner than the general public
dare say. The things that just make you want to scream. Things that if said by a
stranger would no doubt lead to a stern educating.
The worst part is that much of the time they act as though they have no clue they are
being offensive. It becomes easier to stay away than to listen things such as, You
know if I was his parent hed sure be different than he is! Indubitably youll want to
retort, No, Aunt Sue, if you were his mother you would certainly be different.

However you wouldnt say this in most cases. This issue has become so common that
there is now a syndrome named for it. Its called Autism Isolation Syndrome.
Autism Isolation Syndrome
Autism Isolation Syndrome, in a nut shell, is the way a parent/family copes with the
stresses that are concomitant with raising an autistic child; whether emotional,
physical, financial, or social. In some instances the parent(s) isolate themselves from
situations and from people. The three defined constituents are:
Social isolation
Emotional isolation
Physical isolation
There are several emotions that contribute to isolation. These emotions can be
extraordinarily deep in the beginning. The emotions that are most often identified
with parental isolation are:

Guilt
Shame
Denial
Loss of self
Grief
Sadness
Exhaustion

According to an article by Rebecca Sperber, M.S., MFT there are 3 stages to Autism
Isolation Syndrome.
Stage 1: Isolation within your family
Stage 2: Physical Isolation
Stage 3: Social Isolation
Stage 1 deals with not communicating/venting your negative emotions with family
members. The truth of it is that it simply grows to be too arduous to allow yourself to
understand your emotions anymore.
The 2nd and 3rd Stages dig into topics such as losing yourself in your childs isolation
and consequently not allowing a lot of physical contact yourself. It becomes easier to
be numb. Also touching on the fact that our families are not like other families and
how that leads to fears associated with being in public with our child. As Ms. Sperber
put it, Isolation provides its own form of comfort, but not without profound loss.
In Closing

There is no magic bullet to cure the isolation we parents feel, just like there is no
magic bullet to cure our childrens autism. While not all of the isolation is directly
caused by us, some of it is. The first step in mending the problem is certainly
recognizing that you contribute to it. Reach out for support, meet other parents, and
surround yourself with people that get it. Its time to start healing the wounds that
began forming after your child was diagnosed.
THE IMPACT OF THIS FEELING ON CHILDS PERSONALITY AND MEASURES TO
REDUCE THIS.
What children of divorce most want and need is to maintain healthy and strong
relationships with both of their parents, and to be shielded from their parents'
conflicts. Some parents, however, in an effort to bolster their parental identity, create
an expectation that children choose sides. In more extreme situations, they foster the
childs rejection of the other parent. In the most extreme cases, children are
manipulated by one parent to hate the other, despite childrens innate desire
to love and be loved by both their parents.
Parental alienation involves the programming of a child by one parent to denigrate
the other targeted parent, in an effort to undermine and interfere with the child's
relationship with that parent, and is often a sign of a parents inability to separate
from the couple conflict and focus on the needs of the child. Such denigration results
in the childs emotional rejection of the targeted parent, and the loss of a capable and
loving parent from the life of the child. Psychiatrist Richard Gardner developed the
concept of "parental alienation syndrome" 20 years ago, defining it as, "a disorder
that arises primarily in the context of child custody disputes. Its primary manifestation
is the child's campaign of denigration against a parent, a campaign that has no
justification. It results from the combination of a programming (brainwashing) parent's
indoctrinations and the child's own contributions to the vilification of the target
parent." Childrens views of the targeted parent are almost exclusively negative, to
the point that the parent is demonized and seen as evil.
As Amy Baker writes, parental alienation involves a set of strategies, including badmouthing the other parent, limiting contact with that parent, erasing the other parent
from the life and mind of the child (forbidding discussion and pictures of the other
parent), forcing the child to reject the other parent, creating the impression that the
other parent is dangerous, forcing the child to choose between the parents by means
of threats of withdrawal of affection, and belittling and limiting contact with the
extended family of the targeted parent. In my own research on non-custodial parents
who have become disengaged from their childrens lives (Kruk, 2011), I found that
most lost contact involuntarily, many as a result of parental alienation. Constructive
alternatives to adversarial methods of reconnecting with their children were rarely
available to these alienated parents.

Parental alienation is more common than is often assumed: Fidler and Bala (2010)
report both an increasing incidence and increased judicial findings of parental
alienation; they report estimates of parental alienation in 11-15% of divorces
involving children; Bernet et al (2010) estimate that about 1% of children and
adolescents in North America experience parental alienation.
There is now scholarly consensus that severe alienation is abusive to children (Fidler
and Bala, 2010), and it is a largely overlooked form of child abuse (Bernet et al, 2010),
as child welfare and divorce practitioners are often unaware of or minimize its extent.
As reported by adult children of divorce, the tactics of alienating parents are
tantamount to extreme psychological maltreatment of children, including spurning,
terrorizing, isolating, corrupting or exploiting, and denying emotional responsiveness
(Baker, 2010). For the child, parental alienation is a serious mental condition, based
on a false belief that the alienated parent is a dangerous and unworthy parent. The
severe effects of parental alienation on children are well-documented; low self
esteem and self-hatred, lack of trust, depression, andsubstance abuse and other
forms of addiction are widespread, as children lose the capacity to give and accept
love from a parent. Self-hatred is particularly disturbing among affected children, as
children internalize the hatred targeted toward the alienated parent, are led to believe
that the alienated parent did not love or want them, and experience
severe guilt related to betraying the alienated parent. Their depression is rooted is
feelings of being unloved by one of their parents, and from separation from that
parent, while being denied the opportunity to mourn the loss of the parent, or to even
talk about the parent. Alienated children typically have conflicted or distant
relationships with the alienating parent also, and are at high risk of becoming
alienated from their own children; Baker reports that fully half of the respondents in
her study of adult children who had experienced alienation as children were alienated
from their own children.
Every child has a fundamental right and need for an unthreatened and loving
relationship with both parents, and to be denied that right by one parent, without
sufficient justification such as abuse or neglect, is in itself a form of child abuse. Since
it is the child who is being violated by a parent's alienating behaviors, it is the child
who is being alienated from the other parent. Children who have undergone forced
separation from one of their parents in the absence of abuse, including cases of
parental alienation, are highly subject to post-traumatic stress, and reunification
efforts in these cases should proceed carefully and with sensitivity (research has
shown that many alienated children can transform quickly from refusing or staunchly
resisting the rejected parent to being able to show and receive love from that parent,
followed by an equally swift shift back to the alienated position when back in the orbit
of the alienating parent; alienated children seem to have a secret wish for someone to
call their bluff, compelling them to reconnect with the parent they claim to hate).
While childrens stated wishes regarding parental contact in contested custody should
be considered, they should not be determinative, especially in suspected cases of
alienation.

Hatred is not an emotion that comes naturally to a child; it has to be taught. A parent
who would teach a child to hate or fear the other parent represents a grave and
persistent danger to the mental and emotional health of that child. Alienated children
are no less damaged than other child victims of extreme conflict, such as child
soldiers and other abducted children, who identify with their tormentors to avoid pain
and maintain a relationship with them, however abusive that relationship may be.
Q.3 EXPLAIN THE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT OF DEAF CHILDREN ON
ENTERING INTO THE SCHOOL. (20)
Answer:
What is the difference between speech and language?
Language is the words, structures, thoughts and concepts we have in our minds.
Speech is one way in which we communicate our language to other people. We can
also convey our language through sign language or through writing. It is critical to
recognise that any hearing loss a child has will impact on both language and speech
development, but language development is more important than speech
development. This is because almost all learning depends on language. The better
language a child has, the broader the range of their mental concepts and the more
they will be able to learn in school.
How do children acquire language?
Children are born with an inner capacity for language development. No-one really
knows how we learn language. Noam Chomsky studied language development in
children in the 1960's and he suggested that children have a Language Acquisition
Device, which he called LAD. Children use LAD when they take in vast quantities
language from birth, process it in their minds and then produce sentences which they
have not heard before. They experiment with grammar by applying the rules of the
language they are learning. In general, children have developed all the foundations of
their future language by the time they are five years of age. As children get older, the
LAD begins to close down. It is virtually not operating by about puberty. After puberty
a language cannot be as easily acquired.
What is needed for LAD to work?
For LAD to work properly children need:
People to talk or sign to them constantly so they see or hear words and sentences
again and again.
People around them to talk or sign conversations so they can see or hear what
others are saying or signing. People to interact with them in a meaningful way which
is frequent and consistent.
People to extend the child's language by questioning, commenting and modelling
new words and phrases.
People to use interactions that make sense to the child so they learn how to use
interactions themselves.
People to reinforce the child's attempts at using language
What are some of the barriers deaf children may face in learning language?

Deaf children cannot hear, or only hear parts of what people around them are saying.
Often the only input a deaf child can understand is when people talk or sign to them
directly, one-to-one. Deaf children cannot usually overhear conversations between
other people or listen to the radio or television so they also miss out on lots of
incidental learning. This will limit their background knowledge of different topics. The
input the deaf child receives will be much less than what a hearing child will receive
and which may lead to problems with communication and learning in school, e.g. they
may have heard a particular word only once or twice and only in one context, while
the hearing child may have heard it hundreds of times in many contexts.
What factors affect a deaf or hearing impaired child's learning of language?
Deaf children vary widely in their acquisition of language. Some of the factors include:
Age of onset of the hearing loss
Children who are deaf before language develops will experience much more difficulty
acquiring language than those whose hearing loss is acquired later. Even if a hearing
loss is acquired in early childhood, the effects on language development will be much
less than those who are deaf from birth or just after. The child losing hearing later has
had the chance to begin to understand about language and communication.
Degree of hearing loss
The greater the hearing loss, the more effect it usually has on language development
(unless the child is given quality language input before they are 6 months old).
The quality of the language input
The quality of input is very important for language development. The better the
quality (provided the child can hear and/or see it), the more consistent is the
information the child can absorb about language. This all results in a greater
opportunity for the child to develop good language skills.
Quantity of language input
The more communication the deaf child is engaged in or observes or listens to, the
more opportunity they will have for developing language skills. The deaf child needs
to engage with a variety of speakers or signers for a large part of each day for optimal
language development.
Parents' hearing status
Research has shown that deaf children of deaf parents perform better in school than
deaf children of hearing parents. Deaf parents know how to naturally communicate
with their deaf children and they often have a positive attitude towards their child's
hearing loss. Hearing parents need to create opportunities for effective
communication with their deaf children, whether it be through English or Auslan, to
make sure their children are similarly advantaged.
Early intervention
Research has shown that enrolment in an effective early intervention program is very
important for a child's language development, providing options, language models
and communication skills. Ideally, access to intervention by the age of six months
gives deaf children the best opportunities for learning.
Age of Diagnosis
Research is showing that children who are diagnosed before they are six months of
age perform better than children diagnosed later on all areas of language learning.

What happens if a deaf child does not acquire good language before they
enter school?
Many deaf children are still learning basic language skills when they arrive at school.
Hearing children arrive at school with a sophisticated language base and they use this
language as the springboard into literacy; they have an internalised language system
which is a foundation for the development of literacy skills. Deaf children are
therefore at a disadvantage because they have to deal with learning both language
and literacy at the same time, eg, the child may not have in their vocabulary many of
the words they are trying to read so they will find it very difficult to build an internal
picture of what they are reading.
What are some common language difficulties faced by deaf and hard of
hearing children?
Deaf children may have difficulties with:
Limited vocabulary
English grammar and syntax
Grammatical markers such as "-ed", "-ing", or "-er"
The paralinguistic markers of language, such as turn taking, control, asking for
clarification, eye contact, greetings. Deaf children may also misunderstand common
expressions, such as "you've got ants in your pants," idioms, such as "you let the cat
out of the bag" and they may understand only in a literal way, such expression as "he
fell on hard times" or "open your mind." Deaf children may also have difficulty in
requesting information, asking and answering questions, seeking clarification,
greetings and repairing breakdowns in conversations. When questioned about their
understanding, they will often say that they have understood, as this is easier than
admitting they did not understand.
Will deaf children catch up to hearing children in language?
Deaf children may eventually catch up to their hearing peers if they are given fully
accessible input, appropriate support and teaching. Other deaf children may always
experience difficulties with language and therefore also with reading and writing. This
is particularly the case for those who are diagnosed at a later age and those for whom
the quality and quantity of the language input has been poor. Some deaf children of
deaf parents are an exception. This has been attributed to these children's parents
having all the strategies and attitudes needed to successfully teach language to their
children. However, that is not always the case, and some of these children continue to
underachieve.
How well do I need to sign to communicate with a deaf child?
Even the use of key word signing can aid communication. However, if the deaf child
does not understand spoken language, key word signing may not be an effective
alternative. Children need rich and complex language input in order to develop in age
appropriate ways. They need to be exposed to more than just a simple learner's
language.
What are some strategies to use when talking or signing with deaf children?
Ensure the child is watching you before you speak. You can get their attention by
either touching them lightly or moving your hand or some other object within their
visual field, but not too close to them.

 Keep eye contact with the child when talking.

Hearing aids do not work well over a distance, so keep about one metre between
yourself and the child.
Don't eat, drink or smoke when talking and keep your hands away from your face.
Trim your moustache or beard so it is not covering your mouth.
Background noise can create difficulties for deaf children and for those with a
hearing loss in one ear. Also remember reverberation is a problem for hearing aid
users. Be aware of the difficulties of listening in rooms where there is nothing to
absorb the sound, such as in bathrooms or gyms.
Avoid shouting. Speak naturally and if the child does not understand, say the same
thing in a different way which may be easier to lipread.
Facial expressions and natural gestures will aid understanding, but don't exaggerate
expressions. When experiencing difficulties in communicating remember that
patience will be rewarded.
Communicating in the dark and when you stand in front of a window is difficult as
your face cannot be seen clearly.
If you use a new word or sign, be aware that the child may not understand and you
may need to provide additional explanations. Remember to continually expand your
childs vocabulary by using new words or signs.
Use open ended questions to make sure the child has understood, such as "how will
you get to the shop?" Many deaf children will nod their head regardless of whether or
not they have understood when they are asked if they understand.
Group conversations, such as at the family dinner table, are particularly hard for a
child with a hearing loss. Try and make sure only one person speaks at a time and cue
the deaf child into the changing topics of conversation.
How can families improve deaf childrens language skills?
By spending as much time as they can on talking or signing with the deaf child. Use
every opportunity they can to extend the deaf childs language; play with the child,
talk or sign with the child, read books with the child and work with the childs teacher
to develop strategies and games together.
By visiting new places and providing the child with experiences to talk about later
together. The child can draw pictures or write about what happened. Talk or sign
about what will happen before the event, when it happens, and then after the event,
talk or sign about it together, draw pictures and write stories.
Photos are a wonderful way to discuss events with the deaf child, and include photos
of specific people so that can names of these people, what they do, what they like or
dont like can be discussed.
The limit to activities which can be done with the deaf child is your imagination.
Q.4 BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF DEAF CHILDREN. WHAT
IS THE IMPORTANCE OF CURRICULAR NEEDS OF DEAF CHILDREN?
(20)
Answer:
THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF DEAF CHILDREN

Deaf education is the education of students with a variety of hearing levels which
addresses their differences and individual needs. This process involves individuallyplanned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible
settings and other interventions designed to help students achieve a higher level of
self-sufficiency and success in the school and community than they would achieve
with a typical classroom education. A number of countries focus on training teachers
to teach deaf students with a variety of approaches and have organizations to aid
deaf students.
Identifying deaf students
Children may be identified as candidates for deaf education from their audiogram or
medical history. Hearing loss is generally described as slight, mild, moderate, severe,
or profound, depending upon how well a person can hear the intensities of
frequencies.
Individual Needs
Deaf education programs must be customized to each student's needs, and deaf
educators provide a continuum of services to deaf students based on individual
needs. In the United States, Canada and the UK, education professionals use the
acronym IEP when referring to a students individualized education plan.
Methods
Schools use a number of approaches to provide deaf-educational services to identified
students. These may be grouped into four categories, according to whether (and how
much) the deaf student has contact with non-deaf students (using North American
terminology):

Inclusion: Deaf students spend all, or most, of the school day with non-deaf students.
Since inclusion requires considerable curriculum modification, it is considered best
practice only for mildly-to-moderately deaf students. Specialized services may be
provided inside or outside the regular classroom, and students may leave the regular
classroom to attend smaller, intensive instructional sessions in a resource room or to
receive other services requiring specialized equipment or which might be disruptive to
the rest of the class (such as speech and language therapy).
Mainstreaming refers to the education of deaf students in classes with non-deaf
students for specified time periods, based on the deaf students' skills; deaf students
learn in separate classes for the remainder of the school day.
Segregation (in a separate classroom or school): In this model, deaf students spend
no time in non-deaf classes or with non-deaf students. Segregated students may
attend a school where non-deaf classes are provided, but spend their time in a
separate classroom for students with special needs. If their special-needs class is in a
mainstream school, they may have opportunities for social integration (for example,

eating meals with non-deaf students); alternatively, deaf students may attend
a special school.
Exclusion: A student unable to receive instruction in any school is excluded from
school. Most deaf students have historically been excluded from school, and exclusion
may still occur where there is no legal mandate for special-education services (such
as developing countries). It may also occur when a student is in hospital or
housebound. Excluded students may receive individual or group instruction, and
students who have been suspended or expelled are not considered "excluded" in this
sense.
Bilingual-bicultural education
In this method deafness is seen as a cultural, not a medical, issue. In a bilingualbicultural program deaf children are recommended to learn American Sign
Language (ASL) as a first language, followed by written (or spoken) English as a
second language. Bilingual-bicultural programs consider English and ASL equal
languages, helping children develop age-appropriate fluency in both. The bilingualbicultural approach believes that since deaf children learn visually, rather than by ear,
classes should be conducted in a visual language. American Sign Language and
spoken English are not used simultaneously, to avoid harming the accuracy and
fluency of both languages; instead, ASL is usually used. Many bilingual-bicultural
schools have dormitories; students may either commute to school or stay in a
dormitory as part of a residential program, visiting their families on weekends,
holidays and school vacations.
Auditory-oral and auditory-verbal education
The auditory-oral and auditory-verbal methods, known collectively as listening and
spoken language, are forms of oral education. These methods are based on the belief
that a deaf child can learn to listen and speak so that their family does not need to
learn sign language or cued speech. These methods, presented as communication
options, rely on parental involvement. Children using this option may be placed in a
continuum of educational placement, including oral schools (such as the Clarke
Schools for Hearing and Speech), classrooms for deaf students in public schools or
mainstream classrooms with hearing students.
Mainstreaming and inclusion
Using this educational method, a deaf child attends public school in regular classes for
at least part of the school day. Students may receive accommodation, such
as itinerant teachers, interpreters, assistive technology, note-takers and aides. The
benefits of inclusion include daily interaction with hearing students and the
opportunity to live at home; drawbacks include isolation and limited support.
The curriculum for hearing impaired children is similar to that for ordinary children in
that it aims to provide the children with a general education in preparation for further
studies, future employment and adult life. The curriculum content for the mainstream

education should therefore be appropriate for hearing impaired children as long as

adaptations are made where required. In addition to most of the subjects offered in
ordinary schools, special emphasis is put on Speech and Language, Chinese
Language, English Language and Music. These subjects are considered to be
particularly important to hearing impaired children in that they help to improve their
communication competence required in everyday life. These subjects have therefore
been selected and will be discussed in this chapter. Possible adaptations to the
curriculum materials and related teaching approaches will also be suggested.
4.1 Speech and Language
As natural acquisition of communication skills is hampered by hearing impairment to
varying degrees, it is necessary for the school to provide additional programmes to
facilitate the development of language and fluent speech in the children.
Since hearing impaired children suffer from different degrees of hearing impairment
and their speech and language abilities are different,
individual Speech and Language sessions, tailored to meet their different learning
needs, are necessary. It is best to arrange short, frequent sessions for the children to
meet the same teacher or speech therapist. The teaching session should best be
conducted in a quiet environment (preferably a sound-proof room). Group Speech and
Language sessions are also recommended as they help to generate interactions
between the children and the teacher and among the children themselves.
It is important for the teacher and the speech therapist designing and conducting
these sessions to be competent in Speech and Language teaching and to have a
sound knowledge of children's language development in their early childhood.
4.1.1 Learning Areas
Speech and Language includes such learning areas as
auditory learning,
speech teaching,
speech reading,
language learning and
social skills in communication.
These various learning areas are elaborated as follows:
(1) Auditory Learning
Auditory learning is a process in which hearing impaired children develop their
residual hearing through guided listening practice. The teacher needs to give the
children auditory exercises which involve the use of environmental sounds, music and
speech. Auditory learning requires a clear presentation of a systematically arranged,
progressive sequence of activities. These activities will ensure that, through the

following stimuli employed, the children will acquire the skills of detection,
identification, discrimination and comprehension:
(a) Basic skills required in detection include:
Auditory awareness -- the awareness of the presence and absence of sounds
Auditory attention -- the ability to attend to sounds
Localization -- the awareness of the direction of sounds
Auditory memory -- the ability to recall a sequence of sounds heard, e.g. a rhythmic
pattern made by a musical instrument or by the human voice
(b) Basic skills required in identification, discrimination and comprehension include:
Identification of the sources of sounds -- e.g. a drum, a rattle, a telephone, animal
noise, the human voice (male and female) and other environmental noise.
Differentiation of the following
qualities of sounds -- duration (long and short sounds), intensity (loud and soft
sounds), and pitch (high and low sounds).
Imitation of sounds -- the ability to repeat a sound heard, e.g. by beating a rhythmic
pattern on a drum or by saying a phoneme, a syllable, a word, a phrase or a sentence
heard.
Response to sounds -- the ability to react appropriately to different sounds, especially
to the spoken language, by carrying out a command, answering a question or retelling a short story heard.
Speech Teaching
(a Speech teaching is closely linked to auditory learning. If the natural learning
)
approach fails, a more structured one should be used. A cumulative, sequential
programme is recommended. The teacher should help the children learn speech
first in the auditory mode. The visual mode or even the tactile mode, if required,
can also be enlisted. But, whatever mode is used, he should still emphasize the
importance of the auditory mode.
(b At a phonetic level, the teacher needs to ensure that the children can produce
) speech with appropriate suprasegmental elements (duration, intensity and pitch)
and the phonemes (vowels, diphthongs, consonants and blendsv ).
(c At a phonological level, attention has to be given to morphology, semantics and
) syntax. The transfer of skills from the phonetic to the phonological level requires
careful planning on the part of the teacher. Besides, the teacher needs to ensure
that the children are given sufficient motivation, practice and reinforcement.
Speech Reading
Speech reading should be learnt as a supplement to listening. It should not be
regarded as a separate skill. To prepare the children for real-life situations, speech

reading and listening skills should be practised both in the presence and absence of
background noise.
Language Learning
It is important for hearing impaired children to be given sufficient opportunities for
meaningful verbal interactions both in real life and in contrived situations. In
developing daily conversational skills in the children, the teacher can consider the
following suggestions:
(a) using questions to develop answering skills
(b) using open-ended questions to develop narrative skills
(c) using action phrases or pictures to develop sequencing skills
(d) using pictures or activities to develop descriptive skills
(e) using activities to develop questioning skills
(5) Social Skills in Communication
Some of the social skills are: initiating a conversation, maintaining eye contact with
the speaker, taking turns, asking for an explanation when necessary, ending a
conversation, etc. These social skills can be developed in contrived situations.
4.1.2 Record-Keeping and Assessment
Records of the children's personal information should be kept. The information should
include their medical history, causes and onset of deafness, previous speech and
language learning and attainment, hearing age (the age when a child first uses a
hearing aid), hearing aid usage, etc.
Based on the information, a programme can be designed in progressive stages to
ensure the transfer of learnt communication and
problem-solving skills from the classroom to everyday life situations.
Evaluation of Speech and Language programmes may take many forms. Periodic
assessment, formal or informal, may be used to detect the children's levels of
attainment and provide a basis for designing remedial programmes in Speech and
Language learning.
4.2 Chinese Language
As a complement to Speech and Language learning to improve the children's
communication competence, Chinese Language is an area to be emphasized. The

teaching of this subject includes Text Teaching, Composition, Dictation and Reading.
Apart from the guidelines laid down in the CDC Syllabus for Chinese, which the
teacher is advised to familiarize himself with, the following are some suggestions on
possible adaptations to the curriculum materials and teaching approaches specially
relevant to the learning difficulties and needs of hearing impaired children.
4.2.1 Text Teaching
The learning materials selected should mainly be those written in a vernacular style
and those, in which the content is related to the everyday life experiences, interests
and practical needs of the children. Materials on practical writing should also be
included. Due to their language deficit, some children may progress at a slower pace
than ordinary children. The teacher therefore need not be too concerned about
covering every single chapter in the textbook. In fact, sometimes instead of the whole
chapter, selected paragraphs can be taught.
Comprehension

1. Attention should be given to comprehension of the text as a whole before

detailed study of individual paragraphs should be made.
2. The teacher should avoid adopting the one-way communication mode in
teaching. He should encourage discussions in the class. The children will then
have more opportunities to listen, to think and to express themselves so that
they can better understand the text.
3. The teacher should encourage the children to express themselves in phrases or
complete sentences as appropriate and help them master some of thebasic
grammar of the language.
4. During the lesson, the teacher needs to write on the blackboard, whenever
necessary, to help the children with their difficulties in speech reading and
comprehension.
Reading Aloud
Reading by the teacher for demonstration and then reading aloud by the whole class,
small groups or individual children for practice are good for language learning. The
teacher may need to correct the children's speech at the appropriate moment.
However, he has to make sure that this is not over-emphasized, otherwise this will
undermine the children's confidence.
(3) Phrase Explanation and Sentence Construction
(1) It is advisable to teach those phrases which are generally used in the children's
everyday life instead of teaching all of them in depth, otherwise too much time
will be spent on one chapter and the general progress will be affected.
(2) As the children's receptive ability of language may affect their power of
comprehension, the teacher should illustrate a word or a phrase with examples
drawn from the children's everyday life. He may start with the simpler
expressions so that the children can learn and understand them with less
difficulty. Abstract concepts should be explained with the help of concrete

(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)

examples.
In teaching pronouns, kinship terms and ways to address people, role play is an
effective approach.
Constant revision of sentence patterns will help to reinforce language learning,
which is particularly required for hearing impaired children.
Exercises in sentence construction are also of particular importance to these
children. They indicate to the teacher whether or not the children can use a word
or a phrase correctly.
At the initial stage, in order to encourage the children to write, the teacher can
use sample sentences to guide them in writing correct sentences.
Reading aloud and recitation of good sentences are useful for learning sentences
and expressions.

4.2.2 Composition
(1
)
(2
)

The teacher needs to discuss with the children and help them organize their
thoughts before they set about writing.
The teacher should watch out for the children's common errors, some of which
are:
wrong word sequence, omission of words, confusion of the subject with the
object, etc.
(3 Hearing impaired children may have difficulties in abstract thinking. At an early
) stage, they should be asked to write on subjects related to their everyday life in
simple forms such as diary, dialogue journal and various kinds of practical
writing.
4.2.3 Dictation
Dictation is also important to hearing impaired children. It provides practice in
listening, comprehension and speech, which can be achieved through oral activities.
The teacher needs to choose a suitable passage for dictation according to the
language abilities of the children. The format of dictation includes oral dictation and
recitative dictation. In oral dictation, the teacher should make sure that the children
do not memorize the passage beforehand. He should read at a natural pace so that
the children can be aware of the natural flow of the language.
4.2.4 Reading
Reading is again of particular importance to hearing impaired children. It helps to
enrich their receptive language. Therefore good reading habits need to be developed
in the children. However, the following has to be noted:
(1) The teacher needs to find out the children's language abilities and make sure
that the materials selected are suitable for them.
(2) The content of the reading materials selected should best be related to the

children's life experiences and interests.

(3) The children should be encouraged to discuss with each other the books they
have read and share with them the pleasures of reading. Story-telling and
reporting are examples of effective and interesting approaches.
4.3 English Language
Like their peers in ordinary schools, hearing impaired children may need to use
English in their daily life and later in their working life. If these children are to receive
higher education, a good English foundation is essential. The subject of English
Language therefore plays an important part in the curriculum for hearing impaired
children. Along with the guidelines laid down in the CDC Syllabus for English, which
the teacher of English Language needs to be familiar with, the following suggestions
are particularly relevant to the learning needs of hearing impaired children.
4.3.1 Approach
(1
)
(2
)
(3
)

It is more important for the children to want to communicate and know how to
do it effectively than for them to master the language system.
When a language item is practised, the emphasis of the exercise should be
language in use and the practice should be interesting to the children.
Using Chinese is undesirable as the translation process is complicated and adds
to the learning burden.

4.3.2 Skills Focus

(1 As foundation to the basic skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, the
) children must be taught the skills of pronunciation and using
text-types. Even for hearing impaired children, reading aloud is a very useful
way to reinforce knowledge of word and sentence formation, spelling, mastery
of text-types and expression of ideas and feelings.
(2 Extra efforts are necessary to help hearing impaired children to understand and
) appreciate the
sound patterns of the English language (including phonics, linkage, rising and
falling tones, intonation to express mood, etc.) even if they may not develop
the oral abilities to speak them. Such training should start as soon as possible.
(3 Since hearing impaired children's opportunities for language exposure and
) experience through listening may be limited by their physical constraint, they
should be given increased training and practice in reading. The teacher should
use graded reading materials of a broad nature, preferably with pictorial
support, and encourage them to read these materials, both aloud and in
silence.
(4 To enable hearing impaired children to continue their development in language,
) some basic language development skills must be taught as early as possible.
These include phonics skills, dictionary skills, reading skills, note-taking skills,
library skills and enquiry skills.

4.3.3 Teaching Strategies

The choice of textbooks and supplementary materials should be made according to
the abilities of the children. The content of these materials should be related to the
children's interests and experiences.
The introduction of language items must be monitored with care:
(1 there must not be too many items at a time since overloading can cause
)
apprehension and confusion;
there should be clear gradation so that the children can move comfortably
(2
from the easy to the difficult, the simple to the complex, and the basic to
)
extended use;
(3
all vocabulary items should be related to the children's daily life;
)
(4 all language items should be used in immediate situations when they are
)
taught, such as tasks and projects;
(5 an appropriate amount of drilling is often necessary for hearing impaired
)
children, though this is not encouraged in ordinary schools.
Dictation should primarily be seen as a form of exercise to give the children practice
in spelling, and, with flexible use of the dictation format, also practice in the correct
use of grammatical features and sentence structures. It provides training to improve
the children's auditory comprehension and reading skills. And when it is used for
various text-types, it also provides an effective means of introducing the features of
each text-type.
Extensive reading is important to the cognitive aspect of language development. It
does not require listening skills and enables the children to develop their individual
knowledge and language frameworks through meaningful experiences. The children
should be encouraged to read abundantly for the acquisition of both information and
pleasure. The teacher can help them to achieve this by providing them with a broad
range of reading materials, including picture books, and a self-evaluation record card
for simple reading projects.
Group work is always effective when the children are given interesting tasks in which
they can take different roles and use group effort to produce something that an
individual cannot. A good number and variety of tasks that enable each child to take
turns to play the different roles helps the children to form meaningful language
concepts and acquire skills for effective communication. To enable hearing impaired
children to complete group work, signs and symbols, worksheets, forms and
questionnaires, role cards and game boards can be used.

4.4 Music
Music has assumed increasing importance to hearing impaired children over the years
for its use to improve their communication competence. This subject is therefore
discussed in the Guide. Through audition or
vibration, hearing impaired children can perceive music. They can be trained to listen
to various sound sources with their residual hearing. Music helps to develop aural
awareness in hearing impaired children. In connection with other subjects in the
curriculum, it also helps to improve their language skills, particularly verbal
communication skills.
4.4.1 Suggested Musical Activities
1. Auditory Learning
Through learning musical elements such as rhythm, pitch, metre, melodic
direction, register, etc. and identifying environmental sounds like those of the
weather, animals, machines, the traffic, etc., particularly the human voice, the
children can develop their sensitivity to sounds; keep in touch with the environment
and differentiate the nature, qualities and directions of sounds.
2. Singing
Singing should be a major activity in a music lesson. Singing helps the children to
develop breath control, intonation and a sense of rhythm.
3. Dance and Movement
Dance and movement can be taught with the help of songs or music. Dance helps the
children to establish a good self-image, express their feelings, co-ordinate their
movements, and interact with others non-verbally.
4. Music Appreciation
Music appreciation can arouse the children's awareness of music and their interest in
it. This can be conducted in music lessons, assemblies and during lunch time.
5. Instrument Playing
Percussion, keyboard, string and wind instruments can be used, according to the
degree of hearing loss and the ability of individual children.
6. Music Games and Mimes
Children understand music through enjoyable experiences in games and mimes.
These games can be played in singing, movement, listening, or instrument playing.
Drama, action songs and activities related to everyday life can be included.

Q.5 WHY IS PRE-SCHOOL COUNSELING IMPORTANT FOR DEAF CHILDREN?

EXPLAIN WITH
EXAMPLES.
(20)
Answer:
All children need full access to all communication in their homes, community, and
special settings. For young children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), this need
is magnified by the Swiss cheese effect that emanates from their hearing loss. That
is, without careful planning, children at best hear/see bits and pieces of words and
phrases; at worst, they hear/see very little that is meaningful to them. As a result of
these inconsistencies, their receptive and expressive language may be full of holes,
like Swiss cheese. Since young childrens language skills are not fully developed, they
are unable to fill in words and other information that are not heard/seen, missed or
are left out. Thus, targeted and purposeful intervention is required to provide
experiences that build language and a knowledge foundation.
Language access includes two critical elements; first, developing the language skills
to understand and process everything going on around the child, and second, having
full access to all communication in these various environments, again so that there
can be full participation in learning and conversation in the same way as their hearing
peers.
Every effort must be made to avoid any gap between a childs age and their language
and other developmental levels. The expectation for children who have had early
identification and appropriate early intervention services is for normal or near-normal
language and cognitive development. This developmental trajectory must continue at
the same rate as typical hearing children to avoid gaps that leave children behind.
These gaps start an adverse cycle that impacts comprehension, attention, general
knowledge, behavior and ultimately academic performance. When transitioning from
early intervention programs that are parent/family focused to preschool settings that
are child focused, there are several considerations for parents and the preschool
professionals to discuss when developing the IEP. Some of these are:
Child Readiness what type of an environment is the child ready to benefit from?
o First, make sure that a thorough assessment has been completed so that current
skills, strengths and weaknesses, are clear. This should minimally include:
an in-depth language assessment looking at all aspects of language and speech
development
a cognitive assessment
for children who utilize their hearing, an auditory assessment (hearing and listening
skills in quiet and in noise)
a social-behavioral assessment to address attention, confidence, and social skills
o If language skills and cognitive development are normal or near normal they should
be ready for a typical preschool setting so long as the supports are in place that will
assure their skills are supported so that their growth trajectory continues.
o If language skills are delayed, they still need access to the language of their typical
peers. However, they will need more direct instruction from a deaf educator with early

childhood expertise who can assure targeted experiences to build skills that are
behind.
If at all possible, placement in a preschool program that serves children with a variety
of disabilities (often referred to as non-categorical) should be avoided. Children who
are deaf and hard of hearing have the same learning potential as their typical hearing
peers and therefore need to be in stimulating environments that will foster their
development and readily promote communication with typical peers (who may be
hearing or DHH using oral and/or or sign).
Environment Readiness is the preschool environment being considered for
placement ready and able to support a preschooler who is deaf or hard of hearing?
What should you look for?
The physical environment communication access can be compromised by poor
classroom acoustics, inadequate lighting, teachers who have difficulty projecting their
voices, children with little voices, and other classroom noise sources such as fish
tanks, pencil sharpeners, overhead projectors, and ventilations systems.
Communication accommodations Whether children listen, talk or sign, they need full
access to everything going on around them. What provisions are in place to assure full
access?
For preschool children using sign language, a sign language interpreter in the
traditional role of sign-interpreting what the teacher or speaker is saying is generally
not appropriate. Children at this age learn and communicate best directly. Look for a
deaf education teacher who is proficient in sign language or a sign language
interpreter who understands how to deliver and mediate language under the direction
of the classroom teacher. These professionals may also be called language facilitators.
For children who communicate primarily through listening and speaking, make sure
the teacher understands the importance of communication proximity, facing the child,
and repetition when necessary. Generally preschool teachers are pros at language
experience and enrichment. Just be sure the DHH child is able to fully participate. A
language facilitator may be necessary for children with significant language delays
who need extra modeling and practice to develop those skills.
Hearing assistance technology (HAT) can be critical for DHH children to hear the
teacher, other speakers, and especially the little voices of their peers. Appropriate
HAT options should be explored with the educational audiologist who must also fit the
recommended device. Training for the classroom staff and support to monitor that it is
functioning appropriate is critical.
General learning and instructional style
The teacher should be a good language model, communicate expressively, and use
multiple strategies, especially visual ones, to deliver ideas as well as for children to
demonstrate what they learned
The teacher and school should be flexible and willing to work with children and their
families to provide and advocate for what is needed to assure kids receive what they
need to meet their individual goals
Frequent and consistent monitoring of performance to assure that the learning
trajectory illustrates one for one growth (e.g., one months growth in one month, one
years growth in one year)

o
o

High performance expectations from everyone- parents, teachers, and service

providers, that these children can achieve the same as their peers without hearing
loss.
Is my child eligible for specialized services at school?
Children with a hearing disability may be eligible for special education support, but
hearing loss alone is not a qualifying conditionthe child must also need specialized
instruction.
If a DHH child is identified early and has benefitted from effective early intervention,
there may be no adverse effect of hearing loss that would qualify for special
education support at school. Parents should become knowledgeable about their
childs unique needs and what it takes to meet them, and whether or not special
education services are appropriate. Understanding special education as well as
parental rights, applicable laws and regulations related to a DHH childs education is
essential.
What is the accountability system in the school? Who is the special education
director? What is the chain of command? What is the role of the school
administrator? Who has day to day responsibility for the services? What is their level
of knowledge and experience with DHH students?
Administrators should demonstrate that they are committed to supporting families
and their children and be willing to advocate for their access needs and specialized
services.
How is the performance of DHH children assessed, monitored and adjusted?
In addition to pre-academic and academic areas, schools should consider nonacademic areas such as speech, listening, social, and self-advocacy skills. Progress
should be monitored frequently (that may mean weekly for many skills) and service
adjustments made when progress expectations are not met. Parents should be kept
informed of all progress monitoring results and any service adjustments that are
made. Practices used in school should be based on research evidenced-based
practices or consensus best practices for DHH children and youth.
In addition to individual student data, group performance data for DHH students
should be analyzed, and monitored within the school, school district, or
cooperative/regional program including performance on state and district-wide
assessments.
How are parents included in the preschool program?
There should be opportunities for training, specifically designed to help address the
childs goals under parent counseling and training as well as trainings that teachers
and other staff attend. Many preschools also offer a home component with the
teacher making periodic home visits.
Parent groups, specifically for parents of DHH children, are another important avenue
for families to share their experiences, learn from one another, and plan special
activities for their children and families.
What are the options for services and programming? How are educational placement
decisions made? How are communication considerations under special education
law/the IDEA discussed and incorporated into the students Individual Education Plan
(IEP)? What related services are available (e.g., audiology, counseling,

interpreting/captioning, parent, training and counseling, speech-language)? What

specialized instruction is available (e.g., self-advocacy training, listening skill training,
deaf culture, transition preparation)?
o There should be a continuum of services and placement options that are discussed for
each child. Placement decisions should never be made on what is available. The IEP
team may need to be creative to design the right program for your child.
o Pre-academic performance should be one of the primary factors to determine
placement and services. However, non-academic factors are also important. Other
considerations include access to other DHH peers, opportunities for participation in
extra-curricular activities, and the need for specialized instruction and support
services.