Not Just for Teachers    

           

An Open Letter to Teachers of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

There is a very significant advantage that happens when a deaf or hard of hearing child is present in a normal everyday environment.  There are patterns of interaction, both formal and informal, that the child observes and to which he/she is expected to conform.

To derive full benefit from being present in this type of setting requires a willingness on the part of the school and extracurricular staff to help the child integrate by reaching out to the child him/herself.  Support and patience are crucial to the social development of these children.  They are greatly concerned with their own value and have a continuous need to understand themselves and how others perceive them.

Communicating in a group is often difficult for a deaf or hard of hearing person. Not only must they make a conscious effort to revise the information they wish to contribute, but they continuously strain to hear, visually track and interpret the information being expressed.

Understanding the additional stress of trying to keep track of what is going on by utilizing every sensory avenue available to compensate for insufficient hearing is an exhausting task.  If the child is being nurtured, it makes the continuous function of accommodation more acceptable.  Support during these experiences encourages deaf and hard of hearing children to pursue gratifying interpersonal relationships rather that seeking isolation and loneliness.  You can, and do, make a difference!

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM 

            Keep in close communication with qualified specialists on the student's team, especially the itinerant teacher for the deaf/hard of hearing. The student may not yet have developed skills to advocate for himself/herself in a general education setting.       

MORE CLASSROOM TIPS FOR WORKING WITH DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING STUDENTS
 

Every child is an individual with his/her own strengths and limitations. This means it’s important to not have a preconceived notion of a D/HH child’s ability to function based on the degree of his/her hearing loss. Regardless of the type or severity of the hearing loss, a teacher can greatly improve a D/HH child’s ability to function in the classroom by making minor changes in his/her teaching style.
This section is devoted to providing insights as well as discussing strategies for managing the classroom for mainstreamed students who have a hearing loss. Not every consideration highlighted below will apply to all D/HH students.

Fostering a Positive Mainstream Experience

Many D/HH children perceive themselves as different because they wear hearing aids, cochlear implants and/or an FM system and may have difficulty communicating with others. Ultimately this impacts their self-esteem. Listed below are ways the teacher can address this issue and help foster a supportive classroom environment:
* Reinforce positive coping strategies (e.g. how to respond to teasing on the playground, what to say to an individual when they ask why the child wears hearing aids, etc.).
• Promote self-advocacy and activities that foster inclusion. A mainstreamed pupil may need more formal instruction on how to interact socially with his/her normally hearing peers.
• Support daily use of personal hearing aids, cochlear implants and other assistive listening devices prescribed for the student.
• Help the pupil understand his/her own hearing loss and provide an opportunity for the student to share information with the class about hearing loss, and how his/her hearing aids, cochlear implant and/or FM system works.
• Provide opportunities to meet other D/HH students on a regular basis (pen pals, internet, family field trips).
• Make sure to review safety and emergency procedures directly with the D/HH student. In the event of a fire or emergency situation, check all restrooms since many D/HH children may not be able to hear the alarms.
The D/HH itinerant teacher can provide additional information or assist the mainstream teacher with many of these activities.
Mainstreaming the Student who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing - Preferential Seating

Both noise and lighting impact a D/HH student’s ability to hear and receive information visually. Please consider the following when assigning student seating:
• Seat the student with his/her back towards the light source (typically a window or open door) since it is difficult to speechread or see other visual clues when looking into the light.
• If a child has a “better” ear seat him/her with his/her better ear towards the teacher.
• During group activities, encourage the student to watch the faces of the other children when they speak. Semi-circle seating is especially helpful to a D/HH student.
• Try not to seat D/HH students near air conditioners, heaters, open doors or windows, computers, overhead projectors, or near other high noise areas of the room.
• Seat the student near the front of the classroom with good visual access to the teacher. Sitting off to one side also allows greater access to the majority of students in the room during class discussions.
• Seat the child near a peer “buddy” to assist in keeping the student on track. By watching his/her buddy, the D/HH student will also gain clues to missed information.
 

Classroom Tips for Working with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students - Improving Communication

Many D/HH students rely on speechreading to obtain information from a speaker’s facial expressions to supplement their auditory input. Here are some ideas for a number of common-sense accommodations the teacher can do to improve both auditory and visual communication:

• Speak naturally at normal volume. Exaggeration and over emphasis of speech will hinder the student’s ability to speechread and auditorily process language.
• Get the attention of the student before addressing him/her (call the child’s name or tap his/her shoulder).
• Make sure the speaker’s face is visible to the student, trim large mustaches, avoid covering the mouth or chewing on pencils, etc.
• Do not talk while walking around the room or turn towards the white board while giving instructions.(An overhead projector can be effective teaching tool if the fan noise doesn’t overwhelm the D/HH student).
• Since D/HH students have difficulty following conversations that move around the room, identify who is speaking and repeat peer comments during class discussions.
• Repeat any announcements given over the PA system.
• Restate rather than simply repeat information when the student is having difficulty understanding after one repetition.
• On the white board, write instructions and information such as new vocabulary words, assignments, announcements, simple outlines for the lesson, and key words or phrases as the lesson progresses.
• Check for understanding. Ask the student questions that require him/her to repeat content rather than respond with yes or no answers.
• Provide the student with a written copy of the daily bulletin.
• When homework is corrected within the classroom, give the student the answer sheet to correct his/her work.
• When doing a Read Aloud activity, have the student read first, or have them read the passage silently.
• During video tape presentations, try to use a captioned version (the itinerant teacher may have a catalog . . . ask in advance!). If one is not available, give the student a script of the video or assign an alternate activity.
• Reduce visual distractions by reducing excessive artwork, limiting the number of mobiles hanging from the ceiling and removing general clutter. However, providing additional visual support
such as pictures, charts, diagrams, and objects, to reinforce concepts being taught is helpful.
• Transitioning into new content is difficult for D/HH students. Using phrases such as, “Does anyone have any more questions?,” “To summarize what’s been discussed . . . ,” and “Let’s move on” will help the student follow changes in activities.

 Mainstreaming the Student who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing - Vocabulary, Word Comprehension & Reading
Deaf and hard-of-hearing students have limited exposure to a given word and as a result they tend to have literal or inflexible understanding of a word’s meaning. Use some of these strategies to help D/HH students increase their reading comprehension and stay on par with their hearing peers:

• Explain the meaning of new words introduced in class.
• Provide them with opportunities to read a variety of materials on the subject and encourage them to check out similar-subject information from the library.
• Send home books the student has read in class so parents can review them with their child.
• Role play and act out the story.
• Conduct hands-on activities involving objects depicted in the story.
• Engage students in a discussion about vocabulary and concepts contained in a story prior to the reading experience (the itinerant teacher can assist with this).
• Teach them cognitive or language strategies that will help them understand the text (prediction, compare and contrast, recall, sequencing, inferencing, etc.).
• Create an outline of the major points of the story with the class.

How to Have a Winning Year Teaching the Student Who Is Deaf or Hard of Hearing

To the Teacher:
This was written for teachers who have a student with hearing loss in the classroom. The information presented here is based on the premise that in order for a student with a hearing loss to have a successful mainstream experience, all aspects of school life must be considered, and the whole school must be involved. To make mainstreaming work, you will need extra support and training as well as time to work with support staff. Most critically, you should be prepared to partner closely with the student’s parents.

About Your Student:
When you hear the word “deaf”, you may immediately think of someone who uses sign language; however, the student we are talking about in this brochure is one who communicates mainly by speaking, speechreading, and using his/her residual hearing through the use of technology—either hearing aids or a cochlear implant.

Getting a Head Start
Preparation is the key to a smoothly running year. If you have not had a child with hearing loss in your classroom before, it is vital for the school system to provide you with in-service training on the implications of hearing loss and the special needs your student may have as a result. This in-service training must be done before school begins. If your school has not had a mainstreamed student before, the staff should be put in contact with other schools that have students with hearing loss in order to learn from their experiences. A teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing can help you modify class materials and assist in planning lessons.

Creating the Right Atmosphere
Creating an atmosphere conducive to mainstreaming is crucial. Classroom teachers, parents, and itinerant staff such as speech-language pathologists, educational psychologists and resource teachers must work together to create a practical system of classroom organization and management. Ideas to consider in the classroom include:
· Developing a lesson on hearing loss to educate and prepare students
· Establishing a “secret signal” with your student to use when he/she does not understand something you’ve said

Your Student
Before your student starts school, try to meet and work with him/her a few times in order to identify social and academic strengths and weaknesses. This will also give you an opportunity to get comfortable with one another. Through involvement with key professionals you should already be aware of the student’s degree of hearing loss and its implication and effect on his/her language, speech and general academic ability.

A wide variety of support services should be offered to the student, including but not limited to: a teacher of the hearing impaired, an oral interpreter, captioning, tutoring, speech therapy, and/or notetakers. Decisions about services will have taken place in your student’s IEP discussion and should have been clearly communicated to you.
The entire staff—including gym/music teachers, bus drivers and cafeteria workers—should be well informed of the needs of the student even though they may interact with him/her only on a limited basis. It is vital that the staff promote an atmosphere of encouragement, acceptance and respect in which all students can thrive!

Hearing Technology
Hearing Aids The student with hearing loss usually wears two hearing aids that fit behind the ear (BTE). Hearing aids are tiny devices that amplify sound for the wearer. In these aids, the microphone, amplifier, and receiver are contained in a small case and are connected to an earmold that fits in the ear canal. Hearing aids do not correct a hearing loss but, rather, make sounds louder. They work best in quiet settings within close range of the speaker. The efficiency of hearing aids deteriorates rapidly once you are more than three feet from the hearing aid user and/or in a noisy environment. The student should always have spare hearing aid batteries with him/her but it would also be advisable to ask the parents or audiologist for a supply yourself.

Cochlear Implants  A student with a severe-to-profound hearing loss may wear an implanted electronic device called a cochlear implant, instead of hearing aids. A cochlear implant electronically sorts out useful sounds and transforms them into electrical impulses. Then, these electrical impulses are delivered directly to the nerve that conducts them to the brain. Increasingly, cochlear implants are used to give people with severe to profound hearing loss access to enough sound to comprehend speech without speechreading. Once again, the student should always have a spare battery for his/her cochlear implant speech processor but it would also be advisable to ask the parents or audiologist for a supply yourself.

Assistive Listening Devices Technologies that work in conjunction with a student’s hearing aids or cochlear implant and that help him/her hear better in the classroom are called assistive listening devices. Two of the more popular ALDs are listed below. 

Personal FM Systems Personal FMs work on radio waves and deliver speech directly from a microphone worn by the teacher to the student’s ears. This eliminates background noise, and provides the clearest and most consistent pattern of the teacher’s voice. The FM microphone should always be placed next to the sound source (e.g., other students or a TV) when the teacher is not talking. For ease of management, you should have a second microphone for this purpose.
Soundfield FM Systems A soundfield FM system is essentially a classroom public address system in which speech is picked up via an FM wireless microphone located near the teacher’s mouth. This signal is amplified and conveyed to the classroom via one or more strategically placed speakers. A benefit of soundfield systems is that the entire class benefits from greater clarity of sound and reduced background noise. The drawback, for the child with hearing loss, is that the sound is not as clear or as loud as it would be with a personal FM. If you will be using assistive technology in the classroom, be sure you understand how it works and its purpose vis-a-vis your student. Try it out yourself so you can experience the benefit it provides. Finally, make sure that technical support is available for the student’s FM system.  Breakdowns do occur, and audiological support is essential.

The Classroom Environment
Your student’s hearing aids (or cochlear implant) amplify all sounds, including background noise. Therefore, noises such as heating and ventilation clicks and whirs, moving furniture, chairs scraping against tile, shuffling feet and noise “bleed” from busy roads outside should be eliminated as much as possible. Minimizing noise in the classroom can be accomplished by making relatively minor acoustical modifications, such as:

  • Putting pads on chair, table and desk legs to reduce noise

  • Installing carpeting in the classroom

  • Installing double-paned windows

  • Installing the highest-rated acoustical ceiling tile

  • Ensuring that heating/ventilation systems are operating properly

Additionally, good lighting is essential for speechreading. Stand where light is good but not too strong. Natural light is best.

The student should be seated near the front and side of the classroom so that he/she can easily see you, but also see the other students. A semi-circle works well if the class is small. If the class is mostly lecture, the student needs to be close to the place where you are located. If there is a lot of group discussion, the student should be seated in the middle.

Work hard to avoid speaking while you’re writing on the blackboard. Students with hearing loss can’t read your lips with your back turned!

Difficult Situations for the Student with a Hearing Impairment
The following situations provide a challenge to the student who is hearing impaired:

  • Listening to Instructions—It is easy for a student with hearing loss to misinterpret instructions given orally. Writing out instructions on the blackboard will prevent misunderstandings. It would also be a good idea to outline the day’s work on the blackboard. When students have to look at materials like maps and books and simultaneously listen to what you are saying, they miss some of the learning points from both. Appoint three or four peers to act as “buddies” to take turns assisting the student and sharing class notes.

  • Dictation and Spelling Tests—The student with hearing loss cannot speechread and write at the same time. You can read the words slowly and give words in sentences to provide some context for the word being tested.

  • Reading Lessons—If lessons are read aloud, it is hard for the student to locate the reader and follow the text. A solution is to ask a “buddy” to identify the reader and point to the text passage for the student with hearing loss.

  • Lessons Using Television or Slide Projectors—It is impossible to speechread in a darkened room and when noise from machines masks your voice. Instead, select a captioned educational video from the many available to supplement your lesson. Contact AG Bell to learn of sources for captioned educational videos.

  • Lessons Using Tape Recorders with Language Lessons—Provide a transcript of the tape or, better yet, try to present the material some other way.

  • Introducing New Topics—Difficulty in following your lecture and classroom conversation may be eased by writing technical terms or new vocabulary on the board.

  • Standardized Examinations—Standardized testing in large halls typically results in instructions and “time remaining” announcements being made by public address system. This makes following directions very difficult for a student with hearing loss. Notify the exam boards ahead of time that a candidate who is hearing impaired will be taking the exam so the proctors can accommodate him/her.

Utilizing the information presented here will result in an educational environment that welcomes successful mainstreaming. If you make the classroom accessible to a student with hearing loss, you will not only provide this child with a more enriching education but—by fostering an atmosphere of openness, acceptance and sensitivity to others—you will be creating a better place for all children to learn.

You may have a student in your class that has loss of hearing in one ear. This is called a unilateral loss. For information regarding students with a unilateral loss "click here."

For information about audiograms and how to interpret audiograms click here.

For a list of possible accommodations that a deaf or hard of hearing student may need included on his IEP click here.

For a list of verbs and phrases that may help you to prepare positive, descriptive statements for an IEP (Individualized Education Program) click "here".

For a short synopsis of the history of deaf education click here.

Sites for Teachers

American Sign Language Browser
...using Quicktime movies, this site presents hundreds of ASL signs

 

Handspeak: A Sign Language Dictionary Online
...a sign language dictionary which includes animated clips to illustrate words
 

TEACHERS:    If you plan to teach about the ear and how we hear to your students, I've included some ideas and information that you can use.    To jump to the lesson, click here.      

 

COMMON QUESTIONS  for Teachers Who Work With Students Who Have Notetaking Services    

Q: What does a notetaker do?

A: The notetaker attends classes daily, takes notes from lectures, class discussions and videos. The notetaker distributes one copy of the notes to the student, one to the Teacher of the Deaf and one to the teacher. A copy is also kept on file.

Q: Why does the student need a notetaker?

A: The Committee on Special Education (CSE) has determined the need for this service when developing the student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Deaf/hard of hearing students need to watch an interpreter or concentrate on reading lips, making it difficult to look down and take notes. Other students, depending on their disability, may also need to have a notetaker.

Q: Why does the student need a professional notetaker instead of getting notes from other students?

A: A professional notetaker takes more thorough and precise notes at a level suitable for the student's abilities. Notetaker notes are more comprehensive and supplement academic material. Notetakers take notes on classroom discussions and asides which are not always included in student notes.

Q: Do I have to change the configuration of my classroom to accommodate a notetaker?

A: Notetakers can take notes sitting at a desk or a table. The notetaker will not sit next to the student, except under special circumstances.

Q: Why does the notetaker need handouts and textbooks?

A: Being able to refer to handouts and text books greatly facilitates the notetaking procedure. The notetaker also gives copies of the handouts to the Teacher of the Deaf  to use in his/her work with the student.

Q: What does the notetaker do if the student is absent?

A: The notetaker continues to attend classes and take notes. This keeps the notes comprehensive for the student as well as the Teacher of the Deaf . It is left up to the classroom teacher and Teacher of the Deaf  how the student will obtain notes upon returning from an absence.

Q: What does a notetaker do during down time, when there are no notes?

A: The notetaker edits notes, makes copies, organizes folders, reads assignments, prepares for the next class and/or helps the teachers when appropriate.

Q: What can I do with my copy of the notes?

A: You may give your copy of the notes to other students who have been absent or late transfers into your class. You can use your copy of the notes to verify that a particular homework assignment was given and also as a guide for you to know where you left off in a particular class. You can check the notes to make sure the student is getting all the information that is needed.

Q: What type of relationship do the notetaker and the student have?

A: The notetaker has a professional rapport with the student. The notetaker is a support service professional responsible for providing the best notes possible for the education of the student. The notetaker shares information about the student with discretion, respecting confidentiality.

Q: What type of relationship with the notetaker is expected of me?

A: The notetaker will work as closely with you as you feel appropriate or necessary and will work as part of a team for the benefit of the student.

COMMON QUESTIONS for Teachers Who Work With Students Who Have Interpreting Services

Q: Do I have to change my teaching methods now that I have a student in my class who is deaf/hard of hearing?

A: Not much. Students who are deaf or hard of hearing have access to the same information as the hearing students; through the interpreter, their notes if they have a notetaker, and their meetings with the Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf. It is helpful for the student to have things presented visually whenever possible (i.e.: overhead transparencies, maps, diagrams, etc... )

For those students who benefit from lipreading, it is helpful when you face the class while talking. Some students do choose to use their residual hearing (whatever hearing they do have) as well as use the interpreter. These students will be looking back and forth between you and the interpreter.

The student may wear an FM amplification system which allows him/her to hear you more clearly in a classroom situation. This would require you to wear a small unit with a microphone.

Be aware that there is often lag time between the time you ask a question and the time the student receives it, causing his/her response to be delayed. When asking a question of the whole class, it would be helpful to wait a few seconds before you call on anyone to give the student a chance to "receive" the entire question from the interpreter.

Q: Do I have to change the configuration of the classroom in any way?

A: The interpreter will want to be sure that there is a clear line of sight between the interpreter and the student and that he/she will be able to see the interpreter and you at the same time.

Q: Will I be the sole educator of this student? Who will help me with this student?
A: Some students have a Teacher of the Deaf or resource room teacher with whom they meet periodically, depending on what has been requested for that student on the IEP (Individualized Education Program). These people can assist you with teaching strategies, testing modifications, etc.

Q: Does the student who is deaf or hard of hearing need to be treated in any special way?

A: Most students prefer not to be singled out or treated differently than the other students, but would appreciate being "one of the gang."

Discipline the student just as you would any other student. The interpreter does not discipline, however will be willing, as always, to interpret what you have to say.

Showing preferential treatment to the student who is deaf or hard of hearing causes hard feelings on the part of the other students.

Q: Do the other students in the classroom need to know anything special about the student who is deaf or hard of hearing?

A: Feel free to introduce the interpreter and student to the class since the other students will wonder what they are doing there. Feel free to discuss anything else the class might be curious about, such as an FM system and don't hesitate to ask the interpreter for input.

It is always helpful when people make efforts to understand each other. It would be beneficial to offer sign language classes, short lessons about deafness, or hang wall charts with the fingerspelling alphabet. These can be enriching for any program.

The public library has materials about deaf heritage, famous deaf adults, and sign language as well.

Q: When I meet with the student individually, what is the best way for me to communicate?

A: The interpreter's presence should by no means prevent you from communicating directly with the student just as you would any student. Make eye contact with the student, not the interpreter. If the student is missing information, he/she will glance to the interpreter as a back up.

There is no need to ask the interpreter to "tell her/tell him" when you are talking to the student.

Q: When lecturing or speaking directly with the student, should I speak more slowly or exaggerate my mouth movements?

A: No. When mouth movements are exaggerated they appear distorted, which actually makes it more difficult to understand.

Interpreters are trained to interpret for a variety of naturally paced speaking styles. If clarification is needed or information has been missed, the interpreter may ask you to repeat something. Your understanding of this is appreciated.

Q: Do I need to learn sign language?

A: No, that is why you have an interpreter. If you have a desire to learn sign, however, there are many opportunities for learning. Feel free to ask your interpreter about this.

Many interpreters teach sign language classes, both to the students in the classroom as well as to staff who have expressed an interest in learning. Some schools have sign "clubs" where the entire school is invited to participate in learning.

Q: Is there etiquette when using an interpreter that I should know about?

A: Yes!

As in the hearing culture, it is impolite to tell secrets. The equivalent of this in the deaf culture, is for an interpreter to choose not to sign in front of a person who is deaf or hard of hearing.

An example of this would be a hearing person speaking to a person who knows sign language (when a person who is deaf or hard of hearing is present) and saying: "Don't sign this, but... "It puts the person who knows sign language in an awkward position where they are asked to do something culturally inappropriate.

Q: What is the interpreter's role in the classroom?

A: The interpreter is there to facilitate communication between the student and his/her teacher, and between the student and his/her classmates.

The interpreter will sign everything that is spoken, as well as extraneous sounds and voices, to give the student access to the same information that the other students in the classroom receive from hearing.

If the student does not speak clearly enough to be understood, the interpreter will say what the student is signing.

The interpreter is not there to make judgments about what takes place in the classroom, but is there to relay information in an impartial manner.

Q: What kind of relationship with the interpreter is expected of me?

A: He/she will work as closely with you as you feel appropriate or necessary and is willing to work as a team for the benefit of the student.

Q: What kind of relationship do the interpreter and the student have?

A: Of course these relationships are very individualistic, but always professional and for the purpose of giving the student the best education possible.

The interpreter, as does any professional in the school, shares information about the student with discretion, respecting confidentiality.

Q: Does the interpreter need me to do anything special?

A: The interpreter will need a copy of the textbooks and all handouts. Being prepared to interpret is important. You can help the interpreter prepare by offering him/her materials such as movies and videotapes ahead of time whenever possible. It is also helpful when you can give advance notice of field trips, guest speakers, presenters, or other special events.

Any time you are able to access videotapes or TV shows with closed captioning you will need a closed caption decoder. Closed captioning allows the student to watch the screen and "see" the audio at the same time instead of having to glance back and forth between the screen and the interpreter. The interpreter or Teacher of the Deaf can help you with this.

It is often difficult to hear responses from students in the class. It would be less difficult to interpret if you would encourage the class to respond loudly and clearly.

Many interpreters like to sit down while interpreting. A comfortable chair would be helpful. Unfortunately upper extremity disorders are common in the profession.

The interpreter may move around the room at times depending on how you are teaching your lesson.

Please be sure to include a note about the interpreter in your substitute information.

Support Aids for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

School is primarily an auditory environment and, in a regular school, students are expected to spend the majority of their time listening in order to learn. The primary purpose of educational supports is to provide a student who is deaf or hard of hearing with access to this steady flow of auditory information. In addition, because access to auditory information may have been compromised throughout this student's life, supports are also meant to help fill in the gaps in background knowledge and language-based understanding, allowing the student the best chance of keeping up with his/her hearing peers.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was developed in part to address the needs of a student with hearing loss. Knowledge of specific mandates within the ADA, particularly regarding the right to equal access to information in the classroom, provides an important resource for parents in advocating for support services on behalf of their child. The following is an explanation of some of these support services:

FM Systems: Personal hearing aids and cochlear implants are most helpful in one-to-one communication situations, or in a group setting with ideal communication conditions. But there are three factors, which can limit their effectiveness in larger group situations or when communication conditions are less than ideal.

  1. Distance - The further away a speaker is from the listener, the weaker the signal will be, and the less effective the hearing device will be.

  2. Background Noise - Classrooms tend to be noisy places. When the background noise is as strong or stronger than the speaker's voice, it is much more difficult to understand what is being said.

  3. Reverberation - All sounds reverberate (or bounce off) surfaces within a room. If a classroom has hard walls and ceiling, no carpeting, and limited sound-absorbing materials on the walls, reverberation can create significant interference. Hearing aids will make all sound louder, not just the sounds that are important. Reverberation can mix with, and sometimes overpower, the sounds of speech, making it much more difficult to understand and follow what is being said.

An FM system may be recommended to resolve any or all of these conditions. The FM consists of a teacher microphone and transmitter, and a student receiver. It runs on either rechargeable or disposable batteries. Wearing the microphone about six inches away from the mouth, the speaker's voice is transmitted by one specific FM radio frequency to the student's receiver. The receiver works in conjunction with the hearing aid or cochlear implant to amplify the sound of the speaker's voice. No matter how far away the speaker stands, the signal arriving at the student's ears will be as strong as if the speaker were six inches away. And because the microphone is designed and positioned to pick up the speaker's voice, the voice will be a stronger signal than the background noise and reverberation.

A note of caution: The FM System, like personal hearing aids, should only be used under the care and management of an educational audiologist. A school should never assign an FM System to a student without its being adjusted to that particular student's hearing loss first. Nor should anyone but an audiologist make adjustments to the settings. Using an FM system without this preliminary, professional adjustment, could further damage the student's hearing.

The Soundfield System is an alternative FM System, which eliminates the need for the student to wear an FM receiver. This is most effective for hearing aid users with more useful residual hearing or for students with a cochlear implant. Permanent loudspeakers are strategically positioned around the classroom so that the person wearing the microphone will be better heard by everyone. While this makes the speaker's voice louder and solves the issue of distance, it does not effectively reduce the background noise and reverberation still present in the room. For an older student who moves from classroom to classroom, a small, portable speaker system is available that can be placed on the student's desk.

Oral Transliterating / Oral Interpreting

Assemblies, group discussions, videos, or inexpressive speakers can be particularly challenging for a student with hearing loss. For students who depend more on speechreading than on using their auditory potential, or for listening situations that may be particularly challenging, Oral Transliterating can be an effective support.

An Oral Transliterator is a person trained to convey verbally presented information between people who can hear and those who cannot. Supplemented by facial expression and natural gestures, but using no voice, the transliterator enunciates, repeats and/or rephrases a speaker's words so that the person with hearing loss receives the information as clearly as possible through speechreading. The transliterator usually sits between the speaker and the person who is speechreading so that the speechreader's focus can move back and forth between them easily. In cases where his/her speech is difficult for inexperienced listeners to understand or when communication has broken down, the student may request that the transliterator speak for him/her.

A transliterator is expected to adhere to a professional code of ethics, developed to ensure that the person with hearing loss will function as independently as possible; and that confidentiality will be honored for all persons in the communicative situation. There are training programs and workshops for preparing oral transliterators offered around the country.

Note-Taking

A note-taker is a person who writes down the important information that is presented during a class for the student with hearing loss to use later in studying. This allows the student to devote full attention to processing and participating in the class without having to interrupt the access to information by writing things down. A note-taker can be either an adult or a peer. In either case, the note-taker needs a clear understanding of expectations, with occasional reviews of his/her work by the teacher to be sure the notes are adequate and appropriate. Because the relationship between the student and note-taker is based on a service, the choice of note-taker should not necessarily be based on friendship. Rather the note-taker should be selected based on note-taking skills, legibility, organization, and willingness to provide this service. It is worth noting that students at the top of the class may not be the best choice for note-taking, as they may not write many notes, or their notes may be particularly cryptic. Having more than one note-taker identified allows the responsibility to be shared, and offers an alternative if one of the note-takers is absent or unable to take the notes.

Special note-taking paper is available from the Itinerant Teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students assigned to your school.

Tutoring

Hearing loss inhibits a student's access to information both formally - in the classroom, and informally - through hearing what is being conveyed all the time, all around. Thus, at any age, a student with hearing loss is apt to come to class with a less extensive background of information in any given subject, regardless of his level of intelligence. Because this student's language development is apt to be delayed, then understanding any new concepts will take more time. Processing new information may take extra time and careful instruction, making progress slower. There may be times when background information, reading comprehension, grammar, and/or vocabulary will need to be addressed.

When given an assignment to complete independently, hearing students usually have an assumed, age-appropriate understanding of the topic, and some idea of how to begin, how to proceed, and how to organize the process. This may not be the case for a student with hearing loss. Without the background and understanding of the topic, he/she may not even know how to begin. Being unable to begin independently becomes an obstacle that can lead not only to problems in time management, but can easily lead to serious frustration and discouragement.

Communication is a critical factor. The student and the person assisting him need to understand one another. Ideally then, they should have a period of time without distractions, without interruptions, and with time to ensure that the communication of ideas, questions and responses is clear and successful. This is not the kind of assistance that a classroom teacher can easily provide during, or even outside of, class on a consistent basis.

Neither is resource room tutoring the best answer, since typically a resource room teacher needs to divide her time simultaneously among several different students who may have very different needs and demands. If a student with hearing loss has to compete with others for the teacher's assistance, the result will invariably and unavoidably be inadequate.

A tutor needs to be a knowledgeable person, who can give a period of concentrated attention to the student on a consistent, daily basis. This means the student can begin to synthesize what he learns in class with what is reinforced in the tutorial, in order to acquire a basic understanding and maintain his standing in the mainstream class. If one considers the nature and extent of this language-based disability; the extent to which language is the basis for all learning; and the extent to which school is an auditory environment; then one-to-one tutoring for a student with a significant hearing loss should be considered fundamental to a successful mainstreaming program.

Captioning

Captioning is a system that allows a speaker's words to be displayed in the form of typed words on a TV set or a computer screen. There are a number of different uses for captioning today.

Closed Captioning: Today the law requires that television and film producers arrange to have captions electronically embedded in many programs prior to their being seen on television. TV sets manufactured after July 1993 have a decoding chip built into them so that the embedded captions can be displayed on the screen as the closed-captioned program or video proceeds. This means that a student with hearing loss, depending on his/her reading skills, can now have access to the same information available to hearing peers during a video presentation. Parents are encouraged to request, through the student's IEP, that only captioned media will be used throughout the student's educational career. As with other supports, captioning can also be helpful to people without hearing loss, such as students who are learning to read, students from other countries who are learning English, and students who have reading problems.

Real-Time Captioning: Often referred to as CART (computer assisted real-time transcription) or R.T.C. (real-time captioning), many live programs on television, testimony in court rooms, and a growing number of live lectures are now making use of this captioning system. With real-time captioning, a stenographer, or court reporter, with special training, sits in the classroom and records everything that is being said. Simultaneously, the student is able to view what is being said on a laptop computer screen or television monitor. Real-time captioning in the classroom is still new and quite expensive because it requires a specially trained court reporter and technical equipment. Where it has been used, students have reported positive results.

Remote Real-Time Captioning: A variation of CART requires the student's computer to be hooked into a modem and telephone line that accesses a stenographer at another location. The speaker uses a special wireless microphone that transmits the voice to a receiver, and then through the modem and telephone line to the stenographer. The stenographer listens and records the information, which is then transmitted back to the student's computer screen almost instantly. This is a less expensive alternative to having the real-time captioner in the classroom, but requires any classroom being used to have a telephone jack capable of transmitting information through the special modem.

Voice to Text: The latest technology is a system whereby a computer program translates a speaker's voice directly into captions. The systems currently on the market, however, are not yet sufficiently robust to function successfully in the typical classroom. Their day will undoubtedly come. In the meantime, however, oral transliterating and real-time captioning are the best options for providing moment-to-moment information. Despite the costs to school systems, parents should be encouraged to request oral transliterating and/or real-time captioning in their child's IEP, particularly for middle and secondary students. The specific choice of service should be weighed carefully depending on the needs and interests of the particular student, because some students prefer one system over the other.

Conclusion

One or more support aids are usually required when a student is mainstreaming, and it is important to understand that none of the aids we have discussed duplicates the benefit of the others. For example, a student who needs to speechread in order to get the speaker's message also needs someone to take notes because it is almost impossible to do both of these things at the same time. Having said this, it is also important to understand that an individual student may not require all of the aids on this list. The IEP Team, including the student and parents, must first determine what support aids the student needs to succeed in the educational setting and then include these specifically in the IEP .

        

 Reading Comprehension: Process and Strategies

One of the primary missions of any educational institution is to produce graduates who are literate. The ability to derive meaning from print is central to the definition of literacy. Many people assume that, by the time students enter college, they have reading skills adequate to the task of learning course material through textbook reading.

Educated people take the ability to read for granted; it is something they learned early in life in a natural way, similar to the way they learned their native language. At some point, early in life, the symbols printed on the page made sense. They figured out the code and have used it ever since as a tool for communication, education, and pleasure. When material becomes difficult, skilled readers employ a variety of strategies so "second-nature" that they are not even aware of them.

But some people are not so fortunate. For some college students, the printed word presents all manner of obstacles: grammatical, lexical (vocabulary-related), and knowledge-related. Textbook sentences are long and complex, chock full of idioms, unfamiliar terms, and excess verbiage. Furthermore, the information may be absent from the student's knowledge and experience base. These students may dive into the reading assignment with every good intention of "doing the homework," but quickly get bogged down. They struggle to decode the meaning of each word, yet fail to grasp the overall flow of ideas. Reading, for them, is a frustrating and overwhelming effort with little payoff. These students are at risk in reading situations because "they command a limited repertoire of strategies. Often they aren't sure what strategies are important in particular reading tasks or how or when to use the strategies they do possess" (Vacca & Vacca, 1996).

For the student with limited English language proficiency, limited English vocabulary, and lack of strategy awareness, the printed page may pose overwhelming obstacles. What can a content-area teacher do to enhance the reading skills of students so that they realize more gain from their reading efforts? When teachers understand the process nature of reading and have strategies available for use at each stage, the assignment of reading can be a more rewarding activity. When students are able to engage with text in an active and focused way, their time spent will reap benefits of greater content learning and enhanced literacy.

For the content-area teacher, the learning of course concepts is, of course, the priority. Class time is a precious commodity, and in an academic term there is seldom enough time to present, in depth, everything that is required for mastery of a topic. So instructors assign textbook reading as a means of augmenting classroom instruction. A textbook offers in-depth explanation of terms and concepts related to the field of study. By reading a textbook, students can build their knowledge base outside of class, so that the class time can be used for clarification and application of the read material. However, if the students cannot derive meaning from their reading efforts, what is the benefit? Is there some way to bridge the gulf between a student's reading ability and the challenge of a college textbook?

This module does not presume to be a panacea for all the woes faced by poor readers in college classes. The goal of this module is to offer some insight into the process of reading, and some suggestions of strategies which, when employed, may optimize a student's active engagement with the reading task.

CONTENTS OF THIS MODULE

• An overview of the reading process
• A description of the tasks of each stage in the reading process
• Instructional strategies which can provide support at each stage

POSSIBLE POSITIVE OUTCOMES      

• Students may understand more of the material, so the quality of their classroom participation will improve.
• Students may feel more confident about their ability to read and so will feel more motivated.
• Teachers will have the benefit of better informed and more motivated students.
• More class time can be spent on elaborating the knowledge base, rather than building it.

Please click here, Stages and Strategies, to continue reading about the process of reading and suggested strategies.

      

 READING AND WRITING IN CONTENT AREAS                                

For a variety of reasons, many teachers of deaf students shy away from requiring reading and writing assignments in content area courses. We need to provide our students with as many opportunities as possible for interaction with reading materials and also opportunities for using writing as a tool for learning and analyzing information.

Reading and writing activities not only help build literacy skills; they can also be used as a means for exploring ideas in content areas, analyzing information learned in content areas, and organizing this information for later retrieval.

This module contains suggestions for before-reading, during-reading, and after-reading activities, as well as vocabulary building and other general activities. Specific techniques discussed in this module include:

   Please click here for an explanation of the techniques for Reading and Writing in Content Areas.