Tips for your teachers for HOH/Deaf Children

• Give deaf/hoh child seat in front or near front. This one is just common sense because the deaf/hoh student needs to be able to see the teacher and blackboard (or whiteboard) clearly.
• Be careful about turning your back, because then the deaf/hoh child can not read your lips. Face a deaf/hoh student when talking to them directly.
• Talk directly to the child, not to the interpreter . It is important to do this so that the child feels like he/she is part of the class.
• To reduce the risk of a deaf/hoh child being bullied, encourage the child or child's parents to explain deafness/hearing loss to the class.
• Always write tests, quizzes, and homework assignments on the board.
• If you have a mustache and the deaf/hoh child reads lips, consider shaving it off or reducing it to a small enough size that does not hinder lipreading.
• If the class is watching a film, either make sure the film is captioned or provide the child with a copy of the script.
• Do not treat a deaf/hoh child any differently from the hearing children. That means no special treatment.
• Request the assistance of an itinerant teachers or resource teacher. They may have more suggestions and be able to provide assistance.
• If a website used in the classroom has only audio, make notes for the deaf/hoh student (suggested by a deaf college student).
• Provide an older deaf/hoh student with note takers, either peer or professional.
• Be aware of the importance of classroom acoustics, as it has an impact on how much the deaf/hoh student is able to hear.

Helpful Information on how to keep your hearing

HOW TO KEEP YOUR HEARING Did you know that… Deafness is America’s number one birth defect and leading disability? The June 6 issue of Newsweek featured a cover story on hearing loss citing startling statistics: More than 28 million Americans of all ages have some degree of hearing loss, from mild to severe, and the number is expected to soar in the coming years – reaching an astounding 78 million by 2030. Hearing loss is increasingly recognized as a public-health issue. Although the chronic din of ordinary life is higher than ever, reducing excessive noise can improve your health and quality of life, no matter your age. The Children’s Hearing Institute offers the following tips for preserving the hearing of you, your kids and your parents Protecting your hearing should be part of your lifestyle: If you suspect your child may be experiencing a developmental delay, consult a physician for a hearing screening. Hearing loss can occur at any age. The average age of diagnosis of hearing loss is close to age 3. Keep volume on iPods, televisions, stereos and radios at a reasonable level. Wear earplugs at noisy work sites and while operating power tools. Keep your distance from speakers at concerts, festivals and sporting events. Stay clear of July 4 firecrackers and skyrockets. If you have problems hearing, consult a physician to determine if you need a hearing aid or cochlear implant to prevent further hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss is growing among baby boomers. Of the more than 75 million Americans born between 1945 and 1964, 20.4% or 16 million suffer some degree of hearing loss. Age-related hearing loss affects 1 in 3 Americans over 65. Nearly 1 in every 2 Americans over 75 and 4 out of 5 over the age of 85 impairing communication & social skills. For further information on how to protect your hearing, visit “Wise Ears,” a public awareness campaign organized by The National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders, The National Institutes of Health: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/wiseears.asp

Tips for choosing a preschool for your child!

Find one close to home.

Preschools that have serviced children with hearing loss in the past may be most beneficial.

Enthusiasm about having a child with hearing loss and a willingness to collaborate with a team of professionals and parents are positive characteristics.

Make sure classrooms have good acoustics. Noise and reverberation are evident in many preschools.

Bring an educator from Early Intervention or the hearing aid/cochlear implant center when visiting different preschools. This can be helpful in making an informed decision as to which program is the best match for your child.

Alphabet in sign Language!

Finally

So finally after sooo much work with my daughter trying to gett her to wear her implant she finally was wearing it. I never was so glad to see that thing on her head instead of her whipping it across the floor to even hiding it. She actually liked it now and wanted it on she wask asking for it and even fell asleep with it on. So now it was time to talk about how we could get her interacted with other children so we could speed up her language and have her signing less. So her therapists had talked about FullDayFullyear preschool So I looked into it and it was a great program So I enrolled her but we had to do a school IEP these things can get quite annoying. I haven't yet gotten into a big disagreement in doing them but that may come eventually. So after all this she was off to preschool 5 days a week all year long for 8 hours a day

What is auditory Verbal therapy?

The goal of the Auditory-Verbal practice is that children with hearing impairment can grow up in a regular learning and living environment that enables them to become independent, participating, and contributing citizens in mainstream society (Auditory-Verbal International, Inc., 1991). Auditory-Verbal therapy teaches parents how to create an auditory learning environment for their child to develop spoken language through listening during everyday natural and meaningful communication.
Auditory-Verbal Therapy is designed for the parents to participate in the child’s education. Therapy is diagnostic, with each session being an ongoing evaluation of the child’s and parent’s progress. The children learn to use their amplified hearing or their cochlear implant to listen to their own voices, the voices of others, and the sounds of their environment in order to understand spoken language. There is no set curricula per se, rather, Auditory-Verbal Therapy encourages and follows natural language and speech development. The parents and therapist encourage the child to integrate hearing, language and spontaneous speech into the child’s personality (Pollack, 1985; Estabrooks & Samson, 1992; Estabrooks, 2001). While certain language curricula might be employed, these materials are designed for children with normal hearing abilities.
The Auditory-Verbal Approach differs from the auditory-oral approach and traditional aural habilitation in that families who choose the AV approach follow a set of guiding principles to enable their child who is deaf to learn to listen and process spoken language (see principles below). Although families who participate in oral education programs or auditory-oral programs may utilize strategies and techniques of the AV approach in their practice, an Auditory-Verbal intervention program embraces all the guiding principles. The salient differences may be that traditional aural habilitation programs and auditory-oral programs may rely on therapists and teachers as models and children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing may receive instruction or therapy in groups. There are no “Auditory-Verbal” schools, in that the purpose of integration is to educate the child in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) with the highest expectations, and the mainstream classroom serves as the LRE for children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing.
Doreen Pollack, one of the original founders of the Auditory-Verbal approach, stated that the goal of the approach is that children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing are integrated into their community, and a typical living and learning environment is retained. She believed that everyone in this environment must believe that the child can hear, expect the child to respond appropriately, and show him or her how to communicate through spoken interactions. When an all-day listening atmosphere is created for the child, surrounded by meaningful contexts of daily activities, with children who have normal hearing and language abilities, communication becomes relevant.

Informative and fun website!

I have posted a link to where you can find information on hearing loss and play games so check it out!!!