This page has links to resources for those interested in attending “Understanding the scope of needs of deaf and hard of hearing children” presentation at UMASS-Amherst April 17, 2019, 4-6 pm, at 102 Furcolo Hall. You will get more out of the lecture by reviewing these resources beforehand (please review in the order they are found below).
The needs of children with hearing loss are vast and nuanced. The biggest takeaways:
- Current academic/educational terminology for this group is “deaf and hard of hearing” (DHH). ‘Hearing-impaired’ is no longer used as a descriptor in deaf education (although people with hearing loss, as any person with a disability, may refer to themselves any way they want).
- Hearing loss is low incidence. DHH students make up about 1% of all students on IEPs.
- Mild, moderate, severe degrees of hearing loss are generally categorized as “hard of hearing.” Profound hearing loss is “deaf.” All degrees of hearing loss impact access:
- mild hearing loss IS a big deal in a classroom
- a basic understanding of needs of children who are deaf requires much more time than a one hour lecture.
- Technology (hearing aids and cochlear implants) do not make DHH children hear like children without hearing loss.
- Sign language does not prevent spoken language development.
- Experts in hearing loss education and technology should always be at the table when making language decisions, educational decisions or creating accommodations in an IEP/504 for a DHH child.
RESOURCES (please review prior to the talk, and in the order they are found below):
Simulation of different degrees (levels) of hearing loss (video)
Mild hearing loss IS a big deal (from Anderson handouts: Relationship of Hearing Loss to Listening and Learning Needs)
DHH students learning in a regular education classroom (captioned video)
2014-Anderson-Cascading Impact of Hearing Loss on Access to School Communication (white paper)
Additional peer-reviewed articles that address the language needs of deaf children and issues that occur when they do not have an accessible first language. It is strongly recommended that graduate students read these:
2017-Luft-What is different about deaf education
2019-Hall et al.-Deaf Children Need Language, Not (Just) Speech (peer-reviewed journal article)