To supplement my presentation on Hearing Impairments I have included the Project Ideal website that describes the 13 categories of disabilities. The rest of the website provides Accommodation and Modification suggestions for teachers, case studies on disabilities, and modules that teachers can explore to learn more. 

https://www.projectidealonline.org/v/disability-categories/  

Source: Disability Categories. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.projectidealonline.org/v/disability-categories/

Reflection: I wanted to include all the categories of disabilities but wanted to make sure I included all the information necessary to give a full picture. Using this additional website is the best of both worlds. I think it is essential that teachers have the opportunity to learn about the different categories of disabilities because their needs will impact how we will teach

Pecha Kucha Presentation Script: Hearing Impairments

1. Expert/Layman's Definition

Expert Definition: Hearing impairment is defined by IDEA as "an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance."

Deafness is defined as "a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification."

Layman's Definition: Hearing disorders make it hard, but not impossible to hear your friends or family. Deafness can keep you from hearing sound at all

2. Prevalence Rates

Hearing loss is one of the most common birth defects in the United States. Approximately 1 in 1000 babies are born profoundly deaf, another 2 or 3 have less severe hearing loss. In 2014, the federal government reported .15% of the student population as those whose primary disability is related to their hearing.

This number does not include students who do not need special education because hearing aids or assistive devices allow them to hear well enough to participate in typical classroom activities. This also does not include the nearly 25% of deaf and hard of hearing students who have additional disabilities and are not counted in the federal deafness or hard of hearing

3. Diagnosis and Testing; Warning Signs

Medical doctors usually diagnose this disability before the child starts school. But, you should watch for signs of hearing impairment and make medical referrals.

Some other signs and symptoms of hearing loss include:

• Muffling of speech and other sounds
• Difficulty understanding words, especially against background noise or in a crowd
• Frequently asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly
• Withdrawal from conversations

4. Age of Onset

Genetic factors are considered the cause of over half of the incidents of congenital hearing loss in children.

Prelingually deaf individuals are born deaf or become deaf before they learn to speak.

Postlingually deaf individuals have severe hearing loss that occurs after they have learned to speak and understand language. Many are able to retain their abilities to communicate orally to others.

5. Causes and Types of Hearing Loss

There are four major types of hearing loss that are categorized by the site of the disorder in the auditory system. These hearing disorders can be caused by genetic or hereditary factors, infections, developmental abnormalities, or environmental/traumatic factors.

Conductive Hearing Loss is caused by damage or obstruction in the external or middle ear that disrupts the efficient passage or conduction of sound through those chambers.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss is caused by damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve that transmits impulses to the brain and tends to be more severe, permanent, and usually affects oral language development.

Mixed Hearing Loss is a combination of both a conductive and a sensorineural hearing loss.

Central Hearing Disorders are the results of a disorder or dysfunction in the central auditory system between the brainstem and the auditory cortex in the brain.

6. Treatment

Some potential treatments include:

• Removing wax blockage.
• Surgical procedures.
• Hearing aids.
• Cochlear implants. Unlike a hearing aid that amplifies sound and directs it into your ear canal, a cochlear implant bypasses damaged or non-working parts of your inner ear and directly stimulates the hearing nerve.

7. Characteristics

Teachers cannot make judgments about the accommodations and services needed based on a student's amount or type of hearing loss. Hearing impairments can cause problems with communication, academic achievement, and speech ability.

Social Characteristics: Students with hearing impairments can have problems relating with their peers. Due to their delayed ability to learn language skills, students with hearing impairments can become socially underdeveloped and shy among their fellow students.

8. Academic Characteristics and Implications for Educators

Hearing impairments in students can make teaching difficult, considering verbal communication is used overwhelmingly as the delivery system of choice in school. This is especially true with lessons utilizing verbal communication skills, such as vocab, grammar, and word order. Students with hearing impairments are less likely to fully understand lessons, and are at-risk for academic failure.

9. Family Dynamics and the Deaf Community

Some people with average hearing consider deafness a disability, a sad condition that isolates those affected from family and society. To many deaf people however, deafness is one aspect that binds them together as a minority group rich in culture, history, and language. Capital D, Deaf refers to people who consider themselves a part of the Deaf community. They interpret inclusion differently than those from those with other disabilities, believing it is undesirable and restrictive.

10. American Sign Language (ASL)

The language American Sign Language (ASL) is a language that uses signs, has all the elements of other languages (grammar, syntax, idioms) and is not parallel to English. It is not a mere translation of oral speech of the English language, it is a fully developed language.

As the language of the Deaf community, ASL is used in all aspects of Deaf Culture. Many states allow ASL as an option to fulfill the language requirement.

11. Assistive Technology

Technology has changed the lives of many students with hearing problems. Improvements with surgery and hearing aids and listening devices allow today's students to profit from education alongside their classmates without disabilities. The definition of Assistive Technology is broad. Some examples include:

• Hearing Aids, assistive technology devices (FM Listening Device)
• Signaling systems, smoke alarm with strobe light.
• Closed Captions on videotapes and tv, computer-generated speech output.

12. Cochlear Implants

Cochlear Implants, although not a cure for deafness, help many individuals with profound hearing loss.

Cochlear implants remain controversial in the Deaf community, where deafness is accepted and celebrated and ASL remains the preferred mode of communication.

13. Tech Act

The Tech Act (IDEA 2004) mandates that IEP teams must consider what device the student needs to receive FAPE. Making a student/technology match is usually the responsibility of an AT evaluation team, which includes the general IEP team and related specialists.

14. Assistive Technology Training

Training is another part of AT services. Training should be provided to students or users of their devices, their families, and professionals such as classroom teachers, speech/language pathologists and OT. They must be trained to know how the devices work, how to integrate them when working with students, how to troubleshoot.

Teachers must also consider how to design instruction to maximize the effect of AT. They must also consider the environmental requirements for the devices, such as whether they produce distracting sounds

15. Accommodations and Modifications

Teachers must de-emphasize learning done solely through verbal means and use visual methods too. Captioned videos, articulate speechreading, and visual cues can help get the lessons across more effectively.

Additionally, assistive note-takers, favorable seating near the front of class (for speechreading), the use of an interpreter, and overall an emphasis on alternative communication methods (ie ASL) by teacher and peers can help students learn more effectively.

16. Five essential things a teacher MUST know about this particular disability.

1. More than half (57.8) of students with hearing impairments spend 80% or more of their day inside the regular classroom.

2. Teachers should ensure they are consulting and collaborating with experts providing related services in teaching Deaf/HoH students. You must understand that many of your collaborating experts will likely be in many schools throughout the day and to be aware of their limitations.

3. The Deaf community may not be supportive of your interventions.

4. You must be familiar with how AT devices work and know how to troubleshoot them. You should also be aware of how background noise in the classroom impacts how the device works.

5. It is important to note that the academic and social issues caused by hearing impairments can compound on one another (socially they may not have many friends due to poor language skills) and cause distress if not accounted for. 

17. Three to four teaching strategies, tips or instructional techniques.

1. Encourage the student to use whatever residual hearing they have to the maximum extent possible, even if visual methods of communication are preferred.

2. Students who are deaf or hard of hearing need help activating background knowledge. One way to help is asking students to write down everything they know about the topic for 1 minute.

3. Because these students have more trouble with phonetics, you should provide direct instruction on sight words, root words, prefixes/suffixes and other elements of literature.

4. Students who are deaf or hard of hearing may benefit from direct instruction and coaching in social skills. You can also teach hearing students sign language for communicating with their peers, teach hearing students about hearing loss, and design classroom environments that promote communication and interaction among classmates.

References

Bryant, D. P. (2017). Teaching Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Classrooms. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Clason, D. (2017, December 07). Hearing loss statistics at a glance. Retrieved from https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/52814-Hearing-loss-statistics-at-a-glance.

Compton, M. V., Appenzeller, M., Kemmery, M., & Gardiner-Walsh, S. (2015). Itinerant Teachers' Perspectives of Using Collaborative Practices in Serving Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. American Annals of the Deaf,160(3), 255-272. doi:10.1353/aad.2015.0023.

Eleweke, C. J., & Rodda, M. (2000). Factors Contributing to Parents Selection of a Communication Mode to Use With Their Deaf Children. American Annals of the Deaf,145(4), 375-383. doi:10.1353/aad.2012.0087.

Hearing Impairments. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.projectidealonline.org/v/hearing-impairments/.

Hearing loss. (2019, March 16). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077.

Luckner, J. L., Slike, S. B., & Johnson, H. (2012). Helping Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Succeed. TEACHING Exceptional Children,44(4), 58-67. doi:10.1177/004005991204400406.

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