Strategies for working with students who have a hearing impairment

Background

Students make their own decision about identity as Deaf or Hearing Impaired. This is not always according to their degree of deafness. Some profoundly deaf students may see themselves as hearing impaired and some moderately deaf students may see themselves as Deaf.

General

Face the person and be at the same eye level if possible.
Don’t shout, speak normally and clearly.
Reduce background noise.
Keep your hands away from your face and your lips visible.
Move into the light so the light is shining on your face and not into their eyes.
Be aware that speech perception may still be difficult, even with hearing aids.
If you are not being understood, find other ways of saying the same thing.
Give cues, visual prompts.
Write it down.
Be patient, be prepared to repeat yourself.
Don’t be afraid to ask the person to repeat what they have said.
Ask if there are ways you can help the conversation.

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Whole class

Wait until you have everyone’s attention (eye contact) before beginning to speak. Make it a whole class responsibility to alert the child with a hearing impairment that they need to look up.
Students wearing FMs may sit anywhere in the class and still access your voice directly.
Children who rely on audition and don’t have FMs, are best placed where they can see at least your face and their peer’s if possible.
Reduce background noise for listening times, such as turning the heaters off.
Whole class discussions are best done in a circle to give the students a chance to see everyone’s face as they speak.
Where possible use written prompts, eg. a list of jobs written on the board.
Stand still (or sit) while talking, facing the class.
Separate your instructions/talking from writing to allow the student to look at to your face and then the written information rather than trying to do both at once.
When reading aloud, separate telling and showing. Read from the book first without showing the pictures and when you have finished reading the page, turn the book around to show the pictures. This allows the student to give full attention to both, rather than trying to divide their attention between both.
Be aware that students with a hearing impairment become very tired from intensive watching
- Break up talking time with varied activities.
- Avoid intensive talking times late in the day.
- Back up talking with written prompts where possible.
Lead by example in your appropriate dealings with the hearing impaired student.

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Teacher to Student

Have the same general expectations for the student with a hearing impairment as you do for any other student.
The Teacher of the Deaf will advise you about the allowances you might need to make for individual students, these will most likely be in relation to oral/aural work and English skills.
Include specific teaching on any areas you note to be problematic between hearing and hearing impaired members of your class such as cultural or communication issues.

Student to Student

Encourage all students to communicate directly with the hearing impaired student
Encourage the students to view the hearing impaired student as just being different and having different needs and challenges rather than deviant, special or remedial.

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Fostering Independence

Encourage students to take responsibility for their own equipment.
- Giving the FM transmitter to speakers or different teachers as required.
- Learning to put in their own hearing aids if they come off.
- Taking responsibility to keep their equipment in working order, changing batteries, charging and telling an adult if equipment is lost or needs repairing.
Expect the students to pay full attention when you are giving instructions or information. Do not allow them get into the habit of blanking out and expecting a private tutorial later!
Encourage students to ask for help or a repeat of instructions if necessary, as even with their best efforts there may be comprehension difficulties.

Social Inclusion

Behavioural standards and consequences must be the same for all students in the class.
Use every opportunity to make hearing and hearing impaired students aware of their similarities and differences. This can be done in a positive and factual way. Neither is "better," only different.
Talk openly about problems as they arise and explain as fully as you can. (David doesn’t like it when you bang the desk lid because the noise it makes in his hearing aid really hurts his ears." "The other students don’t like it when your hearing aid is whistling, because they can’t concentrate on their work.")
Take opportunities to publicly recognise individual student’s strengths in front of their peers.

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Specific educational differences

Hearing impairment does not imply any other disability. Additional special needs are present to the same degree as the regular hearing population so a small number of deaf students will have additional needs.
Students with a hearing impairment and equipment that functions reliably will be much like any other student.
Students with a hearing impairment communicate predominately orally and use English as their first language. Due to the difficulty in hearing, they may have delayed language development likely to impact on literacy and numeracy development.
Hearing impaired students with delayed language and literacy development may be withdrawn for individual or small group sessions by the Teacher of the Deaf.
If it is agreed that the hearing impaired student will not participate in certain subject areas, the replacement activities should be carefully considered, in consultation with all concerned and coordinated by the Teacher of the Deaf.
Most students with a hearing impairment will be able to participate in every area of the curriculum, with the possible exception of music, to be decided on an individual basis.
Students with a hearing impairment may also have speech which is difficult to understand and participate in a Speech Pathology program. You are likely to be made aware of their speech targets and asked to follow them up on an incidental basis in the classroom.

Author: Kirsten O'Halloran, 2002

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