Kristy's post addresses working with students that have a hearing loss. Many SLP's (myself included) feel completely out of their comfort zone working with students with a hearing loss. Kristy gives some great tips and ideas to help you and those students feel more comfortable and be more successful!
Helping You Feel More Comfortable Working With Students With
Hearing Loss
A speech-language pathologist’s
caseload tends to be quite diverse when working in the clinical or educational
setting. When approached with a student on your caseload who is Deaf or hard of
hearing, what do you do? Not only what do you do, but what is your role as his
or her SLP?
Going back to graduate school
basics is a start… what is considered a moderate hearing loss? What are the
differences between assistive technology between a conductive hearing loss and
sensorineural hearing loss?
Reading the file is not necessarily
enough. Pop quiz: Bilateral sensorineural acquired hearing loss. Ok, so we know
‘bilateral’ means both ears. We know that ‘acquired’ means after birth. But do
we remember what reasons a person could have a bilateral sensorineural acquired
hearing loss and what treatment options are available? Does the student have a
cochlear implant? Hearing aid(s)? If so, what are you going to do about it?
All the questions start brewing.
Now what? After reading through the old graduate books about unilateral vs.
bilateral hearing loss, sensorineural vs. conductional hearing loss, cochlear
implants vs. hearing aids, it’s time to help others! Yikes!
What I always tell teachers:
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Talk naturally
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Project your voice
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BUT don’t talk too slow
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AND definitely don’t talk too fast
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Face the student
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Do not obstruct your face when talking
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Consider the student’s seating arrangements
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Allow extra time for the student to process the
information
-
Think of a ‘buddy’ who can help student with
items missed
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Consider providing the student (or their aide)
with your notes so the student can pay attention more to you and less on note
taking.
-
Write on the board – using visuals carefully
around the room
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Do “check-in’s” make sure student continues to
understand you.
Think about the Noises you Never
Thought of Before:
-
Put pads on the bottom of chairs
-
Think of the heating /ventilation systems that
make noise
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Avoid noisy elements
-
Be aware of speaking while passing out
objects/papers, etc.
In your speech-language sessions:
-
Consider fingerspelling or visual prompts when
trying to teach phoneme placement and sounds. Or check out websites, such as http://www.cuedspeech.org/, for
assistance with the appropriate visuals while teaching articulation.
-
Ask the student to repeat back the directions
more than you would normally do. Make sure the student is always on the same
page. You have his (or her) individual attention that you can go at his (or
her) speed now (compared to the speed of the classroom).
-
Allow a little time for counseling (they need
someone to vent to about the difficulties in class). Ask how classes are going.
What areas are they struggling in? Turn it into some real-life problem solving
tasks.
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Teach the word ADVOCATE on the first day!
There’s so much they have to advocate for – so much more than their hearing
peers. They may steer clear of asking for assistance or telling someone that
their assistive technology (e.g. hearing aid or implant) needs batteries. They
need these frequent pep talks to let them know it’s ok. Other students have
other needs (eye glasses, OT or PT services, reading assistance, etc.) too.
-
Collaborate! It’s not part of their session, but
you as the professional need to collaborate with the team. Discuss what is
successful and what is challenging for the student. It’s up to you to assist
the student find success!
To download a handy handout from Kristy, Click here: Quick Facts on Hearing Loss
