Hearing Impairments
Inclusion Tips and Needs of Student
- Captioning services
- Captioned videos
- Note-takers with legible handwriting
- Interpreters
- Writing instructions on the board
- Having class learn basic sign language
- Have hearing impaired student sit among hearing students
- Face student when speaking and speak naturally and clearly
- Arrange desks in a circular manner
- Provide hearing impaired student a schedule and outline of the day’s lesson with printed notes
- Use visual tools like posters, pictures, flashcards, etc.
THINGS TO CONSIDER
For example, a student can talk and converse just like a hearing person can, while others depend solely on ASL. Still, you must be aware of the student's way of communicating and remember, most hearing impaired students are visual learners.
* If a student is completely deaf, it doesn't matter how much you increase the volume of your voice, they can't hear you so don't belittle them.
MYTHS VS. FACTS
FACT: It depends on the individual and how they were brought up but there are some deaf people who do not sign. It depends on their preference and the way they communicate most comfortably.
2. Myth: Deaf people cannot speak.
FACT: Some deaf people can speak almost as well as hearing people can. Again, it depends on how they were brought up. Others choose not to speak if they think they cannot articulate correctly.
3. Myth: All deaf people lipread.
FACT: It depends on the person. Some are very skilled at lipreading, while others are not. Only about 30% of spoken English is seen by lipreading. Ex: "p" and "b" look very similar.
4. Myth: Deaf people cannot listen to music.
FACT: A lot of deaf people love listening to music, but they are not exactly "listening" but more "feeling" the vibrations of the sounds. So some deaf people will probably listen to music that has a lot of bass in it, so they can feel the vibrations in the music and still enjoy the beat of the song.
Community Resources
- American Society for Deaf Children http://deafchildren.org/
- National Association of the Deaf http://nad.org/
- Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing http://www.acdhh.org/