LATHA RAJENDRAN

 Knowledge is the source of empowerment.

Every child has a right to education. Equality

of Educational opportunity is a fundamental

right of every person and that includes

persons with hearing impairment

Condition Concerned with Represents

Impairment Abnormality of Disturbance at

anatomical structure or organ/ tissue level
functions at organ level
Disability Restriction/ lack of Disturbances at
functional performance personal level
& activity
Handicap Disadvantage resulting Situational
from impairment & specific/ limitation
disability
 Need for Appropriate Educational Set up
 Need for, Developing Language skills for
Communication
 Need for adaptation of curriculum
 Providing Ancillary services
 Utilization of Educational Technological
Advancement
 Environment for learning
 Need for a least Restrictive Environment
 Broadly speaking, there are two basic sets of

factors affecting the educational needs of

children with hearing impairment, intrinsic

and extrinsic factors.

 Nature/Type/Degree/onset of hearing loss.

 Age of identification.

 Physical condition

 Intelligence

 Aptitude and abilities.

 Type of interventional services

 Parental attitude

 Availability of schools

 Philosophy of the parents and school

 Motivation.

 Geographical factors.

 Social factors.

 Ideas and ideologies

 Students in the class whether they have a hearing loss or not
must be able to hear the teacher and also hear each other for
learning to occur.

 Acoustic Accessibility is the accessibility the brain of the

children have to consistently and clearly receive spoken
instruction.

 We hear with the brain, the ears are just a way for sounds to
go in.

 The problem with hearing loss and poor auditory environment

is that sound is barred from reaching the brain intact.
 The purpose of having favorable listening

environments and appropriate acoustic

access technologies, is to enhance acoustic

access by channeling complete words

efficiently and effectively to the brain. In

this regard, active measures should be

taken.
 A better signal to noise ratio should be ensured in the
classroom

 Adults with typical hearing require a SNR of approximately

+6dB to hear a consistently intelligible spoken message.
(i.e.) for them the desired signal needs to be about twice
as loud as background sounds

 Unfortunately, most classrooms contribute to an

inconsistent and poor SNR. In a class the SNR can vary
minute by minute from about +5dB to -20dB, depending on
teacher and student position and background noise levels.
 The teacher’s voice, at a distance in the room, may be only

40 or 50 dBA (A weighted decibels or dBA are the expression

of relative loudness of sounds in air as perceived by the

human ear and is the common measurement used for

environmental and industrial noise).

 Research on the effects of classroom noise on student

performance reported 56 dBA background Sound Pressure

Level when all students were engaged in silent reading and

writing. The class room level in all the working class rooms

was never 45 dBA and is often 50 dBA or more.

 The term used to describe a range of products
designed to solve the problems of noise, distance
from the speaker and room reverberation or echo.
ALDs enhance the SNR to improve the intelligibility of
speech, expand the child’s distance hearing and
enable incidental learning through the use of a
remote microphone worn by the talker. By enhancing
the SNR these devices augment the audibility and
intelligibility of the speakers voice and allow better
sound access to the brain.
 Reverberation & background noise

INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENT:

 Well ventilated & illuminated

 Furniture with rubber stoppers
 Board at approximate height
 Noise control materials at floor s and walls
 Glowing bell
 AV aids & supplementary teaching materials
 ALD
 Technological advancements in order to
assist students with hearing impairment :
 Independent Living Technologies
 Hearing Technologies
 Internet based Communication Technologies
 Voice to Text Technologies
 Capturing Technologies & Services
 Simulation Scenarios
 Digital White Boards

 Digital, Videos, Documents and Web

 Microscopes & Probes

 Remotes for presentation & full group

interaction

 Hand held's and word processing / PDA machines

 Graphic Organizers
 ALDs - improve audibility of sound/ speaker by placing mic
close to sound source
 Used with HA or CI
 ALDs utilize different technologies & can be wireless or
wired.
 Wireless ALDs make use of radio frequencies, magnetic
inductive energy, or light rays to transmit sound.
 Hardwired ALDs use direct electrical connection to transmit
auditory signal.
 Least expensive amplification device
 Teacher speaks into mic and the amplified signal –
units placed in childs desk
 Individual / master volume control
 S/N ratio – good
 Disadvantage - teacher remain in fixed location
 Restricted mvts
 Wireless teachers mic available
 Wireless loop around the room – attached to the wall under
the carpet or under the tile floor
 Sounds are picked up by the speaker's microphone,
amplified, and sent through the wire/loop, creating an
invisible electromagnetic field
 Electromagentic energy runs through the loop which is
altered by audio i/p from mic
 This results in magnetic field around the loop
 Child wears HA – TEL position
 T coil picks the EM signal – converts to audio signal –
presents to the ear
 FM System - wireless, portable battery-
operated device that uses radio transmission
to send auditory signals

 Used in environments where there are

multiple signals in close proximity and there
is a need to separate the signals

 FM systems can receive a signal up to 200 ft.

TRANSMITTER:

 Worn by the sender of the message

 Mic picks acoustic signal converts into electrical
signal and gets amplified
 Carrier freq – ultrasonic sound cannot be heard by
human ear
 Electrical signal gets superimposed on the carrier
freq & transmitted via antenna
 Transmitted signal picked by receiver which is
tuned to receive the particular freq.
RECEIVER:

 Antenna of receiver picks up the ultrasonic

sound

 Separated/ decoded and then amplified

 Amplified signal sent to via headphones/ neck

loop

 Carrier freq federal communication

commission (FCC) – 72 MHz to 76 MHz

 In India, 50 MHz. 12 freq bands can be used

 Auditory access at all times ensures academic and
social interactions. Students themselves should become
responsible for batteries for their hearing aids and FM
systems.
 Only then will they become independent listeners.
 Confidence and competence in amplification care will
result in greater self esteem about themselves and
their hearing loss.
 Only with self advocacy skills and auditory access, we
can help students with HI become independent
learners.
 Teachers should make sure that they always face the class
while teaching.

 Teachers should adopt the practice of building up black

board summaries and writing new words on the black-
board and explaining their meaning.

 Teachers need to be friendly, willing to listen with

patience and should treat every one equally.

 Teachers should give opportunities for SWHI to build up

self confidence to work independently in the class.
 Preparing simple work sheet summarizing major points and
explaining new or specialized terms and instructions will
make a SWHI more comfortable in the class.
 Drawing simple diagrams to explain concepts will also help.
 Feed back is a vital element in a class with SWHI and make
things clear and understandable.
 Having to watch the teacher while she is teaching and also
trying to make notes at the same time, will be a big strain
and so teachers should give notes.
 Pupil-pupil interaction is an accepted and valuable part of a
child’s educational, social and emotional development and it
should be often actively encouraged by the teacher.
 Making SWHI sit about 6 to 10 feet from the teacher and slightly to
one side, may be end of the second row would be right, so that this
pupil can turn to face others who are speaking.

 A seating position with a major light source behind or to the side of

the SWHI is ideal so that light can fall on the teachers face and
make lip reading easier.

 Organizing group work is felt to be particularly a successful way of

drawing in SWHI who are reluctant to contribute to class room
discussions.

 In practical classes and where students are moving about in the

room, a friend is often assigned to work with SWHI particularly to
draw attention to class room announcements.
 A friendly and smart classmate could be made to sit
next to the SWHI in-order to help follow teachers
instructions.

 Too much noise can cause problems to SWHI who rely

on hearing aids, because all sounds are picked up and
amplified by an aid. Teachers should make sure that
students don’t make too much noise while some thing
is being taught or instructions are being given. This
will help them focus on what is being said.

 For SWHI, Visual clues are important. So lighting

should be good (Optimum).
 Teachers should ensure students notes are up to date and check if home
work tasks are fully understood.

 For children with HI every lesson is a language lesson, so teachers

should explain the meaning for the hard words for all lessons just like a
language lesson.

 Encourage peer tutoring- this often operates very informally as people

develop friendships within which some of their learning needs are met.
Friends provide verbal comments and interpretations of what is taught
in the class. They read black board notes aloud and explain.

 Senior SWHI can be peer mentors and practice communicational

leadership skills for new SWHI. For Example a SWHI from a special
school will get scared when she finds herself in the midst of a large
class for hearing peers. A senior SWHI can give her support and help
her.
 Since facial expressions, gestures, and other body language
will help convey your message. Get the attention of a
student with a hearing impairment before speaking and
communicating and always face the student.

 Do not be alarmed if the student does not understand and

you cannot understand him/her. Generally, you will
become accustomed to each other in time.

 Sequence topics so that new material is related to that

previously learned.
 Provide an outline in advance of the lesson/activity to give to the

student in advance, also list your expectations.

 Write all homework assignments, class instructions, and procedural

changes on the chalkboard.

 When teaching a student with hearing impairment, ask where

he/she would like to sit, in order to communicate in an optimal

manner.

 Obtain feedback from your hearing impaired students at every

opportunity as an indicator of the student's level of understanding.

 Do not exaggerate your lip movements or shout. If you have a

mustache, keep it well trimmed.

 Break up long sentences.

 Reduce difficult vocabulary load.

 Reduce concept density.

 When using a pronoun be sure that the antecedent is very clear.

 Do not omit words such as: "that" where such words will clarify a
sentence connection.

 Stay with simple coordinating conjunctions (e.g., but, so, for,

and) and avoid less common transitional words (e.g., however, as
a consequence, nevertheless, although).

 Keep cause-and-effect expressions in a very simple in form.

 Keep conditional expressions which influence the meaning of a

statement to a minimum (such as; if, when, assuming that,

suppose, provided that, etc.).

 If there is no other way to avoid using a difficult word, include a

brief explanation in parentheses, however keep parenthetical

explanations to a minimum.

 If an important basic or technical word is to be taught: Make

meaning and application absolutely clear. Use context as a memory

aid. For a new term, repeat the word numerous times in a variety

of contexts.
 Passive voice verbs.
 Negative forms of verbs and other expressions of
negation.
 Too many modifying forms, such as prepositional
phrases, relative clauses. (If a relative clause must
be used, the relative pronoun [who, which, that,
where, etc.] should be next to the word to which it
refers).
 Colloquial and idiomatic expressions.
 Avoid the use of idioms.
When you make your presentation accessible to persons with hearing loss,
everyone in your audience will benefit.

ENVIRONMENT

 Provide the audience with a clear and direct view of your mouth and
face.

 Speak from a well-lighted area of the room.

 Reduce background noise by turning off slide projectors or other types of

apparatus when not in use.

 Speak clearly and naturally and at your normal pace, unless you are
asked to slow down.

 For those with mustaches, trim so the lips show clearly

 Begin explanations with concrete examples, working from the
concrete to the abstract.

 Present only one source of visual information at a time.

 Erase the chalkboard except for the items being discussed to reduce
"visual pollution."

 If possible, face the light source and keep your hands away from your
face when speaking.

 Repeat the questions other students in the class asked so that

students with hearing impairment know what you are referring to.

 Maximize the use of visual media.

 Sequence topics so that new material is related to that previously

learned.
 Audiotapes, videotapes, and other auditory materials can be
translated into print format to make them accessible to people
who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. When transcribing video, be
sure to mention any sounds and actions that may occur
independent of the spoken text, and indicate settings or changes
of scene as well. To find a transcriber, look in the Yellow Pages
under "Transcribing Services.“

 If available, use Assistive Learning Devices. These devices consist

of a transmitter that sends electronically enhanced sound to
receivers worn by individuals who are hard-of-hearing.
 Consider alternate activities/exercises that can be utilized with less
difficulty for the student, but has the same or similar learning objectives.

 As you demonstrate a procedure or technique, deliberately alternate

between speaking (use FM audio trainer for hard-of-hearing) and
manipulating the materials. This allows the student who is hearing
impaired to look at one thing at a time.

 If the student does not understand, try repeating; if the student still does
not understand, rephrase a thought or use a different word order.

 Keep visual pollution on chalkboard to a minimum. Leave on the

chalkboard only what you are discussing.
 Write new vocabulary words on the chalk board before a lesson or

laboratory.

 Assign students with hearing impairment to a laboratory station that

allows an unobstructed view of the chalkboard and the instructor and/or

interpreter.

 Ensure that the student with hearing impairment receives information

about any changes in experimental procedure, by writing on the board or

paper.

 Label equipment and materials to aid in the learning of new vocabulary

items.

 Provide concise, step-by-step directions prior to the laboratory activity

and preview it with the student, if possible.

 Provide indicator lights for the on/off status of equipment.

 When a partner is needed, the teacher should assist in finding an

understanding lab partner for a student with hearing impairment.

 Use signaling devices to alert the student to a significant sound in the lab.

 Use an overhead projector to show step-by-step instructions.

 Write all homework assignments and laboratory procedural changes on the

chalkboard.

 In advance, provide an outline of the activity and give to the student your

expectations.

 If non-captioned videos or movies are shown, a dim light is needed. There

should be no complete darkness at any time.

 Be quite clear as to which topic is being discussed.

 Expect and encourage the student to participate in class by

answering questions, giving reports, and volunteering for other

verbal activities.

 Clearly identify who is speaking or asking a question (pointing is OK).

 In group or team settings, develop procedures so that the student

who is hearing impaired can express his/her communication needs to

others. In group situations or discussions which include a student who

is speech reading (lip reading) it is very helpful to have students sit

in a horseshoe form or circle, for better inclusion of students with

hearing impairments.
 Repetitions or summaries of the most relevant classroom questions,

responses, and discussions are helpful to the student with hearing

impairment.

 Show special awareness. Call the person who has hearing impairment

by name to initiate communication, (or a nod or a hand gesture is

acceptable).

 You may need to get the student's attention by tapping him/her

gently on the shoulder, arm, or waving your hand or using a similar

visual signal.

 A circle is the best seating arrangement for a hearing impaired

student. Seat the student with his/her "better" ear towards the class.
 Review and discuss with the student the steps involved in a

research activity. Think about which step(s) may be

difficult for the specific functional limitations of the

student and jointly devise accommodations for that

student.

 Use appropriate lab and field strategies.

 After tests or quizzes, give answers by using the overhead

projector or give answers in writing.

 Avoid overly complicated language in exam questions and clearly

separate items when spacing them on the exam sheet.

 Avoid the use of abbreviations or idioms, except for standard

ones.

 Due to difficulty with vocabulary, students may require extra

time.

 Supplement oral or signed explanations with written material.

 Use short sentences because they are easier and quicker to

comprehend than longer sentences.

 Keep the test reading materials at appropriate reading levels.

 Provide small group setting with preferential seating, auditory

amplification, and screens to block out distraction, allowing

students to hear more clearly.

 Facilitative strategies for hearing impaired students are primarily
concerned with various aspects of communication. Other problems
arise because deafness is an invisible disability. It is easy for teachers
to "forget about it" and treat the student as not having a disability. It
has also been shown that hearing impaired students with
good English skills also have good science concept formation.

“Each of us can make a difference in their lives. We can change a lot

with the positive attitude. It will cost us nothing but will bring an
ocean of change in the lives of these children and will be a good deal
done to the society.”