Multi-Disability With Hearing Loss

1. Just like every cloud in the sky and every tree in the forest is different, so is every child. Children with multiple disabilities are that much more unique and special and should be seen as just that. Multi-Disability With Hearing Loss Multi-Disability: concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, mental retardation-orthopedic impairment, etc.) the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf-blindness. (Gargiulo, 2006) By: Marie DeRegnaucourt and Nina Chacker

2. Who Are Our Deaf Students With Disabilities? -Although many deaf and hard of hearing children have disabilities, this demographic of students does not get a lot of attention. -It is not uncommon for children who are deaf of hard of hearing to have additional special needs. -Between 20-40% of D/HH children have additional disabilities that require educational support. -Children who are deaf with multiple disabilities tend to require services that meet their needs beyond their hearing loss. -Each child has a different level of functioning and a unique learning style.

3. -Most teacher preparation programs don’t provide a lot of specific instruction on the challenges posed by these students. -Some problems that have been identified in this field are: not enough assessments that can accurately identify the progress of these students, lack of curriculums materials, and a shortage of adequately-prepared teachers. -It’s difficult to assess deaf children with disabilities because there aren’t many testable norms established for them.   -Deaf children with disabilities often struggle in the classroom, which can cause them to dislike school and develop behavioral problems. -They tend to experience a lot of failure because of challenges that result from their special needs, and the lack of teachers who are adequately trained to work with them. Challenges

4. There are 8 students in the classroom, all with varying disabilities and developmental delays, some with speech/language impairments (where signing helps). One deaf student (my focus student). • Mode of communication used is primarily spoken English with accompanying signing when needed. More signing used for my student, but not as much as needed (not enough base knowledge/vocabulary with teacher/parapros) • Outside care (care givers) hired to help my focus student outside the classroom, from what I have seen, nothing aside from the rest of the class as additional services. No hearing aid or cochlear implant. • Strengths of the educational setting for my student included PECS and signing. This helped my student get the message, but not really got the chance to relay a message back. • Teacher/Parapros need to learn more sign language before they can fully and completely communicate with a student like my focus student. They knew basic signs that they used on a daily basis, but his signing vocabulary stops where theirs does, which is very small. Heartwood

5. Heartwood Pros:all subject areas taught and supplemented with specials and extra attention to understanding, a lot of one-on-one teaching and coaching, expectations for students exceed the expectations most have for them, students are loved and appreciated for who they are as a person instead of focusing on their disabilities or delays, lots of field trips so students are exposed to real-life situations and places. Cons:lack of real-life interactions with students their own age, parapros and teacher have lack of signing skills, use only basic skills, so language growth and development is limited Demographic: - All students in the classroom have a registered IQ under 40 and have other disabilities and developmental delays as well. From the Heartwood Brochure: Heartwood school serves students in Ingham County who are eligible to receive services under the categories of moderate and severe cognitive impairments, severe multiple impairments, autism spectrum disorders, and traumatic brain injuries.

6. Pros: direct, personalized instruction focusing on balance, motor skills, communication, etc. Cons: I cannot really think of any cons to this program, hippotherapy changes thousands of lives and C.H.U.M. accepts everyone, no matter what their financial status. Demographics: Individual participants range in age, type and degree of disability, as well as type of services sought. Equine Assisted Activities range from therapeutic riding, hippotherapy, mental health, competition, driving for the disabled, and the amazing human-animal bond that occurs in interacting with horses. Most programs are governed by the NAHRA or through 4-H. There are strict standards of practice in providing these services safely and with quality of programming. C.H.U.M. Therapeutic Riding Barn - caseload is about 150-200 Communication modes: Spoken English and Signing Number of Deaf/HOH students/clients: one in particular that I worked with

7. How Hippotherapy and Classroom Instruction Compliment Each Otherallinformation compliments of C.H.U.M. What is ‘Hippotherapy’?The Greek work ‘hippos’ means horse. Hippotherapy is using the horse as a tool to achieve therapy goals as designed by a physical therapist, occupational therapist, or speech and language pathologist to meet the individuals goals. Emphasis is on achieving therapy goals, not on teaching riding skills. Special equipment and various developmental positions may be used to help the client reach these therapy goals. Hippotherapy helps with problem areas inside and outside the academic area. This program provides improvement to all areas of a client's well-being, physically, emotionally, and otherwise Why is Hippotherapy beneficial?The three dimensional gait of the horse, which closely simulates the movement of the human pelvis while walking, is unique and valuable as a treatment tool. It provides a ever- changing/ challenging, dynamic surface to facilitate movement. It challenges the body in all planes of movement requiring an adaptive response from the over all system. The movement provides a systems wide impact that reaches physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial areas of performance. The unique sensory rich environment allows for increased sensory input for individuals whose delayed systems may not be receiving enough input for daily function. The warmth and gentle rhythm of the horse united with the natural human/ animal bond that draws us to animals is another unique and valuable characteristic of the horse as a treatment tool.

8. Physical Benefits: tactile (touching the horse, animal warmth, tack, objects in the arena), proprioceptive and vesibular input (input to hips, spine and upper & lower extremities and dynamic movement), mobilizes joints, muscle tone/stretch, postural control, righting/equilibrium, body/spacial, strength/endurance, digestion/breathing Horses are chosen partly based on their ability to compliment the riders' movement strategies (cerebral palsy), challenge the rider to improve upon those strategies already functional, and strive to eliminate dysfunctional movement patterns through correction. A rider with a disordered system borrows from a horse's highly ordered system. What else does therapeutic riding help students with? Systems-wide Impact: arousal, balance, posture/gait, respiration, speech/language, strength, circulation, self-esteem, sensory input, perception, coordination, muscle tone, cognition, processing, impulsivity, emotions, behavior Psych/Cognitive: self-esteem, confidence, motivation, attention, problem-solving, task sequencing, learning, generalizing

9. School Demographics -Schulze Elementary is a public school, located on the west side of Detroit. -The entire school is K-6. They have preschool, lower and upper elementary classrooms for deaf and hard of hearing students, a classroom for emotionally impaired students and a resource room. Schulze Elementary

10. Schulze Elementary Classroom Demographics -My cooperating teacher has six students on her caseload, four of whom are with her for the majority of the day. -Between the lower and upper elementary classrooms, the students are divided based on ability. One student who is a third-grader actually goes to the upper-elementary classroom because she’s academically more advanced than the other students. -One student is mainstreamed fulltime, and always uses an interpreter. -The four students in her classroom have a range of special needs, including deaf, hard of hearing, cognitive impairments, partial blindness, speech and language impairments, cerebral palsy, and autism. It has been determined that being in this environment will be the most helpful to them. -Some of the students are not deaf or hard of hearing at all, but they benefit from the use of ASL in their learning environment.

11. Modes of Communication -This is a total communication classroom. The teacher uses different speech and signing, depending on what is most appropriate for each student. -She is fluent in American Sign Language, and teaches her students the English words and signs for all vocabulary. -She often signs while voicing in English. Schulze Elementary

12. Schulze Elementary How does a Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing accommodatechildren with a range of special needs?-Each child’s schedule is tailored to them. They have separate expectations. They do a lot of center-style activities and the teacher works one-on-one with them as much as possible. For example, they’ll all work with the same book, but she highlights sight words, so some students have only a few vocabulary words while others are expected to be able to read the whole book. -Partially mainstreamed, especially for non-academic classes, like music.The key to working in a multi-disability setting is to get to know each student as an individual. When I asked my CT if it was difficult to work with a variety of disabilities, she said that she confronts the added challenge by “learning the kid.” She researches their special needs and figures out what works for them.

13. Schulze Elementary Resources for Students -The students have ASL interpreters anytime they’re not with their teachers (during music, gym, library, in the lunchroom). -Speech teacher, who mostly works with them on language and vocabulary development. She doesn’t use signs, but an interpreter goes with them. Resources for the Teacher - Other teachers! Although my CT was a first-year teacher, she was very lucky to be part of a strong team of teachers for the deaf and hard of hearing, who supported her. -The school provides an ASL specialist, who they can come to with any questions. She also holds ASL classes once a week, which the students’ families are encouraged to attend.

14. Strengths -The class size is small, so the teacher is able to design each student’s schedule to what will work best for them. -The teacher can adapt to any communication style that is most effective for each student. Weaknesses -It’s difficult to do whole-group activities because they’re all at different levels. -They don’t have many interactions and opportunities to socialize with kids who aren’t in their class. -Teachers for the deaf and hard of hard of hearing often do not have a lot of background knowledge or experience working with a range of disabilities. Schulze Elementary

15. -Some long-term studies have been done to identify ways in which teachers can become more knowledgeable about working with D/HH students in multi-disability classrooms. -Successful teaching models are often highly-structured with clear objectives. -Step-by-step procedures, consistent routines and practical experiences are usually helpful. -It is more effective to focus on what the child is capable of, instead of focusing on their weaknesses or limitations. -It’s also important to relate the instruction to real-life situations, in order to prepare students for life outside of school. Finding Solutions

16. -A coordinated effort between parents, teachers, and other professionals and support personnel can be helpful in determining the child’s strengths and weaknesses so that they can receive the most effective instruction possible. -The transdisciplinary team model been identified as the most appropriate method for meeting the educational needs of D/HH students with disabilities. -The transdisciplinary team consists of professionals with a range of expertise on teaching kids with different special needs. They are able to share knowledge to bring back to the classroom.   -Therefore, even if teachers do not have a formal education in working with every special need that is present in their classroom, they can gain a lot of skills from other trained professionals. Working As A Team

17. Marie's References: DePue, Bonnie CHUM Therapeutic Riding. Retrieved April 13, 2009, from CHUM Therapeutic Riding      Web site: http://www.chumtherapy.net/  (2007). American Hippotherapy Association. Retrieved April 13, 2009, from American Hippotherapy      Association Web site: http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/ (2007). North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, INC.. Retrieved April 13, 2009, from      NAHRA: Appreciating the Power of the Horse to Change Lives Web site: http://www.narha.org/ (2007). Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding. Retrieved April 13, 2009, from Equest Center Web site:      http://www.equestcenter.org  Hard Copy References:C.H.U.M. information packets and powerpoint printouts Gargiulo, R. (2006). Special Education in Contemporary Society: An Introduction      to Exceptionality. Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth.  Heartwood School Brochure, Parent/Student Handbook, and Information from front office. Nina's References Deaf Students with Disabilities. Retrieved April 9, 2009, from Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, Gallaudet University Web site: http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/Clerc_Center/Information_and_Resources/Info_to_Go/Educate_Children_(3_to_21)/Students_with_Disabilities.html Bruce, Susan; DiNatale, Patrice; and Ford, Jeremiah (2008).Meeting the Needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students with Additional Disabilities Through Professional Teacher Development. American Annals of the Deaf. 153, 368-375. References