EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Project

1. Resource Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium

2. It’s not important HOW you communicate It’s simply that you do! EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium

3. EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) • Hearing Loss Defined • any decreased ability to take in sound • often described by 3 characteristics: • Type of hearing loss • what part of the ear, or auditory system, is affected • Degree of hearing loss • amount of hearing loss • Configuration of hearing loss • the overall picture of the hearing loss • what frequencies (Hz) are affected • how many ears are affected • when or how the hearing loss occurs • if the hearing loss changes or remains the same An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium

4. EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) • What Does the Ear Hear?an ear with normal hearing can hear sounds as quiet as a whisper or as loud as a firecracker and sounds as low as thunder or as high as an opera singer hitting a high note • sounds are described in decibels and frequencies… • decibels (dB) are how quiet or loud a sound is • frequencies (measured in Hz) are how low or high in pitch sound is An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium

5. EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) • What children with hearing loss can hear • Each child's hearing loss is different. • Some children with hearing loss can hear some sounds. • How well a child can hear affects how well he can understand when people talk. • Some children can hear sounds at a lower frequency better than at a higher frequency. • Most words are made up of high-frequency sounds. • "S" and "f" are high-frequency sounds.These are harder to hear. • If you can't hear high-frequency sounds, understanding what people say is hard. • Vowel sounds like "u" have a low frequency. These are easier to hear than high-frequency sounds. An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium

6. EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) Resource Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing • There are between 22 million and 36 million deaf or hard-of-hearing Americans, or ten to 17 percent of the U.S. population. Of those considered hard-of-hearing, 1.5 million are deaf and 1.5 million are late deafened. A person is considered “deaf” when he cannot hear well enough to use his hearing as a means of processing information. The “Deaf” (written with a capital “D”) are those who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary means of communication and share a culture. “Hard-of-hearing” can refer to a person with any degree of hearing loss who uses speech as a primary means of communication; this can refer to people who have completely lost their hearing after learning to speak. Another definition of classifies people who can hear well enough to rely on their hearing to process information and who communicate primarily through speech as “hard-of-hearing”. People who lose their hearing as adults are sometimes referred to as “late deafened”. An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium

7. EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) • Resource Centeris giving services for infants, toddlers and all who need help in our service that we are giving with hearing loss are identified as early as possible and provided with timely and appropriate audiological, educational, and medical intervention. • Resource Center is very pleased to offer you a wealth of information on hearing impairment! We serve the nation as a central source of information on hearing impairment in infants, toddlers, children, and youth. Here, you’ll also find easy-to-read information on the law authorizing early intervention services and special education. Our Resource Sheets  will help you connect with the hearing impairment agencies and organizations in your area. • Resource Center is unique because it is the place for helping the hearing impaired. Hearing Impairment Resources Center strives to bring the disabled back into the society and do bot want them to be seen as a burden to anyone including their own families. Hearing Impairment Resources Center main objectives is to reach out to the hearing impaired and to help them to be independent. An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium

8. EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) • Educational Implications • Hearing loss or deafness does not affect a person’s intellectual capacity or ability to learn. However, children who are hard of hearing or deaf generally require some form of special education services in order to receive an adequate education. Such services may include: • regular speech, language, and auditory training from a specialist; • amplification systems; • services of an interpreter for those students who use sign language; • favorable seating in the class to facilitate lip reading; • captioned films/videos; • assistance of a note taker, who takes notes for the student with a hearing loss, so that the student can fully attend to instruction; • instruction for the teacher and peers in alternate communication methods, such as sign language; andcounseling. An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium

9. EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) • Our primary function is to educate people on the importance of living independently. We hope to unite hearing impaired people. Apart from this, we want to advocate hearing impaired to become more active in the community. Hearing Impaired Resources Center struggle is to provide support and assistance by organizing sign language courses, social activities, sports as well as training in handicraft and performing arts. In addition, Hearing Impairment Resources Center provide a diverse and affordable program quality diagnostic, rehabilitative and supportive services designed to address problems experienced by children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing and serve as an information and referral source for this population and the general public. This Resources Center tries to be caring professionals serving persons who are deaf or hard of hearing with excellence, dignity and trust. Our additional function is to provide the chance and facilities in lesson technique for the hearing impaired the materials needed by them. Besides that, we give chance for them to expand their potential skills for learning in life. The activities inside the Hearing Impairment Resources Center  range from consultation to support assistance. Many of disabled person have benefited from our activities. We give free consultation for those who have hearing impaired. Other than that, we are working to ensure the disabled are not left out from the developments in cyberspace. We have computer classes to expose them to the basics of computer. An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium

10. EU Montenegro Inclusive Education Services Project (EU - MIESP) • Some of useful websites: • http://www.deaflinx.com • http://www.bcfamilyhearing.com/ • http://www.texasdhhresources.org/ • http://www.infanthearing.org/ • http://nichcy.org/ An European Union funded project managed by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by S.I.C.I. Dominus Consortium