Learners who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

1. Learners who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Leslie Bailey, Andrew Barrand, Lizzy Curtis, Brandon Hiatt

2. Definitions • A deaf person is one whose hearing disability precludes successful processing of linguistic information through audition, with or without a hearing aid. • A person who is hard of hearing generally, with the use of a hearing aid, has residual hearing sufficient to enable successful processing of linguistic information through audition. • IDEA ‘04 recognizes these two groups, but it considers them to belong to one special education category, which it calls hearing impairments.

3. Types of Deafness • Congenitally deaf • Deafness present at birth. • Adventitiously deaf • Deafness that occurs through illness or accident in an individual born with normal hearing. • Prelingual deafness • Deafness that occurs before development of spoken language, usually at birth. • Postlingual deafness • Deafness occurring after the development of speech and language.

4. Deaf vs. deaf • Deaf: refers to people who are born deaf or deafened during early childhood. • deaf: refers to those who lost some or all their hearing in early or late life.

5. Prevalence • 0.13% of students 6-17 years old are hearing impaired. • Hard of hearing is more prevalent than those identified as deaf. • 23% of students who are deaf come from Hispanic-speaking homes.

6. Overview of the Ear • The Outer Ear • Funnels the sound in. • The Middle Ear • Three bones (malleus, incus, and stapes) that passes the sound through and air-filled space • The Inner Ear • Size of a pea, contains the vestibular mechanism – which is responsible for your sense of balance, most important organ for hearing is the cochlea. • Connexin-26 gene: leading cause of deafness, mutation of which causes deafness.

7. Identification • Screening Test • Pure-Tone Audiometry • Speech Audiometry • Tests for Young and Hard-to-Test Children

8. Screening Testing • 93% of newborns are being screened • Screenings measure otoacoustic emissions • Less accurate that tests done in audiologist’s office.

9. Pure-Tone Audiometry • http://www.freehearingtest.com/test.shtml • Frequency measured in Hertz (Hz) • Number of vibrations per unit of time of a sound wave

10. Speech Audiometry • To test a person’s detection and understanding of speech. • Speech reception threshold (SRT): the decibel level at which one is able to understand speech

11. Tests for Young and Hard-to-Test Children • Combination of different techniques including: • Play audiometry – uses pure tones or speech • Tympanometry – rubber-tipped probe inserted into the ear, gages the pressure and sound which determines how the middle ear functions • Evoke-response audiometry – changes in brain wave activity used during sleep

12. Sign Language • American Sign Language (ASL) • Three parts: handshape, location, and movement • As complex as the spoken language • Accepted as a true language

13. Activity Time!

14. Cochlear Implant • http://www.mtv.com/videos/true-life-im-deaf/1590956/playlist.jhtml • Cochlear implant: device that is surgically inserted and is electrically stimulated. • Used to bypass damaged nerve fibers.

15. Oral Approaches • Auditory-Verbal Approach – focuses exclusively on using audition to improve speech and language development. • Auditory-Oral Approach – similar to the auditory-verbal approach but also stress the use of visual cues.

16. Early Intervention and Monitoring Progress • Programs for early intervention may be beneficial in reducing parents stress levels. • Important because early childhood is a development of language.

17. Technology/Tips • Email • Texting • Video relay service • Computer assisted instruction

18. Activity Time!