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So Your Child has a Hearing Loss: Next Steps for Parents
What Happens When My Child Turns
Three?
When children turn three, they are ready for transition to a pre-school
program. Transitions from one school program to another can be bumpy.
Remember your first day in kindergarten? Or your first day of high school? This
experience will be even more intense for you child with a hearing loss.
Preparation in the form of visiting the new program, working with your current
IFSP team to prepare for the transition, and having a clear idea of what you are
looking for in a quality educational program will help smooth this passage for
you and your child.
To help parents evaluate educational programs, AG Bell's Public School Caucus
published guidelines of what constitutes an ideal program for children pursing
some form of an oral option. AG Bell has many publications on this subject and
frequently includes related articles in its bi-monthly magazine for members,
Volta Voices. For information about educational programming for children
pursuing forms of manual communication, (i.e., Bilingual-Bicultural or Total
Communication), contact the National Association of the Deaf or the American
Society for Deaf Children.
AG Bell's guidelines outline eleven components of an ideal program for
children who are learning to use, maintain, and improve all aspects of their
verbal communication to the greatest extent possible. A summary of these
guidelines follows. For a complete set of these guidelines, contact AG Bell.
| Guidelines for an
Auditory Education that Works |
| (1) Obtain an Individualized Education
for Your Child |
A commitment to individualizing educational programming to
fit the child's strengths and needs, including initial and on-going
assessment, goal-setting, and documentation of progress-all with parental
involvement. |
| (2) Commit to Aggressive Audiological
Management to Promote the Use of Residual Hearing |
The education program, school or district will have
immediate access to audiological services which must include periodic
audiological testing, assurance that the student is wearing appropriate
hearing aids and/or other assistive devices, teacher/parent education
regarding the use of amplification, daily monitoring of hearing aids in
the classroom, easy and fast access to minor repair services, and
availability of batteries, loaner aids, and FM systems. |
| (3) Maximize the Development of Spoken
Language |
A commitment to helping children with hearing loss develop
intelligible spoken language to the greatest extent possible. |
| (4) Provide Support and Guidance to
Parents |
A commitment to providing support to parents through
constant communication from the program's leaders and staff. This should
include information on all aspects of hearing loss, opportunities for
parents to share feelings and experiences with other parents, and
informing parents of their rights. |
| (5) Employ Superior Educational
Staff |
A commitment to hiring and retaining well-trained,
well-supported, available staff. Teachers, audiologists and
speech-language pathologists should have appropriate licensing and/or
certification in their area of expertise. |
| (6) Offer Options in Educational
Settings |
A commitment to providing a range of available educational
settings including: full-time regular class; full-time regular class with
supportive services; part-time regular class/part-time special class;
full-time special class in a regular school; full-time special class in a
special school; residential/day school; home or hospital services. |
| (7) Adhere to IDEA |
A commitment to placement in one of the above settings
that is in full compliance with all of the rules and regulations set forth
by state law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. |
| (8) Provide Services to Parents and
Families |
A commitment to providing a range of support services;
examples include: (a) audiology, (b) speech/language pathology, (c)
sensory integration, physical and occupational therapy, (d) counseling
services for students and families; (e) behavioral management, (f) social
work services, (g) academic tutoring, (h) oral interpreting, (i) note
takers, (j) career counseling (k) respite child care, (l) coordinated
services from other agencies, if needed. |
| (9) Offer a Curriculum Mirroring (as
closely as possible) the Mainstream Classroom |
If the child is not enrolled in a regular classroom, a
commitment to teaching a curriculum that is similar to that presented in
the regular classroom. |
| (10) Ensure an Environment that Fosters
Learning |
A commitment to ensuring a physical environment conducive
to listening and speech reading. That environment should be quiet,
acoustically favorable, well-lit and equipped with assistive listening
devices. |
| (11) Select Informed and Sensitive
Teachers in Mainstream Settings |
If a child is in the regular classroom, a commitment to
providing teachers with a thorough orientation in working with children
with hearing loss, and to offering teachers with assistance from, and
access to, specialists in the field. |
© 2002 by Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard
of Hearing
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