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So Your Child has a Hearing Loss: Next Steps for Parents
Learn About Techniques and
Technology that Assist Learning in the Classroom
Classroom support aids enhance the listening and learning environment for
your child. Aids can refer to pieces of equipment or strategies for learning.
Not all of the support aids listed below are necessary for every child, and some
are needed only as your child reaches middle school age. You can work with the
classroom teacher to set up a supportive classroom environment for your child.
Whatever you and the IEP team decide is important to meet your child's needs,
document in writing.
Possible Classroom Support Aids under IDEA for Children who use
Auditory Approaches
| Classroom Support Aids |
Definition |
| Preferential, or favorable, Seating |
Sitting close to the teacher or other speakers, in order
to optimize listening and visual clues. |
| Sound Field System |
An assistive device that improves listening in noisy or
reverberant environments (like classrooms). Like a mini loud-speaker
system, a sound field system amplifies the decibel level of a teacher's
voice. Small speakers in the classroom bring the enhanced loudness to all
students. Teachers enjoy using the sound field system because it saves
wear and tear on their voice. |
| FM System |
An assistive device that improves listening in noisy
environments (like classrooms). The teachers voice is transmitted by a
microphone worn on his/her lapel via radio waves to the student, who
receives the sound through a receiver that connects to the child's hearing
aids or cochlear implant. For most children in the mainstream, an FM
system is an important supplement to hearing aids and cochlear implants.
Can be provided by the school for classroom use. |
| Notetaker |
A person with normal hearing takes classroom notes for the
student; often the notetaker is another classmate with good note-taking
skills. Note-taking becomes increasingly important at the middle school
level. |
| Captioned Videos |
A caption line, similar to printed English subtitles.
Captioned videos can be played on any T.V. manufactured after 1993, or
with older sets using a separate device called a closed caption decoder.
Teachers need to check that videos are captioned; unfortunately, most
videos are not and it is very difficult for anyone with a significant
hearing loss to follow an uncaptioned video. For help in finding these
captioned videos, see the reference section. |
| Oral Interpreter |
A qualified professional who serves as a link between the
speaker and the student. The oral interpreter silently mouths the words of
the speaker, augmented with natural gestures. Supports understanding with
the use of these strong visual cues. OI is usually introduced at the
middle school level. The student has the right to the provision of an oral
interpreter; however the lack of trained OIs limits availability. The
school may need to train someone to provide this service. |
| C-Print Captioning |
C-Print is a speech-to-print system in which a hearing
captionist (transcriber) types the words of the teacher and other students
as they are being spoken into a lap-top computer. Students who are deaf or
hard of hearing can read these real-time exchanges on a second lap-top
computer or TV monitor. Additionally, the text file is stored and can be
edited, printed and distributed to students after class. C-Print is
designed to replace both interpreters and notetakers in the classroom.
Contact AG Bell to learn more about C-Print. |
| Cued Speech Interpreter |
A qualified professional who serves as a link between the
speaker and the student. The cued speech interpreter silently mouths the
words of the speaker and simultaneously uses handshapes to cue the child
as to what sounds are being spoken. Students have the right to a cued
speech interpreter; however the lack of trained CSIs limits availability.
The school may need to train someone to provide this service. |
| Acoustical Improvements |
This refers to minor changes/additions to classrooms
designed to reduce ambient noise; acoustical improvements include:
carpeting, acoustic ceiling tiles, double-paned windows, installation of a
lower, sound-absorbing, suspended ceiling in older, higher-ceilinged
classrooms, use of thick draperies at windows, elimination of background
music, rubber tips on chair, table and desk legs, repair of
heating/cooling/ventilation-associated noise, and avoidance of open-plan
classrooms. |
| Real-time captioning |
"Real-time" (instant) transcription of speech by a
real-time captioner (someone using courtroom stenographer equipment). The
real-time captioner enters the lecture or classroom dialogue into a
computer which shows up on a video screen or laptop computer which the
student then reads. Currently the cost of classroom transcription is high
and some schools oppose its use for this reason. However, a number of
parents have been successful in obtaining its use in the
classroom. |
© 2002 by Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard
of Hearing
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