deafbajagal

What are some accomodations and modifications that may be necessary for deaf and hard of hearing children in a school setting?

I'd like to see contributions to this thread that include ALL deaf and hard of hearing children. I hope this thread can help us as teachers, parents, and specialists to get some ideas when we develop an Individual Education Plan or Section 504 Plan for a child.

I'll start with the most common ones.

* FM system (when appropriate)
* Soundfield sytem (when appropriate)
* Outline and notes (as needed)
* Study guide
* Word bank on tests (when appropriate)

Deafness

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Oceanbreeze

I'm not deaf, but I've heard this mentioned:

Circle seating. (when appropriate) Might be useful for the HoH child.

terps

When I was in school, I had deafies in some of my classes, but there wasn't a terp provided for the student in every situation. That made no sense to me.

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shel90

All kinds of visual cues...

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"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

deafbajagal

Circle seating - or semi circle seating - very good! So students can see each other as they sign and/or speak. Promotes classroom discussions as well.

deafbajagal

Visual cues, yep!
Examples of what I use:
*word wall (with and without pictures, depending on age) for reference
*rich print environment (labeling everything in sight*
*concrete manipulatives

...

JClarke

Smartboard?

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deafbajagal

Hell, yes. Smartboard is a MUST for deaf kids. The trick is...can the school provide it? Is it really "necessary" or a "luxury?" We had this discussion at my old school where I worked.

Guess who won? HA! Smartboard, Smartboard, Smartboard! I love Smartboards!

JClarke

Smartboards are mandatory in our primary schools now

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frogsign

Some that I've seen on IEPs (Individualized Education Plans):

* Preferential seating for the student
* Teacher needs to repeat questions or comments made by students (sometimes interpreter can't hear what a kid says, or if the student lipreads, they need to see it on the teacher's lips)
* Extended testing time (as required)
* Reduction of ambient noise (if possible)
* One person speaks at a time in a discussion
* Captioned videos
* CART or C-print services


If I think of anything else, I will add.

deafbajagal

Good ones you got listed, Frogsign. Thanks.

Banjo

Actually, I think that's how it is should be for both hearing and deaf students. It seems much more lively and stimulating when we are in a circle.

deafdyke

WTF is a smartboard?
I think that FMs CAN be useful, BUT they are too often prescribed as a kneejerk "gotta have" for EVERY dhh kid. Most kids I know don't use them past jr high.
Something like circle or preferiential seating is SO much better.

Matilda

I'm with deafdyke ... what are Smartboards??

Matilda

I agree!

deafbajagal

[quote=deafdyke;1002675]WTF is a smartboard?

Check this link out: SMART - SMART Board interactive whiteboards

deafbajagal

Very good point. We as teachers find that a lot of what we do to modify and accommodate students with disabilities actually help other students as well. There are some students who do not qualify for special education services, a 504 plan, or ELL services but still struggle in the regular education environment. Most of the mods and accommodations are simply good teaching practices.

Matilda

[quote=deafbajagal;1002685]Thanks for the link! Now I know what they are.

JClarke

What deafbajagal provided you, Ozzie is the correct information. Excellent technology for the kids.

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Miss-Delectable

Tables formed into a circle is a must for every deaf classes. I had that all my life and in some ways it help me and my classmates connect.

Be sure to encourage stimulating discussions about issues and whatever they want to talk about. Important to discuss the news because so many have been left in ignorance.

I don't know anything about this Smartboard but if it does work then it should be implemented in every classrooms.

FM in a deaf classroom, I believe, is redundant. More suitable for a hearing classroom if you're in one. My classmates and I hated the FM and were so happy when we were no longer forced to wear it.

Of course, visual cues is a BIG must! Same for videos and DVDs to be captioned.

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JClarke

Fm sucks!

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deafbajagal

FM works for some, not all. It's mostly for kids who have a lot of hearing but needs to reduce background noise and white noise so they can focus on the teacher. The teacher has to keep in mind that if other students are talking, they also need to have a microphone...unless there's a switch option for the FM to be switched to teacher only or whole class.

It is also helpful to students who are hard of hearing but also have ADHD. The FM system blocks background noise and helps them focus on the teacher (if that teacher uses her voice, obviously this would not be helpful if the teacher only signs, lol).

I had one student who had severe ADHD. All of the teachers tried everything...and then one night as I was in bed thinking about how I could help this kid, it hit me. FM! So the next morning I talked to him and he agreed to try it for a week. It worked.
He no longer acted like a rubber ball on speed.

Soundfield system, on the other hand, is helpful not only to deaf/hh students but to hearing students as well. Studies have shown that using a soundfield system in a classroom helped (hearing) students with ADHD and learning disabilities as well. Most public school classrooms have a soundfield system installed...all classrooms should have them because the acoustics in a classroom environment is often so poor.

shel90

Smartboards are such a BLESSING to have in the classroom. Since I got one installed in my classroom, my students' math scores improved dramatically cuz they are much more interested in learning all the different math concepts because of the Smartboard.

I cant imagine teaching without one now.

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~Shel~

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

deafbajagal

Check this out - there's some COOL math stuff here. You may already know and use these:

Smartboard in the Classroom

jillio

One accommodation that is often ignored, buyt increases acess to what goes on in a classroom tremendously, providing a cue when someone not directly in the student's line of vision is speaking, so that the student knows to turn and look at the speaker. This comes in handy in classes using ASL as the primary communication as well. Although a couple of oralists found it extremely funny, and made tremendous fun of the technique, having a hacy sack ball that is tossed from speaker to speaker so that it can be followed visually is a very effective technique.

deafdyke

actually deafbajagirl, its beginning to be a lot more common for school systems to use FMs for ADD/HD kids.

coolgirlspyer90

If I may add..My middle school had an FM system and I always hated it. But I know it helps people hear better with it. But my FM systems always bad. they rarely call the audilogist to come in and have it taken to get it fixed. Which is kind of upsetting for me. And as for interperting, my interpreter goes home sick maybe a few times in the year because she has some medical problems cuz of her allergies and my interpreter ends up trying to find me a sub which is Community for the deaf here in ohio. My interpreter doesn't like that service alot because they always say that interpreters are booked up. And even the school are too lazy to find one for me. And it made my dad mad because it says in my I.E.P that I am suppose to have an interpreter. and it is the law to. Hopefully my years in high school will be better luck for me..

deafbajagal

You are right. It is required by law that you have a working FM system at all times and for you to have an intepreter ALWAYS. Tell your dad if they refuse to do what is in the IEP, he needs to file due process. This will help get things rolling, I guarantee you. Also, you are old enough to go to your IEP meetings where you can voice your opinions and feelings. If you don't think the FM is helpful, tell them at the meeting.

deafbajagal