Advice on hoh first year university!!!

lovezebras

lovezebras

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Any advice from hoh people going into first year university/college??? im sooo scared..specially cuz i dont get an fm system cuz the one i have now (phonak edulink) i wont be able to recieve. All the fm's and universities and college are older and i cant have the closed ear concept and i dont have HA so i cant have the ha fm i need help!! plus fm's are more expensive than ha so i cant afford that plus other payments/tuition...:eek2:
im going to be really overwhelmed i know it!:(
 
make friends with your classmates, they can be a big help when you are stuck with something.

Go to your locate Vocational center (sp?) or any government funding for people with disabilies (ask around) they probably will provide you a FM system
 
I'm not HOH but I do work with deaf and HOH students in college. Does your school have a Center for Students with Disabilities, or something of that nature? (Every school seems to call it something different.) Make sure you go there right away and try to find a counselor who can help you.

Realize that you're SUPPOSED to be overwhelmed in your first year. Don't stress about being overwhelmed because then you'll be even more overwhelmed!! Just try not to worry too much, talk to your teachers if you need help, and remember: it will get easier. Good luck!
 
notetaker. ha. I tried that in college, and no one would volunteer. One per said she would, then the next day she told me that she did not want do it. Didn't want to be responsible for anything that goes wrong.
 
Interpretrator said:
I'm not HOH but I do work with deaf and HOH students in college. Does your school have a Center for Students with Disabilities, or something of that nature? (Every school seems to call it something different.) Make sure you go there right away and try to find a counselor who can help you.

Realize that you're SUPPOSED to be overwhelmed in your first year. Don't stress about being overwhelmed because then you'll be even more overwhelmed!! Just try not to worry too much, talk to your teachers if you need help, and remember: it will get easier. Good luck!
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Good advise, Interpretrator! Some schools call it Disability Services, some call it Student Support. She needs to get ahold of the 504 Coordinator immediately. If the fm system the college has is not appropriate and does not function for this students needs, they are obligated to order a model that will work for her. She does not have to provide her own fm system. Also, disability services is responsible for writing letters to all of her professors telling them what accommodations she will need in the classroom, including things like preferential seating, use of fm system, closed captioning on films used for classroom instruction, use of an interpreter,a nd a notetaker. She does not have to settle for a volunteer notetaker, she is entitled to a professional notetaker just as she is entitled to a professional interpreter. She definately needs to fill out a self disclosure form, and a request for accommodations form so the paperwork is on file. That gives her recourse if the accommodations are not provided.

Above all, be insistent! This is your education, and at the college level, you must be very clear about what you need and know what you are entitled to. Sadly, too many universities don't take accommodations for disabled students as seriously as they should, and will get by with providing only the minimum. Then when the student doesn't do as well as they are actually capable of, they want to blame it on the student's lack of ability.
 
nightcrickets said:
notetaker. ha. I tried that in college, and no one would volunteer. One per said she would, then the next day she told me that she did not want do it. Didn't want to be responsible for anything that goes wrong.
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You are entitled to a professional notetaker in college, but you have to ask. Most colleges will try to get by with using volunteers, but that does not adequately address the needs of the deaf student. We use professionals for any student with a hearing disability, but only since I started revamping the system for providing accommodations for the last year. We have several students who use both an interpreter and a notetaker--both professional. And I am currently designing a program to train notetakers so we can recruit students, but not as volunteers, as professionals. They cannot serve as notetaker in any class that they are enrolled in, must have a gpa of at least 3.0, and must subscribe to the same code of ethics that our terps do. Also, they must sign a contract stating that they understand their duties and obligations. Twice per quarter, the student, the professor, and I evaluate their notes to make sure that they are doing an adequate job. If they are not doing the job well, or if the student is unable to understand their notes, we let them go and get another notetaker for that student.

Unfortunately, most colleges know that they need to provide accommodations, but are unsure of exactly what or how. Very few of the counselors have any real experience with deafness. Having had a deaf son, I had some knowledge that the other counselors didn't have. I was amazed that they had never been through any training or anything!
 
We use professionals for any student with a hearing disability, but only since I started revamping the system for providing accommodations for the last year. We have several students who use both an interpreter and a notetaker--both professional. And I am currently designing a program to train notetakers so we can recruit students, but not as volunteers, as professionals. They cannot serve as notetaker in any class that they are enrolled in, must have a gpa of at least 3.0, and must subscribe to the same code of ethics that our terps do. Also, they must sign a contract stating that they understand their duties and obligations. Twice per quarter, the student, the professor, and I evaluate their notes to make sure that they are doing an adequate job. If they are not doing the job well, or if the student is unable to understand their notes, we let them go and get another notetaker for that student.
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Wow! Jillo! Can you tell me how you managed to revamp the notetaker system? I'd like to improve the notetaker services at my old college. Also, might you have the addy of a training notetaker website that was developed by NITID? I had the addy for it a few years ago, but have now misplaced it.
 
Litalia, as Jillio said, be insistant. You must advocate for yourself. Educate yourself of the rights you have, and use them. Do this quickly! Do not let yourself fall behind. Find out your rights, notify the school with what you need IN WRITING. keep copies, and if necessary, raise holy hell to get what you need. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT. I promise you, you will get what you need. If the school doesnt meet your accomidation request, they could be held accountable and could get into alot of trouble.
 
:ugh3: Hey guys thanks for all the posts so far!! You guys are so helpful!
So i have already had a meeting at the university and they told me that getting a notetaker for each class (professional not stundent) wouldnt be a problem, but they are not the same as the regular school board im in now that will provide an fm system to anyone depending on the situation (like the newer fm's) cuz they said they would have to replace everyones fm systems and buy new ones if they got one person a new one, also there is something to help u out with the cost but between tuition, and other bills and my mom being a single mom its too hard, and hearing aids would be cheaper but my audi ignores my problem and im currently in between audis rite now since im turning 18..which is frusterating cuz i think i would benefit from at least an ha in my right ear..but i dunno..i guess i have to "live with it" as they say....
So..
notetakers check
interpreter no cuz i dont kno sign language:ugh3:
FM system NO check
and HA no check either..
 
As far as FM, this may not be a problem. Most FM systems, you can buy a receiver that you can plug a regular headset into (my university has that in a few classrooms, and I plug my HA into the receiver like I would my iPod). Ask about that.
 
ismi said:
As far as FM, this may not be a problem. Most FM systems, you can buy a receiver that you can plug a regular headset into (my university has that in a few classrooms, and I plug my HA into the receiver like I would my iPod). Ask about that.
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I can't have one of the fm's that use headphones cuz then it blocks sound from everywhere else, i tried this and i can't hear anybody else around me, thats y i use the edulink cuz they don't totally block your ear and i only use on ear piece so i can still (almost) hear when other ppl talk around me or if there are questions asked. With headphones i'd have to keep putting them on and off and so on if someone else other than the teacher talks.
P.S. i dont have a ha to plug fm receiver into! lol i wish...then i maybe wouldnt have such a problem! lol

What are you studying?
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I'm going for my bachelors degree in honors general law or honors business (i applied to both) so if i miss something cuz i didnt hear it that would not be good!
 
lilitalia89 said:
I can't have one of the fm's that use headphones cuz then it blocks sound from everywhere else, i tried this and i can't hear anybody else around me, thats y i use the edulink cuz they don't totally block your ear and i only use on ear piece so i can still (almost) hear when other ppl talk around me or if there are questions asked. With headphones i'd have to keep putting them on and off and so on if someone else other than the teacher talks.
P.S. i dont have a ha to plug fm receiver into! lol i wish...then i maybe wouldnt have such a problem! lol
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Gotcha. Just spitballing here, maybe you've allready thought of this, but would putting the headset on just one side work? As in, the left earpiece is over your left ear and the right one you put over the bone just above or behind your ear? I don't know enough about your hearing to know if that'd be useful or not.

Here's another possibly-stupid idea. I use an FM system that is in my HA, right? And I own my own. But when I'm in classrooms where the school has an FM system installed, I plug into that in order to reduce the number of mics the professor has to wear. Sometimes, I'll plug *my* FM transmitter into *their* FM receiver ... can the edulink do that? And could the school (or VR, or whomever) provide you with an edulink so you can tap into that system?
 
ismi said:
Gotcha. Just spitballing here, maybe you've allready thought of this, but would putting the headset on just one side work? As in, the left earpiece is over your left ear and the right one you put over the bone just above or behind your ear? I don't know enough about your hearing to know if that'd be useful or not.

Here's another possibly-stupid idea. I use an FM system that is in my HA, right? And I own my own. But when I'm in classrooms where the school has an FM system installed, I plug into that in order to reduce the number of mics the professor has to wear. Sometimes, I'll plug *my* FM transmitter into *their* FM receiver ... can the edulink do that? And could the school (or VR, or whomever) provide you with an edulink so you can tap into that system?
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Im not sure if putting the fm above my ear or over the bone..never tried but ..i would try but i cant with the fm system i have no since there are ear pieces like a bte kinda ... *pic below*... so ya..And you can plug into the fm system straight into ur hearing aid..i dont have one so i cant do that..and the fm systems they have at college/university are mostly all hearing aid compatible only and the ones that arent are not like the one i need, and they wont buy the edulink since if they buy one new one they would have to provide everyone else with a new one..which really sucks!
 

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I used to wear a neckloop fm that worked really well on telecoil hearing aids. do they have that at your college?
 
nightcrickets said:
notetaker. ha. I tried that in college, and no one would volunteer. One per said she would, then the next day she told me that she did not want do it. Didn't want to be responsible for anything that goes wrong.
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Here at RIT, it's a paying job.
 
lilitalia89 said:
And you can plug into the fm system straight into ur hearing aid..i dont have one so i cant do that..and the fm systems they have at college/university are mostly all hearing aid compatible only and the ones that arent are not like the one i need, and they wont buy the edulink since if they buy one new one they would have to provide everyone else with a new one..which really sucks!
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Right, but here's what I'm thinking. If their FM system has receivers that you can plug a regular headset into, then you can plug your FM system into that ... and it will transmit to the earplug you already have (or whatever that gizmo is called). Can the EduLink take input from an auxiliary source like that?

(Or heck, if they have that kind of receiver - that takes a headset plug - you could plug earbuds into that, like an iPod has, and just leave it in the one ear. Right?)
 
note takers don't work all you will get back in encrypted notes that don't make much sense and they usually send them the day before the final. The school is required to provide reasonable accommodation even if it is a private college/ university. if they don't want to find a Deaf/ HOH advocacy center they will help with letters to the school and if it has to get legal they help with that too.
 
gothgirl said:
note takers don't work all you will get back in encrypted notes that don't make much sense and they usually send them the day before the final. The school is required to provide reasonable accommodation even if it is a private college/ university. if they don't want to find a Deaf/ HOH advocacy center they will help with letters to the school and if it has to get legal they help with that too.
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It would depend on the notetaker program.

At RIT, notetakers are paid... notes are very clear (they're actually reviewed by other students and supervisors)... and are usually uploaded within 24 hours after class.
 
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