Deafness and Hearing Impairment
Overview
Deafness is “a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance” (IDEA).
Hearing impairment is “an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness” (IDEA).
1% of students qualifying for services under the IDEA have a hearing impairment designation (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022).
The hearing impairment category is the ninth most prevalent type of disability found among school-aged children and accounts for students with hearing impairment and deafness. Hearing impairment is considered an impairment when it impacts a student’s educational performance. Students with hearing impairment might still have the ability to hear some sounds, whereas students with deafness are not able to hear at all. Like hearing impairment, deafness is a hearing impairment that is severe enough to cause the child to be unable to process information that is verbally communicated to them. However, unlike hearing impairment, students experiencing deafness rely on American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate their ideas and needs. ASL often requires sign language interpreters to translate between students and educators. These two disorders are combined since the level of hearing is the only factor that separates the two.
Strengths
Students with hearing impairment, including deafness, struggle to hear, but that does not mean that they do not have other strengths. Some strengths of students experiencing deafness might include the potential to reach the same level of academic success as their hearing-abled peers, the ability to learn visually, and exhibiting resilience and determination in completing tasks (Deaf, deaf and Hard of Hearing). Additionally, some students who experience deafness or hearing impairment may communicate through American Sign Language.
Critical Perspective
Deafness as a Culture
One thing that many people probably don’t think about is what it means to be deaf. People who are completely unable to hear rely on American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with those around them, resulting in a culture of its own.
Needs
Because students with hearing impairment struggle to hear sounds, their language development can be inversely impacted. Students with hearing impairment may require additional support regarding literacy, speech development, and comprehension (Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children). As a teacher, you will want to be aware of how you can support your students with hearing impairment so that their academic, social, and emotional needs are met. Students with hearing impairment may benefit from classrooms that are free from chaos, and with this, classrooms that are structured to allow students to view other students if they depend on reading lips (Understanding the Challenges that Hearing Impaired Students Face).
Reflection
Supporting Students with Deafness and Hearing Impairment
The section below explains some strategies for supporting students experiencing deafness and hearing impairment. Based on what you have read so far, what strategies do you think might be useful for supporting students experiencing deafness and hearing impairment?
Common Teaching Strategies
According to We Are Teachers, here are some ways to help promote learning among students with hearing impairment:
- Ensure that the student can see your face when teaching.
- Enunciate your words so that the student can read your lips while trying to hear your voice.
- Ensure that the lighting in the room is not backlit so there are no shadows impeding the students’ view of the teacher.
- Keep background noises to a minimum.
- Place the student close to where you typically teach from (seating students in a horseshoe or circle is best).
- Provide notes, or a peer buddy to assist the student with notetaking.
- Include students with other peers to assist with communication and social wellbeing.
- Provide wait time when asking students questions.
- Pause and ask questions for understanding frequently to give students permission to ask questions or for you to repeat your request.
- Use as much speech-to-text as possible as well as visuals to promote understanding (Staake, 2019)
Deeper Dive
Deafness and Hearing Impairment
For more information about hearing impairment, review the following resources:
References
National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Students With Disabilities. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.
Staake, J. (2019). How to help students who are deaf/hard of hearing succeed in school. We Are Teachers. Retrieved from https://www.weareteachers.com/children-deaf-hard-of-hearing/
U.S. Department of Education. (2018). Sec. 300.8 Child with a disability. Retrieved from https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8
