Johann Mendez

SpED 602

Dr. Levy

Deaf: having profound hearing loss

Hard Hearing: hearing loss that impair understanding of sounds and communication.

Any damage anywhere along the path from outer ear, through the middle and inner ear can cause hearing loss.

Conductive Hearing Loss: hearing loss caused by a damage in the outer or middle ear that affects transfer of sounds to the inner ear.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss: hearing loss caused by damage in the inner ear or the auditory nerve.

Mild hearing loss: only soft speech or distant sounds are difficult to hear or understand.

Moderate hearing loss: usual conversational speech is hard to hear.

Moderately severe hearing loss: only loud speech can be heard.

Profound hearing loss: considered deaf

Prelingually Deaf: having hearing before developing language.

Postlingually Deaf: hearing loss occuring after developing language.

Most common prevention techniques are:

Immunizations

Avoid loud noises

Wear earplugs

Heredity and Genetics : some deafness can be caused by heredity. This means that the parents give the defective genes to their children. Mainly these deaf children would be born with a deformity in their inner ear.

Meningitis is a disease that, can happen at any age, affects the central nervous system. This can result in major sensoneural hearing loss.

Otitis Media is caused by ear infections that consist of inflammation and accumulation of fluids in the middle ear. Continuous ear infections can result in permanent conductive hearing loss.

Noise is a major cause of hearing loss in teenagers and adults. Extended exposures to loud noises from music, woodcutting machines, explosions,

mowing machines, etc. can harm the mechanisms inside your ear.

There are hearing devices that help improve the use of residual hearing.

Hearing aids: device that intensify sound

Cochlear implants: surgically implanted device that replaces cochlear of people with sensorineural hearing loss can hear sounds.

Cochlear implant Hearing aid

Captions: subtitles that print words spoken for T.V.

text telephone: device that allows deaf people to make and receive phone calls by typing.

voice carry over: text telephone allow both voice and text.

personal data assistance: device that sends texts messages. E-mail, and access to web through telephone system.

Instructional accommodations: Teacher’s communication

Additional Teacher Assistance

Assistance from classmates

Validated practices: Oral Only approach

Total Communication

Cued Speech

Bilingual- bicultural approach

Students with hearing problems need curriculum modifications along with a range of supplemental services, supports, and specific accommodations. For those students who need additional assistance, technology offers solutions that allow students to receive proper and significant instruction. Moreover, teachers should include the assistance of specialists that can make great contributions to the class. For example, a Speech Language Pathologist can recommend activities that nourish speech and language. Parents’ involvement is very important. They can help teachers identify their children’s learning styles and special needs.

Smith, Deborah Deutsch. Introduction to Special Education, Making a Difference, 2007