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[Opening slide with the words, "This webinar series is provided by the Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans and by the Minnesota Department of Education.]
[Title slide: "Educationally Relevant Needs to be Addressed"]
[A woman appears (Mai Lor). She is standing on one side of the screen and begins to speak. Above her is the following text, "Presenter: Mai Lor, Parent of a three-year-old who is hard of hearing." To her right is a sign language interpreter, Susan Boinis.]
Being deaf or hard of hearing means there are many other needs that are important that people remember to think about. Each student is an individual, but there are some situations they may have in common.
[The text above Mai is replaced with a bubble graphic. In the center bubble, is the word, "Hearing Loss". The surrounding bubbles have the following respective words in their centers, "Academics" "Language" "Social Emotional" and "Advocacy".]
Mai continues: Deaf and hard of hearing students often have other needs for support and instruction in the areas of academic skills, self-advocacy, and social and emotional development. Access in the school can mean being able to communicate with friends in the lunchroom, playground or in high school clubs. These places are just as important as understanding the teacher in class or working with classmates in small groups. Accommodations and modifications have to be considered.
[The bubble graph above Mai is replaced with the following text, "Discussion Prompts. * Other needs related to the student's hearing loss * Areas affected by those needs * Opportunities for communication and interaction with peers who are deaf or hard of hearing * Adaptations in the classroom" There is also an illustration of 5 rainbow-colored stick figures with think boxes above their heads.]
Mai continues: To ensure these other needs are appropriately addressed, the discussion prompts can be used to help guide the IEP team. For example, the teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing, along with parents and the student’s classroom teacher, can use the guide to help them determine if the deaf or hard of hearing student has other needs.
[The text and image above Mai is replaced with the following text, "Relevant needs might include: * Listening Fatigue * Fragmented Hearing * Issues with Listening Comprehension * Additional aids to Access Language * Advocacy Skills * Social Skills and Social/Emotional Development."]
Mai continues: Listening fatigue is difficult to measure, but it is very real for many hard of hearing and deaf students who do not use interpreter services. The team needs to think about how the demands of listening all day and how that affects listening comprehension and missing bits and pieces of information. When the student is missing information, he works much harder to make sense of what’s being heard, especially if there are wandering teachers and speechreading is not easy or if media is shown and there are no captions.
The student’s advocacy skills, social skills, and social/emotional development should also be considered and supported. After the team has determined what other needs the student may have based on student input, observations, informal and formal assessments, as well as classroom performance, they can then discuss what additional services and supports are needed.
[The text above Mai is replaced with the following text and graphic, "ADA: Title II. Appropriate Auxiliary Aids and Services + Effective Communication = Equal Opportunity. The link to the ADA Title II webpage on effective communication is also displayed underneath.]
Mai continues: Based on Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act which is also called the ADA, public schools must provide appropriate “auxiliary aids and services” where necessary to provide effective communication so that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, the services, programs, and activities of the public school district. Examples of aids and services that may be considered for deaf and hard of hearing students include but are not limited to:
To assist the IEP team, sample adaptations for a student with a hearing loss are provided in Appendix III of the Discussion Guide.
[The content above Mai is replaced with a preview of Appendix III of the Discussion Guide. Mai temporarily disappears from the screen to make room for the appendix.]
[Mai returns to the screen and the following text is displayed above her, "Sample Adaptations * Preferential Seating * Reduced Background Noise * Assistive Listening Devices * Repetition * Closed Captions * Access to Notes * Listening Breaks * Extra Time * Media Guides" The icons for CC and Hearing Loops are also shown.]
Mai continues: Adaptations should also include school-related extra-curricular activities. Participating in extra-curricular activities helps students to feel connected with the school and classmates. Based on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, students with a disability have the right to an equal opportunity to participate in their schools’ extracurricular activities. This may mean that the adaptations that are on the IEP for the school day most likely would be provided for extra-curricular activities. This could include providing a sign language interpreter, providing visual cues, or using assistive listening devices. Sports often are in noisy settings and communication is at a distance, so sometimes students need more adaptations in order to be able to understand teammates and coaches on the field. Clubs also can be noisier settings for some students.
Hard of hearing and deaf students are often the only student in the local school. Many times they miss out on conversations in the classroom, on the playground and at lunch. This may affect how they feel included and if they know what peers are talking about. Many students benefit from being able to talk with other people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Sometimes this means connecting students and families to mentors or role models. Sometimes, it means encouraging them to participate in deaf or hard of hearing events. If students are struggling to understand social information because they’re missing it, then this means they will need instruction and support to learn that information. Parents also have to remember to think about dinner table conversations and family gatherings to make sure their children feel connected.
Being deaf or hard of hearing is not limited to the school day. Outside of the school day, students can connect in other ways. Some options to consider could be: camps for deaf or hard of hearing students, day events, online video chats and text chats with parent permission, visual networking through apps, and/or social events through organizations, such as Minnesota Hands & Voices or other programs for deaf and hard of hearing students..
[The text above Mai is replaced with, "Discussion Prompts: * Other needs related to the student's hearing loss * Areas affected by those needs * Opportunities for communication and interaction with peers who are deaf or hard of hearing * Adaptations in the classroom" There is also an illustration of 5 rainbow-colored stick figures with think boxes above their heads.]
Mai continues: We hope that you will review the prompts in this section and think about the many different ways that deaf and hard of hearing students can get more support and instruction in the area of social skill development. The experience of being deaf or hard of hearing is very different than being hearing and this needs to also be acknowledged when sharing and teaching new information.
[Video fades to the original slide with the words, "This webinar series is provided by The Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans and by the Minnesota Department of Education."]
