Deaf Child In Your Classroom?

So you have found out that you will have a Deaf Child in your classroom; what are you going to do? First, let me explain what I mean on this site by “deaf” – I refer to any child with a hearing loss from slight to profound. I do not use the words hearing impaired because most of the deaf I work with do not prefer those words. They have said you do not call women – men impaired, and you do not call men – women impaired. Those words make it sound like something is wrong with us when it is just our hearing that does not work.

There is also a difference between Deaf and deaf. Big D Deaf are those born deaf and have grown up in the Deaf culture using sign language. Small d deaf people have lost their hearing along the way or those that have learned sign language later in life.

Even though on this page I am talking about a child in the classroom, you can take all things discussed here and apply them at home or in other situations with a deaf child.

Now, what to do if you have a “deaf” student in your classroom. The first thing I will tell you is DON’T PANIC!!!!

Then I would continue to tell you the following:

You will have a student with a hearing loss in your classroom. A hearing loss impacts your student’s ability to access communication and performance in the classroom and the educational environment. 

Technology

There is technology such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and FM systems, but this technology does NOT restore normal hearing. Many times they only catch 2/3 of what is happening in the classroom.

Even with technology, your student will still miss out on verbal communications, especially when:

  • there is background noise
  • communication is from a distance
  • the speaker is facing away from the student
  • there is fast/rapid speech
  • there is back and forth social interaction

Word Endings

The beginning of the word can often be heard but not the ending sound like in cap, calf, cast, and cat (All they hear is the “ca” sound). Then some words on the mouth look the same – live, life/ book, hook, took/ time, lime.

Listening breaks

Students with hearing loss need to take “listening” breaks – there is a lot of fatigue in trying to figure out what is being said and always watching to “listen”. Sometimes the student might seem to be distracted and inattentive. 

Sometimes the student might seem to be distracted and inattentive. 

  • they may just need a break 
  • they are not hearing 
  • there is too much going on: background noise, too much activity

Classroom Participation

Classroom participation is often difficult for students with hearing loss. 

  • they do not hear the question or the directions completely
  • often give inappropriate responses

Even though a child with a hearing loss may seem to have a learning disorder, many times it is actually from lack of hearing and not a learning disorder. If the student can clearly receive the information, they are more likely to learn the same way as a typical hearing child.

The impact to listening and reading comprehension are often from 

  • incomplete speech perception
  • syntax development
  • phonological awareness


Students with hearing loss do not know what they did not hear because they did not hear it but are often held accountable for knowing all that was said. Instead, we can help them become aware of communication breakdowns and advocate for themselves.

Behaviors and Characteristics

Now, let’s talk about different behaviors and characteristics that you may notice in a deaf child or may help to identify a hearing loss in a child in your classroom.

Here is a list of different behaviors and characteristics:

  • Poor attention or becomes easily distracted
  • Frequently requests repetition
  • Frown or strains when listening
  • Is easily fatigued
  • Rarely participates in class discussions
  • Cannot localize sounds
  • Gives inappropriate answers to simple questions
  • May be isolated
  • Is overly dependent on visual cues
  • Has a low tolerance for frustration
  • Often speaks too loudly
  • Has poor reading skills
  • Tends to do better in math than in reading
  • May have limited or unclear speech/misarticulate frequently
  • Has inappropriate pitch rhythm, stress, and inflection in speech
  • Not able to follow directions
  • Not able to hear everyday sounds: birds, beeps…
  • Has harsh, breathy, nasal, or monotone voice quality
  • Is a mouth breather or has other nasal symptoms
  • Has a history of frequent earaches or ear discharge
  • Is a mouth breather or has other nasal symptoms
  • Complains of ringing, buzzing, or other noises in the ear/head
  • Scores lower on reading or language parts of achievement test
  • Exhibits self-consciousness about speaking or participating
  • Demonstrates unexplainable gaps in learning (a hard of hearing or deaf child may lack man of the basic concepts necessary for understanding things which we consider very simple)
  • Nod excessively (in agreement) to indicate understanding even when they do not understand. 
  • A hard of hearing or deaf child is often frustrated by misunderstanding so much of the time that they may just “give in” to hide embarrassment rather than asking one to repeat.

Helpful Suggestions

Now that you have calmed down a little and are not panicking, and know what to look for, let me give you some helpful suggestions I have come across through the years.

  • #1 Use facial expression and body language
    • Facial expression, body language, and gestures are essential components of communication.
      • Use a smile to show positive feedback.
      • Use facial expressions to convey feelings and attitudes
        • This kind of nonverbal communication encourages children to look at you and enhances communication in a visual modality
  • #2 Use lots of pictures, graphics, labels, and technology
    • Deaf are visual learners
    • Label everything in the classroom
    • Label pictures

Caption

  • # 3 Gain attention using hands, body movement, and appropriate touch
    • Gaining, holding, and directing the attention of a young deaf child is a challenge!
      • Wave a hand or object in front of a child or in their visual field – provide positive feedback when their attention is gained
      • Tap on the desk so they can feel the vibration
      • Tap child on the shoulder or hand
  • #4 Use pointing to direct attention & permit language input
    • It is best to get the child’s attention, tell them what they will see, and then direct their attention to the object or event
    • Or direct their attention to the object or event and then sign between them and the object so they can see both at the same time
    • Do not point and talk at the same time they will have to choose which they look at
  • # 5 Reduce or minimize background noises as much as possible

A few more helpful suggestions

  • #6 Reduce communication so the child recognizes it as important
    • If you are always talking, just to talk, the child will tune out and not know what is important to “listen” to and what is not
    • A deaf child must divide their attention between their activities and the person they are communicating with. For them to constantly switch attention between both is disruptive and interferes with what the child is doing and learning
    • An example: A deaf parent often waits for the child to look at them before communicating. Communication by deaf parents is visually accessible and occurs when a child is likely to be receptive and is only minimally disruptive. The child then recognizes the value of the interruption as something worthy of attention.
  • #7 Use short utterances
    • Deaf children must retain information in their memory as they shift from one source of information to another. – Therefore, short utterances are easier to retain
  • #8 Position yourself and objects in the child’s visual field
    • The need for a deaf child to divide attention can be reduced if the speaker/signer places themselves where both they and the object of interest to a child are within the child’s visual field
    • For close-up activities, set beside or behind the child. If you are sitting behind you curve your arms around the child. So they can see you signing.  Again minimizing the range of vision and less interruption.
  • #9 Use bracketing to clarify the meaning
    • Bracketing is putting a sign gesture or phrase at both the beginning and end of an utterance.  Example: See the cat over there [point] Yes, that’s a cat.
  • #10 Get an interpreter if at all possible – not just someone that signs a little bit

Do not assume

In the book “Educating Deaf Students” it says – The deaf learner should not be viewed as a hearing learner who cannot hear. It is often tempting, to assume the deaf and hearing children are the same. Deaf and hearing children have different backgrounds, experiences, communication histories, and knowledge. To optimize the educational opportunities of deaf learner, we need to develop instructional materials, teaching strategies, and learning environments that take advantage of their strengths while compensating for their special needs This means educating deaf children the same as hearing children may be doing them a great disservice.

Understanding Deaf Students in Diverse Settings

  • Deaf students have specific needs that may not be met adequately if it is assumed that deaf students and hearing students are the same (other than communication)
    • Deaf students have different experiences that may influence how they view and interact with the world
  • A diversity of both object-oriented and person-oriented experiences is crucial to normal development
  • Deaf students depend more on visual information, but they also may be more prone to distraction than hearing peers in the visual domain.
  • Deaf students are often unfamiliar with the multiple meanings of words, even if they know their primary meanings.
  • During memory retrieval, problem-solving, or reading the activation of information in long-term memory may not be as directed or focused for deaf students as for their hearing peers.
  • There may be differences between deaf and hearing learners in terms of the way they organize knowledge and the strategies they use to access stored information, some expectations, interactions, and educational methods appropriate for hearing children may not always work for deaf children
  • Attending to two or more sources of information simultaneously (e.g. a teacher, a computer screen, and an overhead projector) requires constant attention switching and makes communication and learning more challenging for deaf students.
  • Learning/problem-solving situations involving two or more dimensions that have to be considered simultaneously present greater difficulty for deaf students than hearing students. 
  • All these things clearly have implications for formal teaching-learning situations, but they also relate to the informal activities that constitute the majority of children’s learning contexts.

We need to teach deaf children and All in their lives (family, teachers, etc.) that it is OKAY to be different!!!!

  • References: 
    • Educating Deaf Students: From Research to Practice; by Marc Marschark, Harry G. Long, John A. Albertin
  • Raising and Educating a Deaf Child by Marc Marschark
  • Department of Education

Author: Start Loving Life Today

Posted On: March 26, 2022 @ 7:44 pm