Homeschooling this year is going to require a new focus: Teaching a child with significant hearing loss. I’ve got calls in to Utah’s School for the Deaf and Blind as well as into Parker’s Home and Hospital teacher. Sad fact in Utah is that supports for kids with special needs are hard to come by. It will be interesting to see what happens. As I’ve talked with people I’ve been told Parker will need hearing aids for ‘general’ hearing and an FM system for one on one learning experiences.
In Parker’s right ear he can’t hear any high tones, and has moderate hearing loss with low tones. In his left hear he has moderate loss with high tones, but can hear low tones. We’re hoping that he will be able to use his left ear in order to make up for the loss in his right ear.
We started the new school year out in our new home school room. I’m not really sure what to incorporate into my teaching techniques in order to enhance Parker’s lessons in regards to his hearing loss. If anyone has any ideas I’d LOVE to hear them!
We are starting out by reviewing the basics. I grabbed a half off set of small alphabet stamps from Hobby Lobby. These stamps require Parker to use and strengthen that pincher grip of his.
We had a great time using these Alphabet Circles. I hold up the letter A and sing (to the tune of Brown Bear, Brown Bear) “Letter A, Letter A, what do you see?….I see the Letter B looking at me all the way through the first 5 Alphabet letters. We’ll add on more each day. You can grab a set of these letters on Childcare Land.com. Shelley has the patterns for both upper and lower case under the ‘Letter Recognition-Circle Time‘ video.
You could also change this activity up by singing “Capitol A, Capitol A, what do you see?” ” see a Lowercase A looking at me”
I finally got my act together and have set up a proper circle time schedule. Right now we are reviewing animal signs and sounds. But I’ll use this spot to introduce word walls for new literature activities and a whole lot more.
I spent a lot of time this summer cleaning, organizing and trying to get things to a point where I devote more time to Parker’s education. It’s a lot of work, this teaching your child at home, but it’s important work , the rewards of which are great.
Twitter: trishdoerrler
Aug 22, 12
Tammy,
Not sure I have a lot of ideas, but I wanted to share a blog with you that is written by a friend who adopted a child with a hearing loss. She writes about it some and I remember reading how overwhelming all the sensory input was when they tried a device of some sort to help her hear more.
It’s at http://whitneygang.blogspot.com/ if you want to check it out.
Bless you guys!
Trish
You should get in touch with the John Tracy Clinic. They have a FREE correspondence course for teaching children with hearing loss. They could also probably point you in the right direction for supports you might need. My daughter has hearing loss and they were so helpful! They are located in California.
I also have to say that I’m a bit worried about Utah supports. For a state with a very high christian population they sure don’t seem to want to take care of their children with special needs! Makes me wonder what the heck would happen should a Republican get voted into office this year. Makes me shudder, really.
There is a Speech therapist at the orem pediatric therapy place that does speech by making them touch their voice box and she moves their mouth. She does amazing stuff. Frankly the UDBS is a waste in Utah. Biggest waste of time and money to try and get help especially if you are one that will make a fuss. They will literally tell you to go stuff it. It is awesome when they are blind
Here are 2 children’s stories about getting hearing aids and FM.
http://www.phonak.com/content/dam/phonak/b2b/Pediatrics/Junior_Care_Kits/028_0284_02_Oliver_gets_hearing_aids.pdf
http://www.phonak.com/content/dam/phonak/b2b/Pediatrics/Junior_Care_Kits/028_0288_02_Oliver_gets_FM.pdf
Try contacting http://www.gardenofeagan.blogspot.co.uk/ Her son Axel has DS and communicates through sign. (but is not deaf) He goes to the local school for the Deaf,in a specia ed class.
Tammy – Be sure and stop by my blog – it’s all about homeschooling my little boy with Down syndrome using visual techniques. Lots of things like free printable story boards and PECs, hands on learning for alphabet and numbers, fine motor and some gross motor work. I think you might find a thing or two useful, and it looks like Parker and Noah may be working on some of the same things. I can’t remember if Parker is allowed to use Play-Doh – if he is, since you already have the stamps, one thing we do that Noah loves is stamping the letters into the Play-Doh. Very sensory friendly. Also using painter’s tape, make a large alphabet letter on the floor and have him walk it. Those are just some of our favorites. Let me know if I can help more specifically. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the things y’all come up with – I’m always searching for new ideas.
Blessings,
Alyson
I love your alphabet song. Your circle time sounds really fun. You’re doing a fantastic job