COMMUNICATION PLANS: Addressing the Needs of Students with Hearing Impairment

1. COMMUNICATION PLANS:Addressing the Needs of Students with Hearing Impairment Gillis Ward, Director Local Education Agency Support Services for the Hearing Impaired gillisw@asd.k12.ar.us 501-324-9523 Shelly Wier, Consultant Easter Seals Outreach Program swier@ar.easterseals.com 501-221-8415

2. Low Incidence Disability Low incidence BIG IMPACT

3. Arkansas Definition A. “Deafness” means 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 educational performance. B. “Hearing impairment” means 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. 1. Audiological indicators: • An average pure-tone hearing loss in the speech range (500-2000Hz) of 20dB or greater in the better ear. • A fluctuating hearing impairment, such as on resulting from chronic otitis media. • An average high frequency, pure-tone hearing loss of 35dB or greater in the better ear at two or more of the following frequencies: 2000, 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz. • A permanent unilateral hearing loss of 35dB or greater in the speech range (pure-tone average of 500-2000 Hz).

4. Why a Communication Plan? • Students with hearing impairments have unique communication needs • All staff need to understand the implications of the communication barriers • All aspects of the child’s day must be considered

5. Purpose Since the use of this document is not a state requirement, our purpose in presenting it is to provide a procedure or script within the IEP process that facilitates a more in-depth discussion among IEP team members about the critical issues which impact the development and communication of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

6. “Consideration of Special Factors” (IDEA 2006, 34 CFR 300.324 (a)(2)(iv)) The IEP team for a child who is deaf or hearing-impaired must . . . "consider the child's language and communication needs, opportunities for direct communications with peers and professional personnel in the child's language and communication mode, academic level, and full range of needs, including opportunities for direct instruction in the child's language and communication mode."

7. Four Components Consider . . . • Student’s language and communication needs • Opportunities for direct communication in the student’s language or primary communication mode (peers/personnel) • Academic level • Full range of needs, including opportunities for direct instruction in the student’s language or primary communication mode

8. I. Consider the child's language and communication needs • What is the student’s primary language and/or communication mode? • What language(s) and model(s) of communication do the parents use with their child?

9. I. Consider the child's language and communication needs (cont.) • What language(s) and models(s) does the student use to communicate at home, with his/her friends, in the community and in school? • How successful is the student’s ability to communicate in a variety of situations?

10. I. Consider the child's language and communication needs (cont.) • How does this student access information in noise or in a room with poor acoustics? • Have we adequately considered the “fatigue factor?”

11. I. Consider the child's language and communication needs(cont.) • Have we objectively measured this student’s ability to access information in his/her preferred mode of communication? • What type of technology does this student use?

12. I. Consider the child's language and communication needs (cont.) • What is the back-up plan when communication breaks down? • How can we assess his/her sign language or oral skill level?

13. I. Consider the child's language and communication needs (cont.) • Does this student need an interpreter? What kind? • How can we assess functional hearing (beyond the audiogram)?

14. I. Consider the child's language and communication needs (cont.) • How are tests administered in the classroom? Orally? Written? • How does the student access inferential learning?

15. II. Consider opportunities for direct communications* with peers and professional personnel in the child's language and communication mode. *Direct communication occurs person to person, not through an additional source, e.g. educational interpreter, captioner. This may be provided by the school or family.

16. 1. Opportunities for direct communication with peers. • Small group activities/projects with other students • Extracurricular activities • Sign classes for classmates • Friends who know sign language • Club membership and participation • Activities at ASD or with other programs where there are students who are D/HH

17. 2. Opportunities for direct communication with professional staff and other school personnel. • Certified teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing • Training for staff • Staff who know sign language

18. III. Consider academic level 1. Does the student have the communication and language necessary to acquire grade-level academic skills and concepts of the general education curriculum?

19.  Yes What supports are needed to continue proficiency in grade-level academic skills and concepts of the general education curriculum?  No What supports are needed to increase the student’s proficiency in his/her language and communication to acquire grade-level academic skills and concepts of the general education curriculum?

20. Examples of Support • Speech-language services • Educational interpreter • Accommodations/modifications as stated in the IEP, e.g. preteaching vocabulary • Tutoring • Placement in other Special Ed Services

21. III. Consider academic level(cont.) 2. Do the specialists delivering the communication plan to the student have demonstrated proficiency in the student’s primary communication mode or language? • Teachers • Interpreters • Other staff Make plans for staff to gain needed skill…

22. IV. Consider full range of needs, including opportunities for direct instruction* in the child’s language and communication mode. *Direct instruction occurs person to person, not through an additional source, e.g. educational interpreter, captioner.

23. 1. Opportunities for direct instruction in the child’s language and communication mode. • Classroom teacher • SLP • Resource teacher • Others

24. 2. Opportunities for interaction with deaf and hard of hearing role models. • Community • ASD • Local Deaf club • Church activities

25. 3. The communication-accessible academic instruction, school services, and extracurricular activities the student will receive have been identified.

26. Assistive Technology Soundfield systems Video phones Personal FM systems Hearing aids

27. Captioning • Television • Movies • DVD’s • Computer • programs

28. Extracurricular Activities

29. Let’s Take a Break! We will resume promptly in 15 minutes.

31. Practice with a Case Study Please form groups of 3-5.

32. Evaluation • Speech-Language Impairment vs Hearing Impairment: Required Data • Program Planning • General Guidelines • Recommended Tests and Tools

35. Evaluation • Speech-Language Impairment vs Hearing Impairment: Required Data • Program Planning • General Guidelines • Recommended Tests and Tools

36. General Testing Guidelines • Check hearing aids to be sure they are functioning correctly. • Position yourself where the student can see your face. • Be sure lighting is good. Never sit with your back to a window. • Choose a place where there is very little or no background noise. • Use a natural speaking voice. Do not over exaggerate lip movements.

37. General Testing Guidelines • Ask the student to repeat directions and all verbal stimuli to ensure comprehension. Do not ask “Do you understand?” and accept a head nod. • Repeat, then reword, directions the student does not understand. • Give auditory or signed directions first, then show picture stimulus. Students can only look at one thing at a time. • Provide several practice items to ensure that the student understands the task.

38. General Testing Guidelines • Use visual aids whenever you can (and it is appropriate). • Use isolated words in a meaningful sentence when possible. • Be aware that due to vocabulary deficits, students who are hearing impaired may not know the names of even simple objects and pictures. • If using an interpreter, remember that some signs are iconic.

39. General Testing Guidelines • Review test items prior to giving the test to ensure they are clear and understandable. • Keep in mind what skill you are evaluating. For example, if it’s syntax (word order), be sure the student knows the names of the objects, otherwise you’re making it into a vocabulary test. • Report performance using percent-correct and percentile scores as these are more informative.

40. Appropriate Tests and Tools Listening -- CASLLS -- DASL-II -- ESP -- SPICE -- TAC * -- CFAPI Language -- GAEL -- MacArthur -- OWLS -- RDLS-III -- SALT -- Scales -- SKI-HI -- TAGS -- TERA -- TOSS-P -- TOSS-I -- TTFC-2 Articulation -- CID Phon Inv -- CID SPINE -- IEPNCHI -- Paden-Brown -- Ling’s -- SSR

41. Let’s Go To Lunch! We will resume promptly in 1 hour.

42. Functional Listening Assessment Purpose To determine how a student’s listening abilities are affected by noise, distance, and visual input in a situation that is more representative of his or her actual listening environment than a sound booth.

43. Functional Listening Assessment • Materials Needed • Environment for Testing/Physical Set-Up • Types of Evaluation Materials • Presentation Levels • Presentation Protocol • Scoring • Variations in Protocol • Interpretation (Matrix)

44. Therapy Planning • Listening Skills • Language Skills • Articulation Skills

45. ListeningFor children who are D/HH, it is not a passive activity, but a major active force

46. Auditory Skills Hierarchy Awareness/Detection Discrimination Identification/Recognition Comprehension

47. Awareness/Detection The student can respond to presence or absence of sound. Discrimination The student canperceive similarities & differences among 2 or more speech sounds.

48. Identification/Recognition The student can reproduce speech stimuli by: • Naming • Repeating • Writing • Identifying a picture • Suprasegmentals: • Pitch • Loudness • Duration • Angry vs. Sad • Male, Female, Child • Segmentals: • Initial sound vocabulary • Words varying in # of syllables • Words with constant consonants but varying vowels • Words with constant vowels but varying consonants • Two critical elements

49. Comprehension The student can demonstrate understanding of speech by: • Following a direction • Answering a question • Participating in a conversation • Paraphrasing what was heard • Familiar expressions • 1 direction/ 2 directions • Classroom instructions • Sequencing 3 directions • Multi-element directions • Sequencing 3 events • Answering questions about a story: open, closed set • All of the above in a noisy environment

50. Continuum of Difficulty