Created for the interpreter, speech aid, or parent

By Michelle Radin

With a special thanks to Kim Ward, Krista Galyen, Joyce Dale, and Patricia McDaid

Download curriculum in PDF format

Some of the titles of speech sounds were taken from the speech development program LIPS: The Lindamood® Phoneme Sequencing Program for Reading, Spelling, and Speech—Third Edition, available here. Continue Reading

Language Development

Language development is a massive topic to conquer within a few paragraphs; many people make their careers and livelihoods from studying language development. However, here we will try to summarize it shortly in the hopes that this bit of general information can better help you understand the perspective of your student or child with a hearing loss.

Children are excellent mimickers of adults, of their parents, and of older siblings. Their innate drive to be like their mom and dad drives them toward learning, amongst many other things, language. Attempting to copy what they see, what they hear, are some of children’s beginning steps in acquiring language.

When a child with normal hearing is learning a new language or a new word, even as an adult, some of the same things always happen. First, a user of the language says the word and the child listens. The child will then try to copy the word. As the child is saying the word, s/he is listening to himself/herself and monitoring the sound. By listening and comparing it to how the user said the word, the child will know either to attempt the word again (trying to get the sounds correct), or feel satisfied that s/he said the word correctly.

That is merely the word component of language. There is also the grammar and syntax component of language. Many times we know the correct grammar usage by the simple fact “it just feels right.” People with normal hearing have heard the spoken grammar thousands even millions of times; they have acquired the grammar rules by listening and using them.

Now there is a whole lot more to language development than what is presented here. By no means feel that this is all there is to language development. However, this will help give you the basics when presented with some of the concepts below. Continue Reading

There are many sources for obtaining funds for hearing aids, assistive devices, special grants and continuing education. Located here is a small list of funding sources for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Similar information is available through resources in colleges, universities or major public libraries.

Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf

3417 Volta Place, NW
Washington, DC 20007
202/337-5220
http://www.agbell.org/financialaid.cfm Continue Reading

This information is not intended to, nor can it, take the place of your audiologist repairing and maintaining your hearing aid or FM system. This is intended to help you, your student, or your child become more knowledgeable about how to take care of their own hearing aids and troubleshoot minor problems.

As with all mechanical devices, preventative maintenance and proper care of the hearing aid or fm system will help prevent future headaches as well as costly repairs. Being such, below are some care tips for your devices: Continue Reading

There truly is a myriad of technological inventions that can make life much easier for people with a hearing loss. Athough this page will not include everything there is in assistive devices for those with a hearing loss, it will provide some insights as to the available technology. If you are interested in a certain device, just click on the picture and it will take you to a site that offers that product.

A site that offers a variety of assistive devices specifically for those with a hearing loss is Harris Communications. Also our local Alaska dealer for a variety of assistive technology devices is ATLA, phone: 907-563-2599, or 1-800-723-2852. Continue Reading

What is a cochlear implant?
A cochlear implant is an electronic device that bypasses the route of the normal hearing aid in order to provide beneficial hearing to those who have bilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. Usually those that receive little to no benefit from cochlear implants are candidates. Continue Reading

Listening Problems In the Classroom

In a typical classroom, there are many distracting background noises such as paper shuffling, whispering, talking, air conditioning/heater systems, overheads, and computers. These sounds may be almost as loud as a teacher’s voice. In addition to these distractions, a teacher’s voice may vary in loudness due to walking around the room, facing away from the class and writing on the board, and even their own personal preference for loud or soft speech. For most students with normal hearing, this is not a problem.

However, for those students with a hearing loss, background noises and distance interferes with hearing and understanding. The hearing aids not only amplify the teacher’s voice, but it also amplifies the sounds around the child as well. The incoming sound can be confusing and unclear. Continue Reading

What is a hearing aid?

A hearing aid is an electronic, battery-operated device that amplifies and changes sound to allow for improved communication. Hearing aids receive sound through a microphone, which then converts the sound waves to electrical signals. The amplifier increases the loudness of the signals and then sends the sound to the ear through a speaker. Continue Reading

by Krista Galyen

There are two main factors (among the many factors) when considering the impact of a hearing loss on a child: onset (time) of loss and type of loss. Each factor will aid in determining the impact on the child’s education. However, two students with similar onsets and types of hearing loss could be performing at different levels at school. After all, hearing children perform differently as well.

The Sounds of a Hearing Loss

To give you a general idea of what a child with a hearing loss hears (or does not hear), below are some sound files in .wav format. Continue Reading

by Krista Galyen

The simple act of understanding an audiogram can give many insights into a child. One will learn what that student hears as well as a partial understanding of what they are comprehending. One will also gain insights into why the child speaks and behaves the way they do, and why that impacts other areas of their education. Understanding an audiogram is a simple yet useful tool.

Parts of an Audiogram

First, an audiometer is used to test a person’s hearing. It makes different pitches (frequencies) from low to high at different volumes (measured in hertz, Hz). These are printed across the top of the audiogram. The loudness or intensity of the sound is measured in decibels, or dB. These are printed vertically on the audiogram. When looking at an audiogram, think of the frequencies like the keys on a piano: lower sounds are to the left, higher sounds are to the right. Continue Reading