Teamwork in the classroom essential for hearing impaired students
Home and school working together may determine the level of success for hearing impaired children in school.
Bringing special equipment into the classroom for hearing impaired students is important, but equally important is the setting up of a professional network within the school to keep up the support, points out the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, ASHA.
Close cooperation between parents, professionals and teachers is essential for achieving the best possible outcome for hearing impaired children in school. ASHA recommends that the following general advice be observed by all parties involved in creating the best possible conditions for the individual child throughout his or her school years:
- Hold frequent meetings among all those involved in the joint home and school efforts and discuss the progress and development of the hearing impaired child
- Assign responsibility to one school representative for regularly checking that the technical aids in the classroom are working and to trouble-shoot when necessary
- Consider if improvements in classroom acoustics can be made in order to improve the learning environment for the child
- Monitor any changes in the need of the child for changes in the technical aids
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, February 2008