Hearing Families

Susan Nittrouer and Lisa Burton set out to study the speech perception and language processing of children the hearing loss. The collected a group of 8-to-10 year old children with hearing loss who were all in mainstream elementary schools and had always used oral language. When they compared the outcomes to a comparison group of kids with normal hearing, they found that half of the kids with hearing loss were far behind normal hearing children their own age. But the other half, showed age-appropriate skills, despite their hearing loss!

When Nittrouer and Burton tried to understand the split in the hearing loss group, they saw that all of the kids on age level attended preschool programs that were either specifically for children with hearing loss or private preschools with low teacher-student ratios. The kids whose skills fell behind the kids with normal hearing, all attended special education preschool programs that were not specifically for hearing loss, but had kids with many different kind of disabilities all together.

They weren’t expecting to find such a clear split within the hearing loss group – and the kids on age-level had different experiences from each other. But these findings are cause to take a careful look at how we choose preschool programs for our kids. Here are some things to consider:

Observe the preschool day. Is there lots of talking and opportunity for conversations? Do the kids talk to one another? Do the teachers and other adult staff talk with the kids? Is there a child in the class who is having a hard time or is not with the group? Do the teachers notice and get involved? This doesn’t have anything to do with language, but it is really important for there to be an effort to make sure that no child “falls through the cracks.”

Look at the teacher-child ratio. Are there more children in the room than one human being can possibly keep track of? Does the teacher look swamped and overwhelmed or calm and in control? Some of this has to do with the skill and experience of the teacher, but look around and ask yourself if the teacher has enough time to pay specific attention to one child who might need a little more. Note: one-on-one is not preferable. Kids need peers to interact with, play with, talk with, and learn from. They are better off with a responsible adult who can give them some guidance, while they learn to negotiate the social world of age-mates.

Ask about the language and pre-literacy emphasis. Children with hearing loss need to  spend their time in environments rich in language and reading experiences. Are they talking about letters and words and rhymes? Are there teachers reading books to children? Are children reading books on their own? Are there lots of books in the classroom? Even more important: is there a lot of talking in the classroom? These things encourage children to speak, listen, and learn language.

Don’t be distracted by bling. The most colorful, cheerful classroom with the newest toys may not be the best place for your child. Sometimes, a preschool with older, more worn facilities may have staff who are more focused on the kids and the overall experience may be better. Toys don’t matter that much. I don’t think computers matter at all in preschool, especially if your child has access to one at home. Instead, what really matters is the atmosphere where children feel warmth and caring and feel encouraged to ask questions and learn.

How do the teachers and administrators react to a child with hearing aids or cochlear implants? If the teachers and administrators are open to the idea of having a child with hearing loss in the preschool program, then that is great. Teachers with a positive attitude and an interest to understand hearing loss are what your child needs. If you decide that this preschool is a great environment for your child, then you can educate the staff about hearing loss and your child’s hearing aids or cochlear implants and FM systems. Your child’s speech therapist or audiologist can come to school and educate the teachers on the unique needs of your child with hearing loss. On the other hand: if the school doesn’t want your child – think really hard about if you want the school. If problems arise, you want to be able to work together with the staff to solve them. This may be hard to do if the staff was unenthusiastic about taking your child in the first place.

Are there opportunities to be active and to play? Preschool children learn by experiencing and playing. They are better off with fewer worksheets and more play time play space, play materials, and teacher participation to help scaffold social interactions, if their help is needed. This means that the teacher is present and aware of what the children are doing at play time and ready to teach the children how to solve social conflicts if (and when) they arise.

See where graduates go to elementary school – especially graduates from hearing loss programs. Find out where the children go next. Do they go to elementary schools that you envision to be good schools for your child? If you find a wonderful deaf/hard-of-hearing preschool program, inquire about where kids go for first grade. If the majority continue in a special education classroom – think carefully about if this is where you want to see your child going a few years from now.

Finally, relax, and remember that this IS a reversible decision. That means that you can change your mind. It will, no doubt, be stressful and even unpleasant, but you can change your child’s preschool in the middle if you realize that it is not going how you had planned or hoped. I am not advocating this as a plan A. But it is helpful to remember that this is not a permanent decision that you cannot change later.

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Tags: cochlear implant, cooperation between parents and teachers, hearing aids, hearing loss, Language, literacy, preschool, school, teachers