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 * Facts about hearing impairments and deafness** (from the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children's website and [|Australian Hearing's website] ):

Deafness can be simply defined as the inability to hear. Hearing impairment may be more specifically described according to its degree: Hearing losses are also generally categorised according to whereabouts along the hearing 'pathway' they occur. The term 'Deaf' (often with a capital D) is often used to describe people who identify with the Deaf community, which uses Auslan (Australian Sign Language).
 * Mild
 * Moderate
 * Severe
 * Profound
 * A conductive loss occurs when something interferes with sound travelling between the outer and inner ears (eg, infection). These are usually medically or surgically treatable.
 * A sensorineural loss results from damage to the cochlea (the organ of hearing) or the auditory nerve. It may cause reduced sound levels, distortion and other problems. Hearing aids or cochlear implants are often recommended.

It's a common belief that hearing-impaired people just can't hear sounds loudly enough, but it's more complicated than that. The four main problems caused by hearing loss are:
 * soft sounds can't be heard
 * key parts of particular speech sounds may not be heard
 * sounds are difficult to separate so voices become jumbled with background noise
 * a reduced range of hearing may make loud sounds intolerable.

Occurrence of deafness:
 * On average, one Australian child is identified with impaired hearing every day.
 * 1 in 1000 babies is born with significant hearing loss.
 * By school age, 2 in every 1000 children will have been identified with hearing loss.
 * By the end of secondary school, more than 3 out of every 1000 children will require assistance because of hearing loss.
 * More than 12,000 children in Australia have a significant hearing impairment

Some of the more common causes of hearing impairment are:
 * Genetic conditions
 * Infection during pregnancy, including cytomegalovirus, rubella, syphilis, herpes and toxoplasmosis
 * Birth complications
 * Craniofacial abnormalities
 * Meningitis
 * Head trauma or perforation of the eardrum
 * Persistent ear infections (otitis media)
 * Some syndromes and degenerative disorders.

The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children has a good example of what is it like to be deaf: []

Common Behaviour in children with hearing loss (from the [|Cochlear website]):
 * Sad - because they don’t understand why people shout at them
 * Angry and frustrated - at not being able to hear or communicate
 * Shy - particularly around people they don’t know, because they can’t understand everything they say.
 * Quiet and withdrawn at school - if they can’t hear the teacher well or follow instructions
 * Exhaustion - hearing takes a lot of energy. Children with a hearing loss are often exhausted by the end of the day.
 * Misbehaved - a 'behavioural problem' can sometimes mask a hearing loss in children. Often 'behavioural problems' result from frustration at not hearing correctly.

Common issues for children with hearing loss (from the [|Cochlear website] ):
 * problems with speech development, language and communication skills (especially if severe hearing loss occurs at birth or before speech and language is acquired)
 * emotional difficulties and low self-esteem
 * learning and behaviour problems in school

Treatments for hearing loss (from the [|Cochlear website] ): >
 * [|Hearing aids] - for children with a mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss.
 * [|Bone conduction implants] - for children with conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss or single sided deafness.
 * [|Cochlear implants] - for children with a severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss who receive little or no benefit from hearing aids.


 * Teaching and Learning Practices** - //Good teaching and learning strategies for deaf kids are good teaching and learning strategies for all students//

Create an inclusive and positive environment (from //Are you being heard?// by Deaf Children Australia) If this is the case:
 * Assisting the deaf to understand the spoken message || Sometimes a deaf student may not follow what has been said.
 * 1) Repeat what has been said.
 * 2) Say it in a different way.
 * 3) Explain what is meant and give more information.
 * 4) Simplify the message.
 * 5) Clarify by asking a question so that the student can demonstrate understanding.

Handy Hints ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ||
 * Before speaking make sure you have the attention of deaf students
 * Speak clearly and naturally
 * Avoid speaking with your back to deaf students
 * Be aware lipreading is difﬁcult as many words look the same on the lips, for example, ‘mother’ and ‘brother’, or are invisible, for example, ‘coke.’
 * Never shout at a deaf student. It only distorts the message. ||
 * Inclusive teaching strategies || If the deaf student is having difﬁculty understanding the lesson, teaching styles may need to be changed or adapted. Most deaf kids are very visually aware and you can use this to support spoken and written instructions.
 * Visually show connections and links between different topics using mind maps, graphic organisers, ﬂow charts, tables, diagrams, pictures and objects.
 * Provide opportunities for repetition, reinforcement and practice of new vocabulary and concepts.
 * Write key words and important instructions, questions and tasks on the black/whiteboard.
 * Type rather than hand write any handout. ||
 * The auditory environment || Noise levels can make it very hard to hear because of the way some hearing aid and cochlear implant microphones amplify sound.
 * Use classrooms which have carpet, curtains and other coverings, such as cork notice boards, to absorb sound and reduce reverberation.
 * Use single rather than double or open area classrooms so there is less noise.
 * Be aware if there is outside noise or noise in the corridor. Shut the windows and doors if possible. ||
 * Checking for understanding || Sometimes deaf students will miss information in the classroom but may not be aware of this. They may be reluctant to check or ask for clariﬁcation because they may not want to draw attention to themselves. Deaf students will often nod their head when asked if they have understood and this may be misleading.
 * If a student has not heard or understood the message, try repeating or rephrasing it. If the student has still not understood, repeat the message in a simpler way.
 * Allow for silence between the time the information is given or question is asked and the time the student replies. They may need a little more time to process the question.
 * Ask the student to explain what they have to do by saying: "Tell me what you have to do" rather than “Do you understand?”


 * Resources** **and Technology** (Kath) **-**

http://www.deafchildrenaustralia.org.au/are_you_being_heard

Learning how to teach deaf children []

Video on daily routines for hearing impaired students media type="youtube" key="_X0LP7lUYME" height="349" width="425" This is not really related to teaching but it is an amazing film called 'It's all gone Pete Tong' about the experience of a DJ who loses his hearing

media type="youtube" key="g5K6pIez5P4" height="349" width="425"