Meet Susan
Case Study: Hearing
Susan is a ten year old girl in the 5th grade. She has been in school for six years but can only read at a grade three level. She is at a fourth grade level in math. She has struggled in school because she is moderately severe hearing loss (56-70 dB). She wears hearing aids in both ears, which helps her greatly but sometimes the room acoustics interfere with these devices and she will turn them off. Her language skills are assessed at also a fourth grade level, as vocabulary and pronunciation tends to be a challenge for her. Her writing also suffers from these difficulties.
For those suffering from hearing loss, the following decibel (dB) values refer to the amount of additional sound energy they would need (relative to someone with normal hearing) in order to perceive a given sound:
What They Decided
Susan’s teachers began by attending professional development about hearing loss and hearing impairment. They learned to always face the students when speaking, make sure their face in unobstructed when giving directions and not to stand near natural light, which can make them harder to see. They also used an interactive whiteboard for better visuals and always used closed captioning when showing film or movies. Susan was given a laptop to use during class at all times. The laptop contained text to speech software, a webcam for video chat technology, and apps that amplify certain sounds and recognize vocabulary, spelling and grammar. During particularly difficult subjects or complicated instructions a video remote interpreter is accessed to view the class from afar and present Susan with information after the lesson is finished.
Example Classroom Assignments
Experiencing Hearing Loss Through Music
Lesson for grades 2-4. Provided by ADL Curriculum Connections. Click Here.
8 Days on Deafness and American Sign Language
Lessons for Elementary Grades. Provided by HotChalk Lesson Plans. Click Here.
ASHA Lesson Plans and Activities
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association lesson plans and activities for all grades. Click Here.
Deaf Awareness Lesson Plans for Teachers
Lesson plans provided by Look, Smile, Chat. Click Here.
Resources
