Special Services
for Hard of Hearing and Deaf Individuals
Hearing problems are very common among school age children. There are about 8 million children in the United States with some degree of hearing loss. That represents 1 in every 6 elementary students. Research supports that even very mild hearing loss or fluctuating hearing can interfere with a child’s ability to learn. For this reason, the Urbana School District provides itinerant services to children with hearing loss who attend our schools.
The goals of the Program for Students with Hearing Loss in the Urbana School District are as follows:
- Students should develop skills in communication, including speech, speech reading, auditory discrimination, written language, and sometimes fingerspelling and sign language if determined to be beneficial and desirable by the educational team, including the family.
- Students should develop a working knowledge of their personal hearing loss and, if applicable, their hearing aid(s). Students will work on developing a realistic attitude in regard to their hearing loss.
- Students should develop the fundamental skills necessary to realize their full potential as a good citizen. These skills include reading, writing, speaking, listening, and methods of examining and using information.
- Students will, to the best of their ability, participate in the least restrictive environment available in the Urbana School District.
- Students should explore and develop a healthy physical and emotional adjustment to their hearing loss.
Interesting Facts about Hearing Loss
Description of Services
Students are eligible for Direct Service, including Collaborative Consultation, if they meet any one of the following audiological criteria and one or more of the following educational criteria:Audiological Criteria:
- Sensorineural hearing loss, which is any dysfunction that occurs in the inner ear or along the nerve pathway from the inner ear to the brain stem
- Chronic conductive hearing loss, which is any dysfunction that occurs in the outer or middle ear
- Use of personal hearing aid(s) or amplification in the school setting to improve speech discrimination
Educational Criteria:
- Has difficulty comprehending/following oral directions
- Has difficulty understanding and participating in class discussions
- Has speech/language delays
- Is often unaware that others are speaking
- Demonstrates reduced word recognition ability in quiet and/or background noise, per audiological assessment
- Exhibits problems adjusting socially or emotionally to hearing loss
What should I do if I suspect my child has a hearing loss?
EAR TEAM
The Educational and Audiological Review Team (EAR Team) communicates on a regular basis to insure that students with hearing loss are having a successful mainstream experience. The following are the members of the EAR Team:
- Teachers for Hard of Hearing and Deaf Individuals
- Provide a wide variety of services to children with any degree of hearing loss. Services do not include academic tutoring but instead focus on insuring that students have the skills they need to have a successful regular classroom experience.
- Work with students on a regular basis to meet the students' individual needs as outlined on the IEP. They also meet with the regular classroom teachers of students with hearing loss to collaborate on strategies that best help in the classroom to meet the students' needs.
- The areas which are most appropriate for work with hard of hearing and deaf individuals include some classroom support related to vocabulary development and concepts and/or language related to the classroom curriculum as well as listening skills related to classroom work.
- Audiologists
- Coordinator of Services for Hard of Hearing and Deaf Individuals
- Other EAR Team Members
These participants should be invited periodically as their input is very valuable to the communication process:
- Parents
- Classroom Teachers
- School Nurse
- Students
- Speech / Language Pathologists
- Psychologists
- Social Workers
- Physicians
MONITORING SERVICE
Students who have a confirmed hearing loss that is causing no apparent educational problems will be placed on monitor status. This means that the itinerant teacher for the hard of hearing / deaf will monitor classroom progress and the school audiologist from CASE will monitor hearing. All staff should be alert to changes in the child’s hearing and should report them to the EAR Team.
INSERVICE
Part of the service from the teachers for hard of hearing and deaf students is an inservice program. Inservice can be for entire classrooms, for other teachers, for administrators, for other district staff or for parents and families. Topics for inservice could include how the ear works, implications and simulation of hearing loss, characteristics of hearing loss, communication and listening strategies and amplification. Inservice is intended to promote understanding of and acceptance of hearing loss as a part of life in a community of diverse citizens.
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Various types of amplification systems can be made available to students with hearing loss as deemed necessary by the team. Urbana Middle School has also acquired a video phone provided free of charge by the Sorenson Company to allow deaf students to make calls to other deaf individuals or to non-signing, hearing individuals using a video relay service interpreter. It works like a webcam and has opened up new communication opportunities for young people at Urbana Schools who use sign language. It is also available to deaf adults wishing to contact the schools. The VP phone number is: 217-384-3685.
INTERPRETER SERVICES
Sign language interpreters serve students in the school district who are deaf and using sign as their main mode of communication. Interpreters are also available as needed to deaf parents in the district. You may request this service by contacting the principal at your child's school. Urbana Schools Contact Information
SIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES
Sign language classes are offered both fall and spring semesters through Urbana Adult Education for those interested in acquiring sign skills.
For additional information
For additional information regarding Services for Hard of Hearing and Deaf Individuals in the Urbana School District please contact:Vicki Smith and Susannah Moyer - Teachers of the Hard of Hearing and Deaf
Cheryl Hutton - Interpreter
Urbana Middle School
1201 Vine Street
Urbana, IL 61801
217-384-3685 ext. 1422