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Transitions from one school program to another
can be bumpy. Remember your first day in kindergarten? Or your
first day of high school? This experience will be even more intense
for you child with a hearing loss. Preparation in the form of
visiting the new program, working with your current IFSP team
to prepare for the transition, and having a clear idea of what
you are looking for in a quality educational program will help
smooth this passage for you and your child.
To help parents evaluate educational programs, AG Bell's Public
School Caucus published guidelines of what constitutes an ideal
program for children pursing some form of an oral option. AG
Bell has many publications on this subject and frequently includes
related articles in its bi-monthly magazine for members, Volta
Voices. For information about educational programming for children
pursuing forms of manual communication, (i.e., Bilingual-Bicultural
or Total Communication), contact the National Association of
the Deaf or the American Society for Deaf Children.
AG Bell's guidelines outline eleven components of an ideal program
for children who are learning to use, maintain, and improve all
aspects of their verbal communication to the greatest extent
possible. A summary of these guidelines follows. For a complete
set of these guidelines, contact AG Bell.
| Guidelines for an Auditory Education that Works |
| A commitment to individualizing educational programming
to fit the child's strengths and needs, including initial
and on-going assessment, goal-setting, and documentation
of progress-all with parental involvement. |
| The education program, school or district will have immediate
access to audiological services which must include periodic
audiological testing, assurance that the student is wearing
appropriate hearing aids and/or other assistive devices,
teacher/parent education regarding the use of amplification,
daily monitoring of hearing aids in the classroom, easy and
fast access to minor repair services, and availability of
batteries, loaner aids, and FM systems. |
| A commitment to helping children with hearing loss develop
intelligible spoken language to the greatest extent possible. |
| A commitment to providing support to parents through constant
communication from the program's leaders and staff. This
should include information on all aspects of hearing loss,
opportunities for parents to share feelings and experiences
with other parents, and informing parents of their rights. |
| A commitment to hiring and retaining well-trained, well-supported,
available staff. Teachers, audiologists and speech-language
pathologists should have appropriate licensing and/or certification
in their area of expertise. |
| A commitment to providing a range of available educational
settings including: full-time regular class; full-time regular
class with supportive services; part-time regular class/part-time
special class; full-time special class in a regular school;
full-time special class in a special school; residential/day
school; home or hospital services. |
| A commitment to placement in one of the above settings
that is in full compliance with all of the rules and regulations
set forth by state law under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act. |
| A commitment to providing a range of support services;
examples include: (a) audiology, (b) speech/language pathology,
(c) sensory integration, physical and occupational therapy,
(d) counseling services for students and families; (e) behavioral
management, (f) social work services, (g) academic tutoring,
(h) oral interpreting, (i) note takers, (j) career counseling
(k) respite child care, (l) coordinated services from other
agencies, if needed. |
| If the child is not enrolled in a regular classroom, a
commitment to teaching a curriculum that is similar to that
presented in the regular classroom. |
| A commitment to ensuring a physical environment conducive
to listening and speech reading. That environment should
be quiet, acoustically favorable, well-lit and equipped with
assistive listening devices. |
| If a child is in the regular classroom, a commitment to
providing teachers with a thorough orientation in working
with children with hearing loss, and to offering teachers
with assistance from, and access to, specialists in the field. |
© 2004 AAO-HNS/AAO-HNSF
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