One habit that I found myself having to break this year when working with my students, is the assumption that they understand what it is that I am saying. As September rolled into October I found myself preoccupied with worries about the difficulties that my students faced when it came to expressive language. I had to remind myself that receptive language difficulties are just as important to address. One student in particular had amazing expressive language, he really seemed to "get it," whenever I would talk to him. But once I sat down with him and really had a lengthy conversation, I realized that he had no idea what was going on. He was just very good at walking and talking the part of a student that comprehended what I had said, when the reality was, he struggled with receptive language and spent most of his day flying under my radar.
None of my students have hearing impairments this year, but two of them do seem to struggle with auditory processing. I have found in my classroom, many of the assistive technologies and strategies that I use in our day to day routine have been beneficial to a variety of types of disabilities, including those regarding communication or hearing impairments. Some strategies that I read about in this weeks article was the use of picture symbols, a visual schedule, and being sure to face a student when speaking to them (instead of talking while facing the SmartBoard.) These are all things that I already include in my classroom and I have found that if used consistently they definitely have a positive impact on my students that struggle with receptive language. Another tactic that I use is the incorporation of basic ASL signs within my classroom. I was lucky enough to take ASL in college and while I am nowhere near fluent, I have been able to find ways to integrate sign into our daily routine. I also find myself doing constant comprehension checks with students by observing and speaking with my students and asking questions to determine if they have truly understood the information I was attempting to communicate with them.
While I do not have any deaf or hard of hearing students in my classroom this year, I did spend two years as a nanny for a family with a nine year daughter that had hearing loss. She spent many years in a public school that really struggled to meet her needs as a learner and would come home frustrated because she had no idea what the teachers had been saying throughout the day. As her care provider it hurt me to see her become so disinterested in school and I watched as she fell further and further behind her peers. Eventually she was admitted to Rochester School for the Deaf where she was taught sign language and was in an environment with teachers trained in assistive technologies to assist students with communication impairments. There was a great deal of debate over whether or not it was "right" to send her away from her "normal" school, to a school that was "segregated." But it turned out to be the best thing that had happened to her in her educational life and she is now in high school excelling in every subject, and has been given the skills to be better equipped to communicate with others regardless of if they are deaf or have full function of their hearing.
None of my students have hearing impairments this year, but two of them do seem to struggle with auditory processing. I have found in my classroom, many of the assistive technologies and strategies that I use in our day to day routine have been beneficial to a variety of types of disabilities, including those regarding communication or hearing impairments. Some strategies that I read about in this weeks article was the use of picture symbols, a visual schedule, and being sure to face a student when speaking to them (instead of talking while facing the SmartBoard.) These are all things that I already include in my classroom and I have found that if used consistently they definitely have a positive impact on my students that struggle with receptive language. Another tactic that I use is the incorporation of basic ASL signs within my classroom. I was lucky enough to take ASL in college and while I am nowhere near fluent, I have been able to find ways to integrate sign into our daily routine. I also find myself doing constant comprehension checks with students by observing and speaking with my students and asking questions to determine if they have truly understood the information I was attempting to communicate with them.
While I do not have any deaf or hard of hearing students in my classroom this year, I did spend two years as a nanny for a family with a nine year daughter that had hearing loss. She spent many years in a public school that really struggled to meet her needs as a learner and would come home frustrated because she had no idea what the teachers had been saying throughout the day. As her care provider it hurt me to see her become so disinterested in school and I watched as she fell further and further behind her peers. Eventually she was admitted to Rochester School for the Deaf where she was taught sign language and was in an environment with teachers trained in assistive technologies to assist students with communication impairments. There was a great deal of debate over whether or not it was "right" to send her away from her "normal" school, to a school that was "segregated." But it turned out to be the best thing that had happened to her in her educational life and she is now in high school excelling in every subject, and has been given the skills to be better equipped to communicate with others regardless of if they are deaf or have full function of their hearing.