How to Explain Hearing Aids in the Classroom
Hearing impairment among child is widespread, with approximately one million children possessing some type of aural disability. In the classroom environment, such children can often be left behind their peers both socially and academically. However, teachers can mitigate this situation by explaining both the disability and the disability's solution -- often a hearing aid -- to students. By doing this, teachers will foster appreciation of differences among the students as well as develop inclusiveness and cohesion among the students.
Instructions
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Don't shy away from conversations about disability. Don't pretend that a student doesn't have a disability when he does. Other students are usually eager to include and meet a disabled student, but they are unsure how to approach him. Pretending that the student doesn't have a disability only makes that disability more glaring and produces uneasiness among the other children.
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Initiate a discussion about differences. Talk about how we each have specific qualities about us that make us unique individuals, such as our hair color, our favorite foods, our likes and our dislikes. Some of us are short; some of us are tall. Ask the children if they think the world would be more interesting or less interesting if everyone were exactly the same.
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Read or tell the children about historical individuals who made a positive difference, despite or because of their disabilities. Lead the children in learning about hearing impaired people such as Thomas Edison. Merge the conversation into a discussion of how technology has helped alleviate some disabilities, bringing up aids such as eyeglasses. Discuss how hearing aids can help people hear better and do their work more efficiently.
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Involve the disabled child constantly in classroom activities, adjusting your teaching as much as possible to include her. Doing this will support your verbal acknowledgment and support of her hearing disability and hearing aids. Work with the student and her parents to find out about any problems and to brainstorm solutions.
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References
- Photo Credit An image of nice little girl in classroom. image by Mykola Velychko from Fotolia.com
