How to be a deaf friendly teacher

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How to be a deaf friendly teacher!
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What makes a deaf friendly teacher?
Source NDCS
3
Some statistics

• 34,000 the estimated number of deaf children in
  the UK
• 90 of deaf children grow up in hearing families
• 80 of deaf children in England are educated in
  mainstream schools
• 40 of deaf children have additional needs
• 15 the number of deaf children in St. Pauls Way

Main source NDCS
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Types of deafness

• Some children are born deaf (congenital) and
  others may become deaf (acquired) due to
  illnesses such as meningitis. There are two main
  types of deafness
• Conductive the most common type, it is often
  caused by a build up of fluid in the middle ear.
  It may clear up or it may develop into a long
  term condition.
• Sensori-neural usually caused by loss or damage
  to the hair cells in the cochlea. This may be
  genetic or due to diseases like mumps, measles or
  rubella. This damage is permanent.

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Degrees of deafness

• Mild Would hear music from a stereo, but may not
  hear whispered conversation
• Moderate Would hear a telephone ringing, but may
  be unable to hear a baby crying
• Severe Would hear drums playing, but may be
  unable to hear a dog barking
• Profound Would hear a plane, but not a telephone
  ringing

Source British Society of Audiology 1988
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The Impact of Deafness

• Language development
• Deaf children may not hear all of the individual
  sounds in a word. It is common for them to leave
  out word endings like s or ed
• They may have a limited vocabulary because they
  cannot hear conversations going on around them
• They may struggle when one word has several
  meanings eg. Catch a cold, catch a ball, the
  catch on the gate

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The Impact of Deafness (cont)

• A deaf child may become frustrated if they
  cannot communicate effectively or if they do not
  understand what is happening around them. This
  may affect their opportunity to
• Learn appropriate social behaviour incidentally
• Communicate effectively with others
• Initiate conversations
• Use appropriate language in differing social
  situations
• Be fully included in large groups
• Express their feelings and emotions
• Develop confidence and self esteem

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What can we do?

• Create opportunities for deaf children to mix
  with their peers
• Promote good communication skills within the
  classroom
• Consider your seating plan and where you stand in
  the classroom

Source NDCS
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Top Tips for Communication in the Classroom

• Make sure you have the deaf childs attention
  before starting to speak
• Dont shout! This distorts your lip pattern and
  may be painful for hearing aid users
• Dont talk for ages as it can be tiring for the
  deaf child to lip read for long periods
• Use gesture and facial expression to aid
  understanding
• Encourage other children to put their hand up to
  speak and to speak one at a time

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Top Tips for Positioning in the Classroom

• Make sure the pupil sits near to the teacher, but
  it is important they can see other pupils too
• Try not to wander around when you are talking,
  the pupil may not be able to see you
• Dont stand with your back to the window, you
  will be difficult to lip read
• Dont speak as you are writing on the board again

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Top Tips for Teaching

• Use lots of visual clues to aid understanding
• Write key words on the board
• Make sure the deaf child knows when there is a
  new topic of conversation

SourceNDCS
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Tips for Using the Radio Aid

• Make sure its switched on!
• Switch off when you are having a conversation the
  deaf child does not need to hear
• Turn it off if you shout