The LIGHT Center, T-90, College of the Redwoods (476-4290) - December 11, 2000

A couple of weeks ago, this newsletter addressed the needs of and services available to student that are low vision and blind. So as not to be discriminatory, this week’s newsletter is devoted to the services and technology available for students who are hearing impaired and deaf.

The technology surrounding devices for the hearing impaired has taken off in the past year. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the American Speech and Hearing Association Annual Convention this past November, and was amazed at the advances in audio-technology. When considering such technology it is important to consider some categories of potential students who might benefit from the devices. The cost and the complexity of the device increase with the degree of hearing loss in the student.

Someone with a mild hearing loss can cope reasonably well without hearing aids. The problem they run into is related to localization of sound, as well as hearing when the room is noisy or echoes. For such students a Personal FM System is ideal. This involves the instructor wearing a lapel mic, and the student wearing either a behind the ear receiver with an ear plug, or a headset. It is very convenient, light weight and is not conspicuous enough to make the student wearing it stand out from the crowd. This device has also been proven to assist students with the Central Auditory Processing Disorders and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Such a device can range from $600.00 – $1500.00 depending on the make and features. Also useful for this group of students is a Sound Field Amplification System.

This is a small FM based public address system with a wireless mic worn by the instructor. These can be purchased and installed in a classroom for less than $1000.00. There are also infrared systems that penetrate walls without the need for signal management. It amplifies the instructor’s voice for the entire class, being again especially helpful for students with Central Auditory Processing or attentional problems.

For students with moderate to severe losses of hearing, aids are almost a requirement. Behind the ear FM systems are available with built in programmability, allowing them to be used with hearing aids or cochlear implants. Gone are the days of bulky body aides that were strapped around the student’s chest. These products are no larger than a behind the ear hearing aid. Again the instructor wears no more than a lapel mic.

The severely hearing-impaired person is often reliant on an interpreter for signing, as they have little or no useable hearing. There is now technology that allows the student to utilize a laptop at their desk. Using Dragon Naturally Speaking programming, this presents real-time print on the screen of the instructor’s verbal output. It also has an inset screen which provides real-time ASL signing of the instructor’s message. All it requires is the same voice training by the instructor as needed for Dragon Naturally Speaking.

There are a number of services that are also available to students who are hearing-impaired. Again, as with any disability, there must be a medical verification of the hearing loss prior to the awarding of the accommodations.

A student with a hearing impairment is eligible for the provision of note-taking services. This takes the pressure off the hearing impaired student to decode the verbal output in a classroom setting. It also eliminates the problems encountered when the instructor turns his or her back to the students to write on the board but continues to talk. The student who uses speech reading will miss any information that is not visible to him or her.

Real-time Captioning is useful for a student who has good reading skills, but whose hearing is not functional in a classroom setting. A court reporter types the verbal information presented in the class in real-time. The output appears on a laptop computer for the student virtually immediately. A printed transcript can also be provided for the student.

For students with depressed reading skills, and those who cannot rely on useable hearing through assistive devices are speech reading, a sign language interpreter may be necessary. While this is a great service, there is one major problem. There is a chronic shortage of qualified interpreters across the country, and this shortage increases in a rural setting.

Comments? mailto:trish-blair@redwoods.edu

Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their minds.

(Albert Einstein)