deaf friendly teaching

8/13/2019 Deaf Friendly Teaching

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St. Paul's Way School Deaf Support Base.C.Dew 1

How to be a deaf friendlyteacher!


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What makes a deaf friendly teacher?

Source: NDCS


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Some statistics

34,000: the estimated number of deaf childrenin 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. PaulsWay

Main source NDCS


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Types of deafness

Some children are born deaf (congenital) and othersmay become deaf (acquired) due to illnesses such asmeningitis. There are two main types of deafness:

Conductive: the most common type, it is often causedby a build up of fluid in the middle ear. It may clearup 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 ordue to diseases like mumps, measles or rubella. Thisdamage is permanent.


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Degrees of deafness

Mild: Would hear music from a stereo, but may not hearwhispered 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 tohear 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 individualsounds in a word. It is common for them to leaveout word endings like s or ed

They may have a limited vocabulary becausethey cannot hear conversations going on aroundthem

They may struggle when one word has severalmeanings eg. Catch a cold, catch a ball, the catchon the gate


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The Impact of Deafness (cont)

A deaf child may become frustrated if theycannot communicate effectively or if they do notunderstand what is happening around them. Thismay 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 opportunitiesfor deaf children tomix with their peers

Promote goodcommunication skillswithin the classroom

Consider your seatingplan 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 attentionbefore starting to speak

Dont shout! This distorts your lip pattern andmay be painful for hearing aid users

Dont talk for ages as it can be tiring for the deafchild to lip read for long periods

Use gesture and facial expression to aidunderstanding

Encourage other children to put their hand up tospeak 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 theteacher, but it is important they can seeother pupils too

Try not to wander around when you aretalking, the pupil may not be able to seeyou

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 cluesto aid understanding

Write key words onthe board

Make sure the deafchild knows whenthere is a new topic ofconversation

Source:NDCS


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Tips for Using the Radio Aid

Make sure its switchedon!

Switch off when youare having aconversation the deafchild does not need tohear

Turn it off if you shout

deaf friendly teaching

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