The Hearing Impaired Child in

Nursery

Early Years Foundation Stage

SENSORY SUPPORT

(HEARING IMPAIRED)

OUR SERVICE

SENSORY SUPPORT (HEARING IMPAIRED)

Riverside Centre

Armstrong Way

Ashington

NORTHUMBERLAND

NE63 0YD

Service Manager - Mrs Nicola Taylor Tel: (01670) 624061

Your visiting teacher may be contacted through the Admin Team at

Riverside Centre

Mrs Lynne Lowes

Mrs Dawn Aspey

Tel: (01670) 624854

Your visiting teacher is:

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Tel: (01670) 624854

Staff from this Service have written the booklets in this series.

NB: In this series of booklets for ease of reading, the child will be referred to as ‘he’ rather than ‘he’ or ‘she’.

INTRODUCTION

It is firmly believed in educational circles that there are many

children with special needs for whom the local mainstream school is

the best placement.

Children with impaired hearing usually benefit from placement in

their local nursery, developing alongside their normally hearing peers

from their own locality.

Hearing impaired children need to experience the natural language of

adults and their peers and learn about their environment in the same

way as any other child who does not have a hearing loss.

HEARING LOSS

Hearing loss varies in severity and type.

A Sensori Neural hearing loss, sometimes called ‘nerve deafness’

ranges from a mild to a profound loss and usually does not alter.

Hearing aids are usually prescribed and, if found necessary, an FM

system.

A Conductive hearing loss ranges from a mild loss to a severe loss and

can often be treated medically. Hearing aids are often prescribed,

but not always.

(see ‘Conductive Hearing Losses’ booklet).

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WHO WILL HELP?

A NUMBER OF PEOPLE. A teacher of the hearing impaired will be

monitoring the progress of the child. This may involve making visits to

your nursery on an occasional basis or even a more regular basis, i.e.

weekly if necessary.

The teacher will advise you on aspects of the child’s development and

explain about hearing aids and the implications of their use.

Other professionals may be involved at various stages of the child’s

education, e.g. Educational Psychologist.

DOES HE NEED EXTRA ATTENTION?

YES. A hearing impaired child with appropriate hearing aids which are

well maintained and correctly monitored can acquire language if given

good language experiences and opportunities to listen.

Children learn language through interaction and hearing language

indirectly. A hearing impaired child often misses out on indirect

language learning opportunities and hence needs additional

opportunities for interaction and direct language input. These

opportunities arise quite naturally in the nursery environment and a few

extra minutes given to the hearing impaired child during play can

greatly enhance his acquisition of language and understanding of his

environment.

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DO WE TREAT HIM DIFFERENTLY?

NO. The hearing impaired child is a child with a hearing loss. He

lives in the same world as his hearing peers and so must learn the

same rules of behaviour and conduct right from the start.

Hearing impaired children have varying degrees of language and

understanding and, as a result, may need extra help and support in

learning what is expected of him.

Generally he will need to learn to sit during story time, to tidy up

after activities and to adhere to the rules of the nursery. It may

take extra time to explain these things to him but the end result

makes it all worth while.

Poor behaviour often develops as a result of not understanding the

rules. We can help a hearing impaired child to understand by:

Talking to him and showing what is expected. Being consistent in what is expected in the nursery and at

home. Being firm by not accepting poor behaviour. Praising good behaviour.

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When the child enters nursery, the teacher of the hearing impaired

supports and advises the nursery staff and liaises with the family.

Parents know their own child better than anyone else and the nursery

staff will look to them for support and work in partnership with them.

CAN WE HAVE A CONVERSATION?

YES. A little time should be set aside for the hearing impaired child

to discuss things which are of particular interest to him and may help

in developing his conversation skills. It may be useful to use his

scrapbook at such times and add to it as interesting events occur. It

is important not to dominate the conversation at such times but to

take the lead from the child. Listen to what he has to say and

comment on that, extend the conversation by adding your own

contribution.

It is helpful for conversation to be linked to the ‘here and now’, to a

concrete shared experience.

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IS THERE A PLACE FOR MUSICAL ACTIVITIES WITH THE

HEARING IMPAIRED CHILD?

YES, VERY MUCH SO. Music usually has a slot in any pre-school

programme and children love to move to music, to make music and to

sing. Hearing impaired children are no exception. In fact, musical

activities can play a highly significant part in the development of

communication skills.

Within the music session there are expectations that the children

will listen, attend, take turns and concentrate - all skills required for

effective conversation.

In addition to developing auditory memory, the clearly marked

contrasts of pitch, intensity, rhythm and rate, typically associated

with songs and rhymes for his age range, make the prosodic aspects

of speech much more accessible to the hearing impaired child and

provide wonderful opportunities for extended and varied use of voice.

Movement is an easier way to participate than singing/speech so

action songs and rhymes are ideal for encouraging participation

initially.

Through actions, any child, however inhibited can take part and

gradually gain the confidence to join in vocally. Singing with other

children is often one of the first group experiences a child has and,

as such, is most valuable for the co-operation it promotes with

others.

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WILL HE FIT IN?

YES. It is often a concern of the parents of the hearing children as

well as the parents of the hearing impaired child that the children

will not understand the nature of the disability and teasing may occur.

This is seldom the case as young children readily accept explanations

and reflect the behaviour and attitudes of adults.

When hearing aids are noticed (if they are), explain that ‘Johnny’

doesn’t hear very well and the hearing aids help him to hear. If a

comment is made about his poor speech, explain that ‘Johnny’ is

learning to talk and wouldn’t it be nice to play together so he could

learn more.

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WHAT SORT OF PREPARATION HAS HE HAD?

A LOT! The hearing impaired child usually does not enter nursery

without a great deal of preparation beforehand. From diagnosis, the

family would have been visited by a teacher of the hearing impaired

who will have been helped through the early stages of language

development.

Families have been encouraged to take their child to toddler/play

group where they have had the opportunity to enjoy the company of

other children, to develop their play skills and learn a little about

sharing and social interaction.

The child has already received a lot of help and support from their

parents and nursery is an addition to this and not an alternative.

Going into a new situation is often difficult for a child so it is

important to make careful preparation for the child with a hearing

loss by:

Visiting the nursery as often as appropriate before entry. In some cases the nursery teacher may visit the home. Looking at books and pictures about nurseries. Starting a simple scrap book about home and school. Having an established routine with hearing aids and other

aspects of care. Ensuring the child can visit the toilet unaided. Managing clothing and shoe changes.

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WHAT ABOUT STORY TIME?

VERY VALUABLE. A child’s language skills will influence how much

they derive from the group story time. The use of lively expression,

visual aids and full use of the pictures can enhance enjoyment, if a

book is being used. Repetitive stories are particularly appealing to all

children as well as the hearing impaired child. Dramatising stories is

exciting and an excellent medium to elicit language.

A hearing impaired child should be encouraged to sit within the field

of vision and audition to facilitate listening and encourage attention.

Story time is a time for interaction but it may be that the hearing

impaired child will need longer pauses and more encouragement to

make his contribution.

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CONCLUSION

Whilst we want as many hearing impaired children as possible to

attend their local nursery it is recognised that their special needs are

only part of the needs presented by the children in the nursery. The

nursery may have other children with special needs and all the

children are demanding in their own way. The peripatetic teacher of

the hearing impaired therefore tries to be available to give help when

it is needed. They aim to help the nursery staff to understand the

nature of hearing impairment and its implications, to deal with hearing

aids and to meet any problems as they arise. We rely on staff being

confident in all they do to help hearing impaired children in their

nursery and to feel happy about contacting our Service whenever

they need to do so.

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A SUMMARY

Observe child’s functioning to ensure hearing aids and FM are working

correctly.

Remember limitations of hearing aids.

Be aware of acoustic conditions.

Before speaking, gain attention through audition and encourage the

child to be within the range of vision and audition.

Rephrasing rather than repeating may be more benefit in some

circumstances.

Be aware of questioning techniques.

Follow the child’s initiative during conversation.

Allow time for response.

Do not correct speech or demand repetition.

A young hearing impaired child cannot be expected to listen for long

periods of time.

Make use of ALL the usual nursery activities to promote the

development of language and understanding.

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FURTHER READING

The Hearing Impaired Child in the Family

Michael Nolan & Ivan Tucker

Language Through Living

Morag Clark

Listen to Your Child

David Crystal

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USEFUL INFORMATION

Teacher of the hearing impaired: ---------------------------------------

ENT Consultant: ----------------------------------------------------------

GP: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Health Visitor: ------------------------------------------------------------

Educational Psychologist: ------------------------------------------------

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