ERIC Number: EJ1018915
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1544-6751
EISSN: N/A
Essential in Ensuring Access to Services: A Teacher of the Deaf
Stinson, Heather
Odyssey: New Directions in Deaf Education, v14 p48-51 2013
With the onset of universal newborn hearing screenings and early identification and amplification, children with hearing loss are able to receive education in mainstream classrooms as early as preschool. According to a 2011 report from the U. S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), 52.6 percent of preschool-age children with hearing loss in the United States are educated at least part of the school day in their local preschool classrooms; this increases to 86.3 percent for school-age children (GAO, 2011). The teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing is critical to effective inclusion. Only this teacher is in a position to build relationships with classroom teachers and service providers and to provide ongoing support for parents and their children. Successful inclusion, of course, also includes the willingness of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team members to actively promote inclusion through a team approach and a willingness to understand, monitor, and use assistive technology (Eriks-Brophy et al., 2006). In this article, the author describes one 4-year-old boy's life with multiple developmental delays and the services he receives from the occupational therapist, physical therapist, and speech-language pathologist employed by his school district as well as his work with a vision specialist and a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, both contracted through local agencies outside of the school. In addition to working with the young boy individually, the teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing works with his family and other service providers to develop communication goals and coordinate the activities of the other professionals. In this way, his language goals are incorporated into his occupational, physical, and vision therapies, and into the instructional practices in his general education classroom.
Descriptors: Screening Tests, Hearing Impairments, Hearing (Physiology), Access to Education, Preschool Children, Student Needs, Deafness, Inclusion, Early Intervention, Teacher Role, Teacher Collaboration, Regular and Special Education Relationship, Parent Participation
Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Avenue NE, KS 3600, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-526-9105; Tel: 202-651-5340; Fax: 202-651-5708; e-mail: odyssey@gallaudet.edu; Web site: http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Journal Articles
Education Level: Preschool Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A