The IEP and Other Joys of Raising a Hard of Hearing Child

By Lisa Kroulik © March 28, 2011I

In my previous article, What's That Thing in Her Ear? Answers from a Mom of Two Hard of Hearing Children, I discussed diagnosis of hearing loss in very young children and early interventions services. This article continues with information about hearing aids and navigating the school years with your hard of hearing child.

For maximum sound amplification and speech development, it is recommended that children with a hearing loss wear aids in both ears. Unfortunately, due to modeling their father who only wore one hearing aid and my underestimation of its importance, it has only been in the last two years that this has happened with consistency.

It was at that time that we upgraded from analog to digital hearing aids, and there is no going back. Digital hearing aids offer many advantages: They are more comfortable and they offer superior background noise reduction, for starters. The downside is they can be very expensive. I was fortunate that my insurance provided 80 percent coverage; still, my out of pocket expense per set was close to $500. Coverage for hearing aids has become mandatory in some states and it is high time that it did. When my daughters were little and first diagnosed, there was no insurance coverage whatsoever and we had to rely on state programs and the Lions Club to get them what they needed.

The transition from preschool to kindergarten is a huge milestone for any child. For one with a hearing disability who is already on an IEP, (Individualized Education Plan) it can be even more daunting. Fortunately, I have found special education teachers at all levels of my daughters' education to be professional and helpful.

In the spring before your child is to enter kindergarten, you should receive a request from his or her preschool teacher for a transitional meeting. This is assuming your hard of hearing child is enrolled in preschool through the school district where he or she will be attending kindergarten. If your child is not already enrolled in the district, contact the school yourself to arrange a meeting. At this meeting will be the preschool teacher, kindergarten teacher, any paraprofessionals who work with your child, the district audiologist and the parents. As alluded to in my previous article, a plan will be put into place detailing the special education services your child will receive for their hearing disability in kindergarten.

All IEP's aim to place the child in the least restrictive setting possible. For example, both of my daughters are very gifted students, so it would not be to their advantage to place them in classes of remedial learning. From preschool on, Rachel and Abby have been in regular classrooms with services to accommodate their hearing loss.

Some of these accommodations include preferential seating in the front of the classroom and receiving additional time on coursework if their disability prevented them from understanding the directions properly. The greatest stride made in an equal education comparable with their peers of normal hearing is when all of their teachers began using an FM Learning System. This is a device the teacher wears and then speaks directly into a microphone, transmitting his or her voice directly to my daughters' hearing aids. It is particularly helpful because the FM blocks out background noise and give the girls only what they need to hear.

In the fall of 2010, both of my daughters advanced from one school to another and required a plan of transition at their annual IEP meeting. Abby began sixth grade, moving from elementary to middle school, and Rachel began ninth grade, moving from middle school to high school. The elementary to middle school transition was by far the bigger one, with plans needing to be made for each individual class Abby is enrolled in, rather than focusing on being with the same teacher all day.

The annual IEP meeting gives parents, teachers and the student an opportunity to review progress made toward individual goals and to revise them if necessary.

In our school district, Anoka-Hennepin, there is a designated elementary, middle and high school for deaf and hard of hearing students to attend that is not determined by regular school boundaries. They are not required to attend the designated school; however, I did opt for that for both of my children and have found there to be many advantages. Compared to their father's school years where he was often the only hard of hearing student in his class or school, my children have been with a core group of other hard of hearing students since preschool. They know they are not alone in having this disability. Not only that, but peers of normal hearing accept them because it is commonplace to see other students with hearing aids, cochlear implants or who are totally deaf.

At times it was an inconvenience to send my girls to a school eight miles from home rather than the one just down the street, but it has been worth it to see their sense of belonging, self-esteem and longtime friendships develop. I don't know of other school district's policies on Center Based Learning, so that is a question for the contact at your child's school. If it is at all possible to have your children integrated in regular classrooms while simultaneously being part of a DHH (deaf/hard of hearing) peer group, I highly recommend it.

Rachel and Abby have joined a performing arts group that uses American Sign Language to present songs and plays to the community. This group is called Beyond Silence and anyone can attend their shows. It is a joy to watch them perform, and yet another opportunity that is readily available to them because of Center Based Learning.

My youngest daughter, Abby, received this placard at school and I have found it to be helpful when helping others to communicate with my children. Rachel and Abby do not require sign language to communicate. The use of amplification via hearing aids has bridged the gap enough for them to be successful in school and in life.

My youngest daughter, Abby, received this placard at school and I have found it to be helpful when helping others to communicate with my children. Rachel and Abby do not require sign language to communicate. The use of amplification via hearing aids has bridged the gap enough for them to be successful in school and in life.

It has now been eleven and a half years since I received the diagnosis of hearing loss which initially grieved me greatly. Now, I barely notice it. Hearing loss and hearing aids have become such a part of our everyday life that I am surprised when anyone makes a big deal out of it anymore. Have faith, it will be the same for you.