I’m the first to say, I do not know much about Deaf education. When I studied special education in undergraduate and graduate school, I never became certified to teach Deaf students. This is an enormous portion of the world of special education, and I know I am not the only special educator a little in the dark with this population.
So, let’s meet our guest blogger, Katie Swann! Katie has been teaching Deaf Ed in Texas for 5 years, is a lover of all things language and tech, and is so passionate about our field fully understanding and embracing the world of Deaf education. You can follow Katie on twitter and instagram to keep collaborating and learning.
What is Deaf Education?
Deaf Education is what I like to refer to as the “red-headed stepchild of special education” – it falls under the Special Education umbrella, but most special education and General Education teachers don’t know much about it. With deafness being a low incidence disability, it’s not surprising. But what happens when that deaf and/or hard of hearing (DHH) student walks into your classroom and you feel lost and overwhelmed?
One of the beautiful things about Deaf Education is that not every DHH student is the same. Everything varies; the kind of hearing loss, how they choose to communicate, accommodations that are needed, the kinds of services recommended (interpreter vs FM system) all depend on the student’s most recent audiogram and otological evaluation.
However, as a special education or General Education teacher, it can be incredibly overwhelming when that Individual Education Plan (IEP) lands on your desk with words you have zero context for.
Strategies
Plenty of strategies work not only for neurotypical students, but also the DHH population. One of the easiest things to do is to remember and implement:
S – Self Expression
A – Authentic Experience
I – Integrated Vocabulary
D – Deaf Role Model
Self Expression
Self expression is so important for all students, but for DHH students, it’s imperative that they are expressing themselves within their chosen modality and writing. Often, DHH children don’t develop their first language (L1) like neurotypical children due to late identification. The more language we directly teach and opportunities they have to use it, the better chance DHH students have at communicating with their families and advocating for themselves later.
Authentic Experiences
There’s no benefit to knowing 1000 words in Spanish if you can’t use them to actually communicate about your wants or needs. It doesn’t matter the language – English, Spanish, German, Cantonese, Swahili, or American Sign Language (ASL). The vocabulary we teach must not only be integrated (more on that in a minute) but also meaningful. Understanding the words, both receptively and expressively, in context, generalized across various settings is more worthwhile than knowing 1000 words by rote.
Integrated Vocabulary
Vocabulary instruction is the foundation of Deaf Education. From birth, children are building their vocabularies, and as they age, it will grow exponentially (see chart).
| 12 months | 4 words |
| 18 months | 10 – 50 words |
| 2 years | 200 – 300 words |
| 3 years | 900 – 1,000 words |
| 4 years | 2,000 words |
| 5 years | 5,000 words |
| 12 years | 50,000 words |
| 17 years | 136,000 words |
Now imagine if a student wasn’t identified as Deaf or Hard of Hearing until they were 4 years old. That means they’re already missing out on 2,000 words and everything that goes with that (authentic experiences, various sentence structures, and pragmatic context to name a few). This is why vocabulary instruction is so important for DHH students. They are catching up on the words, their meanings, how to use it, and how it relates to print, while still learning everything else.
Deaf Role Models
Deafness is a low incidence disability. This means that students with hearing loss are not as common in the classroom. What makes deafness unique from other disabilities is that there are two different perspectives – medical deafness and cultural deafness. Medical deafness is exactly as it sounds. Medically, per a doctor, a child has the diagnosis of deafness or hearing loss. Cultural deafness is a child’s identity – what we call “Big D” Deaf. Those who identify as Deaf often use ASL, see nothing wrong with having a hearing loss, and are involved in the community.
Of the students who are medically diagnosed as deaf, as much as 95% of them are children of hearing adults, who quite often are encountering their first DHH person ever – their child. As these little one grow, there’s an identity struggle – am I hearing or Deaf? With this internal struggle, it’s important to show DHH students that they are capable. There are DHH individuals who are successful actors (Marlee Matlin and Linda Bove), educators (Helen Keller and Douglas Ridloff), athletes (Derrick Coleman and Dummy Hoy), musicians (Sean Forbes and Evelyn Glennie), and activists (Nyle DiMarco). Seeing these adults in real life can be life changing for DHH children.
Tips for the Classroom
There are loads of little things that can be done to ensure your DHH students are able to access your instruction. The easiest is visuals – using them for what supplies they need, the daily schedule, what the instructions are, feelings board, voice levels, and even learning targets. When teaching new vocabulary words, always pair the print with a realistic photo. Another tip for the classroom purposeful routines. DHH students are constantly processing visual and auditory stimuli, resulting in cognitive overload and fatigue. When routines are taught, it’s one less thing your DHH student will have to think about or process. If they use an interpreter, talk directly to the student, not “at” them. The interpreter is not there to judge your teaching…they are a disinterested 3rd party, ensuring your student has access to everything in the classroom. Yes, this does include your side conversations with the teacher next door (if your other students can hear you). Most importantly, follow the IEP. There’s important pieces to consider, like if they have accommodations for preferential seating, it doesn’t always mean the front of the room. If they have assistive technology, things like an FM system or sound-field tower, it may feel like an inconvenience. However, it’s still your responsibility to wear and use it every day.
If you are lucky enough to have a DHH student in your classroom, I hope you relish every minute of it. Having the chance to impact a student in such an incredible way can be such a thrill as a teacher.
