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Collaborating with Additional Service Providers

Let’s go! Time to see Adam!” my first
grader calls out, referring to his Occupational Therapist (OT), fist pumping
the air as he hurries down the hall. Our individual session is finished but my
time with him continues. My student runs into the OT room, sits at his workspace,
and begins to grab for items on the table, responding to Adam’s verbal prompts
to wait as I observe from a few feet away.

           Many students that I work with have
service providers in addition to my support as their teacher of the deaf/HOH, and
the support of a speech and language pathologist. Occupational therapists,
physical therapists, behavioral or ABA therapists and vision specialists are just
some of the professionals my students see regularly. In order to maximize
growth and skills throughout the school day, everyone on the team must
understand the impact of hearing loss on learning and language. Especially for
young students or new listeners (e.g. a recently implanted student)
collaboration between the teacher of the deaf and other professionals is
essential. Below are a few areas I highlight when working with other service
providers.

For Occupational and Physical Therapists:

      
As the teacher of the deaf/HOH, work with your
therapists to identify the best place to sit when communicating and working with
the student. This is usually across from the student to maximize visual access
but your student may have a “better” ear making it more ideal for the therapist
to be on the side of the “better” ear.

      
Encourage therapists to make eye contact with the
student before giving instructions or beginning a task.

      
Work with therapists to incorporate language and
vocabulary by asking the student to verbally describe the steps in a task using
sequential language, and by asking the student to name the materials and their
purpose (e.g. “Scissors are a tool we use for cutting.”)

      
Provide sequence for multi-step tasks.

      
Support verbal instruction with visuals (e.g.
pictures, text).

      
Work with the student’s speech and language
pathologist and teacher of the deaf to learn what language structures your
student does and does not understand. Multi-step directions, complex clauses,
and new vocabulary can impede a student’s ability to complete a task and
negatively impact a therapy session.

      
Explicitly teach the names of the materials you
will be using in order to ensure comprehension when instructions are given.

      
When working in small groups, set clear
expectations for turn-taking and social interactions.

      
Ask the student to verbally repeat directions
before beginning.

      
Incorporate language by describing actions (e.g.
Sam jumped high, Jack jumped higher,
and I jumped the highest!”)



For Vision Specialists:

While
I have a general understanding of my students’ vision loss, I benefit from
ongoing collaboration with vision specialists to refine my materials in order
to meet those needs. Similarly, vision specialists benefit from an understanding
of a student’s auditory abilities and limitations. For example, when using
iPads or similar technology, a direct auditory input connection is generally
best in terms of access but specialists must understand that the student is
probably still not receiving 100% access to the information; clarity is
compromised due to the hearing loss.

·     
Verbal explanations may need to be simplified or
modified to meet a student’s receptive language abilities. This can prevent
frustration due to misunderstandings.

·     
Many vision specialists that I work with
incorporate reading and phonics into their sessions. An understanding of how hearing
loss impacts phonemic skills is beneficial, as is how the audiogram reflects
what the student is able to perceive in terms of sounds. This type of ongoing
consult again allows for productive sessions as vision specialists can tailor
phonics and literacy work to meet the needs of the students .

How do you work with additional service providers?

Hear Me Out

The Hear Me Out blog provides unique resources for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It's a forum for itinerant teachers of the deaf to share their experiences as they grow as professionals! It is produced by Clarke's Mainstream Services team as part of our mission to support children with hearing loss and the professionals who serve them.

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About the Hear Me Out Blog

Itinerant teachers of the deaf (TOD) provide direct services to children with hearing loss in mainstream schools, consultation to their teachers, and professional development to school staff. Itinerant TODs travel to a child’s neighborhood school to provide one-on-one educational support, foster listening and spoken language development, and help children build social and self-advocacy skills. They also act as a liaison between the family and their mainstream school. Hear Me Out provides a unique forum for these special teachers to share their experiences as they grow as professionals.

Hear Me Out is produced by Mainstream Services at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech as part of our mission to support children with hearing loss and the professionals who serve them.

Hear Me Out Blog

About the Author

Heather Stinson (CAGS, MED, S/LP-A) received her master’s degree in Education of the Deaf from Smith College in 2006 and a graduate certificate in Children, Families, and Schools (with a concentration in research methodology) from the University of Massachusetts in 2012. In addition to her many years of experience working with children with hearing loss who communicate using listening and spoken language, Heather has also worked as a preschool classroom teacher.

Heather has presented both locally and nationally on issues related to mainstreaming students with hearing loss and is a contributing author to Odyssey magazine. Heather currently works as an itinerant teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing at Clarke Mainstream Services, a program of Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech.

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