A New Student
We’re well into the year at this point. I finally have a schedule. I have a routine. Everything fits! And just like that, a request to evaluate a new student who will need TOD/HOH (Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing)...
Author: Heather Stinson, CAGS, MED, S/LP-A
Wear the Transmitter… PLEASE
Last week, I walked in to see my third grader. He was lined up with his classmates, heading to the classroom next door for math. He smiled wide when he saw me, made eye contact with his teacher, then came...
After the In-Service
Another school year is in full swing! Recently, as I was preparing for an in-service at one of my schools and setting up my laptop, I was chatting with the special education teacher about how far technology has come. During...
Summer Break!
Like my students, I am on break for the summer. I’ll be spending two weeks at Clarke’s Summer Adventure camp and otherwise resting up and preparing for next year. Hear Me Out will be back at the end of August....
Wrapping Up!
“I have a FIELD TRIP!” my elementary student excitedly announced as she ran into our room. “And it’s a walking field trip! We’re gonna walk there! And they have animals!” I asked her when this field trip was happening, thinking...
Modifying Board Games
With only a few months left of school, spring fever has definitely hit! And when students are less motivated, what better way to renew their energy than with a game? Unfortunately, I’ve never found a game that meets my exact...
“I Can’t Do This!” Advocating for Closed Captions
It was right before February break. Vacation was so close! At this point in the year, routines are in place. Relationships with teachers and other school professionals are established. Consultations focus on modifying or fine-tuning instruction in anticipation of upcoming...
The Lunchbox
I went snowboarding over the weekend. When it was time for lunch, I went into the lodge and pulled out my bright green Phonak lunchbox from a past Clarke Mainstream Conference that proudly announces to the world that I work...
“I’m Not Using That.”
I walked into a junior high classroom. I’d been called in to consult about a student who was suddenly refusing to use his HAT (Hearing Assistive Technology- formerly referred to as FM) and had even begun taking out his hearing...
Hearing Loss Doesn’t Discriminate
As an itinerant, I see the entire spectrum of education. I work with students in some of the poorest school districts in Massachusetts as well as some of the most elite private schools. As a parent mentioned to me the...
