About Clarke Speaks Up
The Clarke Speaks Up blog features content about children who are deaf or hard of hearing learning to listen and talk, students with hearing loss in mainstream settings, the latest research in deaf education, and so much more. Past articles from Mainstream News can be found here as well.
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With some preparation, educators and caregivers can ensure that children who are deaf or hard of hearing have the same enriching field trip experience as their peers with typical hearing.
Children with unilateral hearing loss (sometimes called “single-sided loss”) have typical hearing in one ear and some degree of hearing loss in the other. While that might seem to be an advantage over students with bilateral hearing loss, those with unilateral loss are actually more likely to miss out on needed support because they often can “pass” as having typical hearing.
Clarke alum Julien, a high school sophomore who attended Clarke’s preschool and received Clarke’s Mainstream Services, shares his STEAM experiences as a student, engineering enthusiast and musician.
Teachers of all kinds are vitally important to students, but for children with hearing loss, the relationship they have with their teacher of the deaf (TOD) is especially significant. TODs help their students understand their hearing loss, grow academically, develop study skills and social/pragmatic skills, as well as learn to advocate for themselves.
Summer jobs are an excellent way for students to get experience in the working world, earn money for themselves and develop a sense of what careers might interest them. With a little preparation, a student who is deaf or hard of hearing can be on their way to earning some money and gaining valuable work experience.
Volunteering is an essential way to give back within a community—locally or globally—offering innumerable ways to help others by providing basic needs like sustenance, clothing and transportation, or the more nuanced gifts of time, kindness and hope.
Knowing when and how to ask is more complicated than many realize. Caregivers hear a lot about the importance of self-advocacy, especially for children with hearing loss. But self-advocacy encompasses several related skills. One of the most important is knowing how, and when, to ask for help. If you can’t explain what you need, it’s hard for people to help you.
