Children with Hearing Loss Need an Educational Audiologist on their Education Team
by Kym Meyer, Educational Audiologist
How do students with hearing loss get the support that they need to understand in a typical, noisy classroom? Make sure you include an educational audiologist on the educational team!Many children with hearing loss attend public schools. These are children who wear hearing aids, cochlear implants, may only be deaf in one ear, or have an auditory processing disorder. Hearing loss is a “low incidence” disability, so there aren’t many of these students in each school. Most regular and special education teachers have never had training in hearing loss.
How do students with hearing loss get the support they need to understand in a typical, noisy classroom?
Educational Audiology is a “Related Service” under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
However, educational audiology services can look drastically different between states or even between school districts in the same state. Some school buildings actually have audiology booths to test children’s hearing. Other districts have never heard of educational audiology and, as a result, do not provide this service.
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