Hearing Problems and Deafness - Case Study Example

of your paper al Affiliation In YOUR future counseling practice, what are the most important counseling issues that relate to your pupils/students/clients (and their families) – regarding Hearing Problems and Deafness? (Family, friends, teacher’s willing/able/motivated to learn American Sign Language; teasing and bullying; frustrations; etc.) Hearing impairment is one of the problems that have a massive emotional as well as psychological effect both on the family as a whole and the child as an individual. Initially when parents get the information of their child being deaf, seems hard to digest. The initial reactions are; how they would be able to cope up with their child and his needs? How will they be able to communicate with their own offspring? Will it be hard to find the best academic institution for him? Is it a better idea that he works his way out along with normal kids? These are some questions and problems that almost every family with a deaf kid, goes through. With the gradual acceptance of their child’s impairment, they step in towards finding the best possible learning method for him. Either they should opt for leaning sign language as a whole or should they wait and understand the situation after their child becomes a part of the academic community. There’s still difference between deaf and hard at hearing children. According to some studies around 90% of the children who have trouble hearing or are deaf, have perfectly hearing parents. (“For Students Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing”). Where some families opt for learning sign languages, the proportion of such families, however, is quite less. Some families still prefer using sign language, and children have a hard time distinguishing words with common sounds, for instance; “plate” and “mate”. Children with listening disorders won’t easily distinguish these words while lip reading, which marks the point of creating awareness amongst parents to learn sign language in order to make communication better among them. As Counselors, our job and task is to successfully inform the parents about how they can implement different modes of communication in order to communicate well with their children. Depending upon the extent of the impairment the mode of communication varies, accordingly. Parents should be taught to accept the child’s shortcoming and that they should not be making the child a source of disgrace or embarrassment for the family, rather they should be working on their child in order to make something better out of him. There aren’t many deaf role models, altogether. Bringing a positive change in the child’s learning abilities will surely make a difference. Counselors for deaf and children with hearing disabilities should be fluent in sign language, if that isn’t the case, then the institution should be equipped with interpreters who can easily translate the child’s requirement efficiently in order to facilitate deaf children to make their learning process a lot easier. 1a) I have to admit before reading this chapter ----------------------- and working through accompanying identity issues. The counselor in the given example clearly understands the deaf children’s needs as she has under gone the same problem back at her home. Her 5 month old son turned out to have hearing problems, according to her he failed to pass the initial hearing tests, but on later account the parents noticed that the child responded to their voices. As impulsive as it may seem, the child had trouble hearing stuff properly. Still the lady was unsure about what to do with further tests and the post treatment for hearing impairment. Her initial thoughts were “that may be hearing implants can solve everything”. But that’s not the case in reality. There are hundreds of other factors that turn out to affect a child’s behavior in the classroom. For instance, according to her survey the noises that are a part of a classroom affect the child’s learning ability even if he’s mildly suffering from hearing problems. The counselor has similarly raised questions that may seem general in context but are hard in practical nature. As in what mode of communication should be adopted? How well do the parents communicate with their children at home? The counselor even has cited a situation of a girl who found herself to be on the crossroad connected to the world of the listeners and the deaf. The girl had a hard time relating herself in both the worlds. The lady being the counselor, made it clear that her job would be to be there as a consultant and an advisor, who can cater to the emotional needs of both the child and the parents. That she is able to effectively decide and determine what course of action and mode of communication are effective for the child’s growth and development. 1b) there are so many factors that go --------------------- not want is unlikely to yield positive results. The answer provided by this counselor has a clear set of instructions as well as specifications as in how to deal with a deaf client. The counselor has posed the difference of modes in communicating with clients who might be born deaf, or someone who has lost his hearing ability gradually, over time. The difference in clients whose parents are normal and the ones who have deaf parents. Technically the children in the latter family would be well aware of the consequences, however, children who have somehow lost their hearing ability over time or have difficulty hearing by birth tend to have a hard time focusing in the classroom as well as communicating back at home. The counselor has even posed another important question as to what format of sign language does the parents or the institutes follow, ASL or the signed English. Since it is the job of the counselor to make sure that what he/she chooses as the mode of communication turns out to be effective in bringing about a change. As per what the counselor has stated, his/her inability to know any of the sign languages imports the idea of the presence of a translator, though the translation and counseling procedure can drift away, but this is the least that one can do. In the end the counselor has mentioned her priority in her mode of treatment to be setting the priority of the client at the top. The counselor surely doesn’t want to impose any such thing on the client or on the client’s family. An effective way to carry out counseling is to always keep the client’s priorities, emotions and comfort on top. 2) In YOUR future counseling practice, what are the most important counseling issues that relate to your pupils/students/clients (and their families) – regarding Vision Problems and Blindness? (How does student feel about school layout and services; impact on career desires and planning; how families feel about sight limitations; etc does.) Vision problems can be considered as one of the serious issues that not only counselors but parents have a hard time handling a blind child as well. Children suffering from blindness or problems with proper sight, look at the world in a different way. They might not be able to tell you how does the sun look, but they can surely tell you how it feels when the sun rays touch their skin. Blind people are the true gift of God; they have got the windows to the soul. Counseling and interacting with such people may seem hard in the beginning, but once you become comfortable with them, they are as normal as anyone else is. The issues with them are however slightly different. They cannot be taught the same way as we teach normal students; blind children have to learn Braille. They cannot be taught how the grass looks or what color water is. They can eventually learn the color of water, but they can’t really feel how it feels. When a blind child finds a teacher or counselor who shows interest in him, the child automatically feels confident and important. He starts looking up to him. Though initially it is a hard end task to help the child adjust into an entirely new environment which is somewhere out of his routine home, but a helpful teacher and administration can make this process a lot more easier for both the child and the parents. There are counselors who suggest that blind children or children who have trouble with their eyesight shouldn’t be regarded as ‘special’, they should be treated on equal merits as the rest of the students. Because this will not only make them face the challenges proposed by the world in a better way, but will also give them all the strength that might be needed. Counselors for the blind should be able to regard each student as different as he is, not all blinds are the same. All people have different set of behaviors and are unique in their own way. Counselors should learn to regard them differently. Don’t let them have pity on themselves, just because they can’t see the world as normal people do, but they can surely judge the world better than me. 2a) I guess one of the big things -------------------- in my future counseling practice. The answer submitted by the counselor above is a set of suggestions provided as to how the school setup should be maintained in regard to blind or children with severe visionary problems. According to the counselor, he/she states that there has been a tremendous drop in the use of brailles on campus, and that there is still need of brailles in order to easily circulate some course materials that can’t be provided otherwise. While I believe that most of the institutions are moving towards equipping the children with modern modes of learning. Online speech recognition tools and voice aids installed on the PCs or Smartphone. He/she has also mentioned the importance of social interaction not only with the child but the parents as well. A healthy communicative circle will not only help you keep an organized data about the child’s progress but will also help resolve any unwanted issues that arise in between. Corridors often tend to get rushed at the time of break or by the end of the lecture. According to the counselor this seems to be the hardest time for the child to maintain his composure because he might not be able to react according to the situation. Proper guidance should be provided to students of the class that they should be helpful of their blind friend, even without them asking for it. The counselor believes in helping the child for the longer run, for that the presence of mobility instructors or working around a rushed workplace can help them manage themselves at a lot of places. According to him/her student’s poor results should not only be considered as a lack of interest in studies but it should be assessed on a lot of other factors as well. They should be observed and tested for any such impairments or problems. This was a healthy suggestion since the counselor has experienced similar problems in his/her childhood. 2b) More often than not, we do not consider ------------ vision impairments or blindness. The counselor in this particular paragraph has mentioned visually impaired people actually witness the world, how they perceive the realities of the world. Ways in which they have made adjustments in the normal world. The writer has clearly mentioned that all these factors are highly influenced by the extent of impairment. The writer has even described her liking for a teacher, Angela Wolf, who despite her visual impairment proved to be the most respected teacher among her students. And how can we forget the example of Helen Keller, who despite her deafness and blindness, proved so many that were around her, wrong. The writer explains the needs of technological advancement in order to stay up to the mark with the present needs of the world, preparing them to make their mark in the practical world, more competently. The writer has also explained the importance of giving client’s emotions and comfort ample priority in order to remove any sort of communication lag that is there in between, including, changing parent’s perception about their own child. 3) In YOUR future counseling practice, what are the most important counseling issues that relate to your pupils/students/clients (and their families) – regarding Autistic Disorders? (Autism is a spectrum of mild to severe; how are YOU, teachers, family communicating with client/pupil; how are fellow students treating client; what- if any – career path is open to student; family supportive or frustrated; etc.) Autistic children deserve care and patients more than many other impaired children. Mental disorders are the hardest to handle, as they affect the behavior of the child in a massive way. Parents need. When the child fails to attach him/herself with the rest of the world (family being the priority) then it gets hard to attach his/her feelings with in the class environment. Sense of social detachment causes lack of acceptance, and leads to inability to form friendly relations with anyone. Counselors have to make sure that they can somehow manage to change their socially detached outlook in to a friendly and comfortable behavior. Depending on the severity of autism, the counselor has to plan out the therapy accordingly. The child might be suffering from difficulty in speech or delay in adopting the language according to his/her age. Some autistic children have issues related to normal movements and mental processing (mental retardation), as mentioned earlier this depends on the severity of autism a child is suffering from. Parents have to look after a list of issues that pertain with an autistic child and they need a lot of courage and constant encouragement to allow them to move further on. Parents’ guidance is equally important along with the child. A counselor’s main incentive should be to teach the child ways to accommodate well with other people and ways to communicate with teachers and other class mates. It should be also made sure the teachers are well aware of the child’s severity of disorder, in order to make their teaching process a lot better and precise. 3a) Autism and Asperger syndrome are two things that ------- so independence is not hindered. The writer puts forward his/her experiences and observations, about children suffering from Autism and Asperger, where he/she has feared that there is some biological issues caused by the water bodies in Pennsylvania. According to her observation, she has witnessed more children suffering from autism than in any other area. But he/she never found out if that was the reason behind it. The writer keeps on describing her experiences with families of autistic children, their feelings and experiences when new medications or therapies were introduced and success and failures were that came with it. The writer explains the approaches used for dealing with autistic children. He/she suggested that autistic children seem to be soothed with calmness and can be easily handled if they are back to their comfort zone. This is something that can be made sure to be induced in the classrooms, where such children can be assisted by classmates who are shy and can lend a good ear to them and can comfort them in one way or the other. Social interaction can result as a building block for their social adjustment in the society. 3b) I have often given this topic a lot of consideration ------------------- opportunities that may be available for each child. The writer has explained her sense of shock when parents fail to accept if there is something wrong with their children. He/she believes that majority of parents ruin their child’s future just to satisfy their own sense of acceptability, telling themselves that there’s nothing wrong with their child and even if there is, there’s nothing to worry about. The writer believes that careful and on time intervention by wise parents can help them save their child’s life and his/her future abilities to depend on him/her. The writer as well believes in the importance of social adjustment of child along with its parent’s acceptance of his/her state. When parents accept what their child is going through and help him adjust wisely, things can be a lot easier for both. 4) In YOUR future counseling practice, what are the most important counseling issues that relate to your pupils/students/clients (and their families) – regarding Gifted and/or Talented Development? (Is student viewed as egghead; feeling about being bright/talented; are career goals appropriate; student isolated or social; etc.) Parents of gifted children should be accepted as blessed beings. Nothing can satisfy parents more but when they see their child excelling tremendously in a field where they have to put minimum of their or someone else’s efforts. A gifted child paves his/her way through the obstacles on his/her own. But at times there are some gifted children who need initial years of proper guidance and keen observance in order to choose what path is right what them. Parents at this point have to play a hard role in sharply observing where a child’s interest leading to. They have to check on their child, if he’s actually good at what he’s showing his interest in. Gifted or talented children might not be gifted in just one circle but they might turn out to be multitalented. As a counselor my sole advice to parents would be to not to judge children on the basis of their grades, there are like a hundred other ways to find out what your child is good at, or what other things can be induced in order to achieve that particular mark for your child’s better development. A gifted child in a classroom filled with rest of the kids, looks no different. He appears to be just as normal as any other kid. But emotionally, a gifted child is far more sensitive to issues than any other normal child of his age. Isolation is termed to be the highest rated problem faced by such children. When they feel, they don’t seem to fit in; they find it easy to cut off all ties. They are at a particular age where they don’t know how talented they are, all they know is that his classmates call him a nerd and all girls make fun of him. Being counselor it is important that keen interest is to be shown in children how might have shown a gradual or sudden drop in terms of grades. Parents should be consulted in order to confirm if there is a sudden change of mode of behavior towards numerous things at home as well, like signs of depression, anxiety or sense of isolation. Parents should be taught how to stand up for their own child, at times of need. There are parents who often tend to laugh at their own children when people point out how lame or academically retarded their child appears to be. Such remarks easily bring in the sense to isolate oneself from the world who cannot understand the extent of his/her abilities. These days however, parents have somehow learned that proper care and attention are to be provided to their children in order to make them socially adjusted not only outside, but within the family as well. Where a child feels comfortable in sharing what he feels about himself, in any respect what so ever. Such family times not only helps a child feel confident about him/her, but also helps counselors in understanding what issue might be causing problems to the child at school. 4a) As with any assessment it is important to make the ------------ they graduate if at all possible. The writer has devised her ideals to help out gifted children from the time some discoveries have been made regarding the child till the point where they can actually see that talent shining within him/her. The writer believes to introduce special modes of education either within class schedule or outside normal school hours in order to provide that extra effort that a gifted child needs. For that reason he/she believes that he will need the necessary input from the assigned class teacher in order to produce the best possible schedule for the child and the ways in which this can be implemented will be made possible only after the peer’s consent. And for that particular reason the counselor has to keep close and positive ties with the parents in order to make them understand how much their child needs these extra efforts for his success in life ahead. 4b) I was so glad to see that the gifted/talented population --------------- wishes of the individual and his or her family. The writer has stated his/her anxiousness towards the possibilities of programs that can be introduced in a child’s routine that can bring numerous positive changes in his growth and development. According to him/her special education set forth for gifted children is a natural way to boost their abilities. However, the writer shares his/her regret over poor or lack of funding by the Government for such programs, Government avails the opportunity to approve the programs but does not really look back if the program has eventually being implemented or not. The writer states that the counselor (in this case his/herself) has to be aware of the potential availability of programs as well as resources that can be provided to gifted children. The counselor puts forward the concept of standing out in a cultural aspect, where most of the parents try and pressurize the child to fit in and blend in with the rest of the children, at times the child rejects the idea of being suppressed. While many other isolate themselves and regard them as being worth this treatment. The writer states the importance of peer-child relationship in order to broaden the horizon of the parents with respect to their child’s ability and his/her future prospects, which might lead to satisfaction and pride later in their life and the ability to accept the success of their own support. References Counseling Services: For Students Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. (2001). PEPNet-Northeast formerly the Northeast Technical Assistance Center (NETAC). 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