Growing Up with Hearing Loss - Lab Report Example

Running Head: Hearing Impaired Information for Parents of Hearing Impaired Children The purpose of this essay is twofold. First, five article relating to hearing impaired children will be summarized. Second, a compare and contrast of those articles is forthcoming, and a rubric will be used to rate the articles, according to efficacy. “Deafness and Hearing Loss” is an article that explains the difference between being deaf and being hearing impaired. It reads, “Deafness may be viewed as a condition that prevents an individual from receiving sound in all or most of its forms. In contrast, a child with a hearing loss can generally respond to auditory stimuli, including speech.” The essay describes four types of hearing loss. First is conductive, characterized by “disease or obstruction in the outer or middle ear.” Conductive hearing loss is not the most serious form of impairment, and persons with this type of hearing loss are said to do well with hearing aids, or other assisted listening devices. Sensorineural hearing loss is described next as “damage to the delicate sensorineural hair cells of the inner ear or the nerves which supply it.” Persons with sensorineural loss may have only a slight hearing loss, or they might be almost completely deaf, depending on the amount of damage. Depending on the severity of the loss, hearing aids or other assisted listening devices may not be effective. The third kind of hearing loss, mixed, is a combination of conductive and sensorineural; therefore, whether amplified listening devices are effective, will depend on the individual. Finally, central hearing loss is described as “damage or impairment of the nerves” or other part of the central nervous system. The article goes on to discuss the fact that hearing impairments and learning disabilities do not necessarily come together, and ends with a very brief description of helpful assisted listening devices (Deafness, 2004). “You Are Not Alone” is an article that describes the negative feelings parents might experience upon finding out a child has a disability. It describes the process of denial, anger, grief, fear, guilt, confusion, powerlessness, disappointment, and rejection that many parents face. It also offers advice. It encourages parents to seek out other parents who have been through a similar situation because they might be able to offer, “hope for the future” (Smith, 2003). It also advises talking to a significant other, family member, or other adult who will listen to concerns; relying on positive resources to alleviate some of the feelings of helplessness; taking one day at a time so that it isn’t so easy to be overwhelmed; learning the terminology associated with the child’s disability; looking for information to increase personal awareness; refusing to feel intimidated; showing emotion, if necessary; remaining in touch with; and recognizing that parents of disabled children are not alone. “The Unplanned Journey” is something of a companion piece to “You Are Not Alone.” Both articles appeared in the same edition of News Digest. “The Unplanned Journey recaps the process (anger, grief, denial, etc.), but is more specific in its discussion of how to adjust to daily living with a disabled child. Like Smith’s essay, it advocates finding out as much information as possible about the child’s disability. Then, it suggests joining a parent’s group. There are groups that are disability specific, as well as groups that are made of parents whose children have different disabilities. It recommends finding out about services for the child, like early intervention programs, or the Individualized Education Program (IEP) at schools. The essay reminds parents that living with a disabled child do not mean parents can’t take some time for themselves. It discusses the feeling that siblings might have toward the handicapped child. These feeling might range from an extreme protectiveness, to jealousy. It also reminds parents to make sure that disabled children are involved in their personal care whenever possible (Brown, Goodman, Kipper, 2003). “Growing Up with a Hearing Loss” is succinctly written, and simply reminds parents that every child is different. It encourages parents to speak with their disabled child(ren) as a way of being “loving, accepting and encouraging” (Growing, n.d.). It offers tips like remembering to smile at hearing impaired children, singing to them, and providing physical activity, so they feel connected. It also expresses that there is some trial and error involved because there is “no such thing as one correct answer” (Growing, n.d.) for most situations. The final article to be discussed is “Aural/Audiologic Rehabilitation for Children.” This essay focuses on what should be done to help children who are hearing impaired. The essay expresses optimism for children who receive early intervention. It claims, “Infants identified with a hearing loss by 6 months can be expected to attain language development on par with hearing peers” (Aural, n.d.). In addition to a positive outlook, the article provides a list of typical services that hearing-impaired children can receive. The list includes training in auditory perception, or increasing the awareness of sound; learning to use visual cues like facial expression and body language; speech therapy; managing communication, meaning learning assertiveness techniques to modify situations to make hearing easier; and learning to take care of hearing aid and other hearing amplification devices. According to the article, depending on the service, help is available from birth through age 21. Now that the articles have been summarized, a 4-point rubric will be used to identify how effective each article would be to a reader. The rubric is as follows: 4 Excellent Essay clearly states its objective(s) and proceeds to execute the objective(s) in an easy to read manner. Definitions are clear and acronyms are defined for the reader, and the essay is associated with a well-known institution to enhance dependability of material. 3 Good Essay clearly states its objective(s) and proceeds to execute the objective(s) in an easy to read manner. It is does not clearly define definitions or acronyms or its association is not well known. 2 Fair Essay may or may not clearly state its objectives, or execution of stated objectives are questionable. Language is complicated, and may not be friendly for readers of any education background. 1 Poor Essay objectives are not clearly stated, or easy to identify. Each article will be assigned a number on the 4-point scale, and its strengths, as well as weaknesses, will be pointed out. “Deafness and Hearing Loss receives a 4. It gives definitions that are clear, or at least as clear as the topic allows. When discussing Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the acronym is defined prior to its discussion. It was a little redundant, as paragraph two defines hearing impairment, paragraph three defines deafness, and paragraph four gives a summation of both definitions. The fact that it does bother to separate the difference between being impaired, and being deaf, whereas many articles (though none of these five) use the terms interchangeably, is a plus. Also, readers often like easy to read statistics, and the essay offers, “during the 2000-2001 school year, 70,767 students aged 6-21 (or 1.3% of all students with disabilities) receive services under the category of ‘hearing impairment’” (Deafness, 2004). These are the only numbers given in the essay, so the statistics are not overwhelming and don’t make the reading difficult, but does give the reader a sense of how many hearing impaired children need, or use, services. “You Are Not Alone” also receives a 4. The article itself is attractive to look at, and Smith’s objections are clearly defined. The objectives are also executed appropriately, in a point-by-point fashion. The big negative of this article is the feeling of moroseness readers might be left with. The article is intended to inform parents that there are people in the world who share their negative feelings; however, it assumes that all people have these feelings. Smith writes, “One of the most serious forms of rejection, and not that uncommon, is a ‘death wish’ for the child” (Smith, 2003). Many parents would take exception to the fact they have, or should have, wanted their disabled children to deny. There is no denying that some people have experienced sadness, or even depression, upon learning that their child(ren) aren’t perfect, but nowhere is it written that a child with hearing impairment, for example, is better off dead. In many respects, children with hearing impairments live normal lives. All kinds of television specials tout persons in wheelchairs, or people of not average height, or persons born without arms or legs. The purpose of these specials is to show that handicapped people, too, can enjoy life. The producers of these shows do not depict Smith’s narrow view of sadness that all, or most, parents must feel. “The Unplanned Journey” is much more upbeat, but only receives a 3. It uses the acronym NICHCY, but never explains what the letters stand for. The article is posted on a NICHCY site, so it may be assumed that readers already know what it means, but many people won’t, especially if they are new to the field and only happened upon the site using a general Internet search. The essay suggests use of an IFSP, also known as an Individualized Family Service Plan, but never gives any more information about the IFSP, or how it can be obtained. Readers might not want to do the extra research involved with using the information from this site. Still, it is well written, and meets the objectives it claims it will in its opening paragraph. “Growing Up with a Hearing Loss” receives a 3. It doesn’t give a lot of information about hearing loss, but doesn’t promise that it will. Its claim is that all children are different and should be treated as such, then quickly explains what parents can do to increase communication. Its message is encouraging; however, there is no information about who or what institution sponsors the site. Students performing research that requires the use of reputable sites might not be comfortable using a site with so little background information. “Aural/Audiologic Rehabilitation for Children” receives a 3 because it introduces some new terminology, doesn’t effectively explain the definitions or give examples. It claims that there are five modes of communication: auditory-oral, American Sign Language, total communication, Cued speech, and manually coded English. That is all the information given about the five modes. Parents who have recently discovered a hearing loss in a child, would have no idea which category the child fit in. Again, extra research would be required, so readers might find other sites more effective and not return to this one. It does, though, explain what an IFSP is. It details the IEP better than other articles, and explains why an IEP is beneficial. The article appeared on a site sponsored by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, which is reputable. In total, all the essays were easy to read, and informative. Despite a few miscues here and there, the authors did a good job of letting readers know what they intended to write, then writing it. References Aural/Audiologic rehabilitation for children (n.d.). http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/treatment/child_aur_rehab.htm Brown, Carole, Goodman, Samara, Kupper, Lisa (2003). The unplanned journey. News Digest 20(3), 2-6. Deafness and hearing loss (2004, January). Growing up with hearing loss (n.d.). http://www.hear-it.org/printpages.dsp?printable=yes&page=390 Smith, Patricia McGill (2003). You are not alone. News Digest 20(3), 2-6. Read More