Having unilateral hearing loss (UHL) as a child can be quite challenging. Especially in a classroom where UHL students might be grouped together with the students who have normal hearing. Unilateral hearing loss is used to indicate ALL children who have hearing loss in one ear, and specifically for those with any residual hearing. Even though they don't have normal hearing, they aren't completely deaf and may be grouped with kids who hear and communicate normally. In the classroom, this can impact how well they receive information and how they are able to communicate with the teachers and other students. In this blog, we will discuss how UHL affects children’s language development and some potential solutions! 

Impact of UHL on Language and School Performance 

Below we will discuss some statistics comparing UHL students with normal hearing students so we can see how it impacts learning and development in the classroom. Why are these numbers important? It can...

Since the pandemic began, we have been having more and more important conversations about mental health, especially around our children. You may wonder how hearing loss impacts mental health.  As of 2019, about 20% of the world’s population has some form of hearing loss. A little over 15% of those people are kids.

What is anxiety?

The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as an emotion that is characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes. It is also considered a persistent heightened state of alert. Sometimes this can be a normal reaction to stressful situations and sometimes spirals into a disorder in itself.

What does it look like?

Anxiety can trigger physical symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, muscle aches, insomnia, and trouble concentrating, which may impact students’ quality of life and ability to perform and participate in school activities.

Hearing loss and anxiety

Language deprivation is a...

It's SUMMER!  

Although summer is something that many of us look forward to, for some children with hearing loss, summer is a time of stress and loneliness. 

However, a little bit of planning and thought can make a big difference for your child.  This blog post will outline the steps that can help families support their children this summer.

A lot of summer activities that are fun for other kids can be stressful for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing.  This stress can be triggered because they don't have full access to the activity or the planning, people or background information to understand or anticipate it.  This might mean that they do not understand where you are going, who you are with, or can fully access the conversation and fun that is happening around them.  This can especially be an issue when there are big groups of people involved.  This can cause stress and frustration for your child, which can impact the full...

As promised, we’re back with a second post about preparing your deaf or hard of hearing child/student for the mainstream classroom! If you need a little refresher of what we talked about last time, we went into detail about how to identify if the general education classroom is inclusive and accessible for your child/student. Check back on the previous post to read those details of what to consider and how to get started. In this blog post, we will talk about how to start implementing tools to ensure that your DHH child/student is prepped for success. 

Now that you have determined that the general education classroom is appropriate, how do we get a general education classroom ready for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing? The first step is to determine potential barriers. Then, design teacher training procedures around strategies to reduce challenges (we’ll get to that later…..). 

Right now we are just going to talk about some factors...

It’s almost the 4th of July!  While this holiday marks the epitome of summer fun for many of us, it often is not fun for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.  It can often cause feelings of insecurity, isolation, and frustration if a child does know what to expect or does not have the ability to communicate easily with those around them.

The Online Itinerant supports families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing by building capacity and understanding of how hearing loss impacts their child, then supports the family in breaking down any barriers and supporting these needs - all while, well, still being a family.  

Bev Teeter, a Parent Coach in the FRIEND Academy, offered a training for parents to help support social events for their entire family.  She taught about her approach called Prepare/Engage/Reminisce.  

This approach allows your child to gain access to events, occasions, celebrations, and pretty much...

Are you excited for summer? Us too!   The FRIEND Academy recently hosted a training for family members sharing tips on how to help your family make the most of it with your deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) child.  This is such an important topic because what may be fun for other children can be stressful for your child.  In case you missed the training, we will outline the highlights on what to expect and how to prepare for any challenges that may arise.

Time for Summer Fun?

As you are getting ready for summer, you may have some of the following top summer activities planned.  Water sports, biking, campfires/camping, nature activities, picnics, community celebrations (hello, 4th of July!), amusement parks and family vacation/travel, anyone?  

Yes, please!  

But there's only one problem.....

These things are all insanely fun for most people. However, they can be incredibly stressful for children with hearing loss. 

A lot...