Teachers' DEN (Deaf Education Network)

Deaf Education “Life Hacks”

As 2018 winds down and goals for a more productive 2019 are being made, the Deaf Education team would like to offer some “life hacks” that may helpful to become more organized in the new year.

Service documentation—Best practice denotes that services should be documented and readily available to present at a moment’s notice. Teachers and therapists should get in the habit of documenting the amount of service each student should be receiving per his/her IEP, the dates of service provision, notes of what occurred during the session and a plan to make up for missed sessions. This ensures that the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is being followed. A good service documentation tool is available on the internet that can be easily modified to meet specific school’s or teacher’s needs. 

Scheduling—Juggling multiple calendars for both personal and business can be challenging. You Can Book Me is a great online application that displays your availability to potential meeting participants. This reduces the amount of time spent going back and forth to check participants’ individual calendars. Bookings are automatically synced with your calendar to eliminate the extra step of creating a calendar entry.

Digital curation—There can be a lot of papers, folders, binders and notebooks floating around that do not have an apparent organizational system. Such loose items can be cumbersome to lug around, but it can also be time consuming 

to try to go back and locate needed information. There are numerous digital curation sites available online. These can also serve as an organized collection of information that can be shared with families and school staff. Some favorite digital curation sites are: Diigo, Google Drive, LiveBinders, Pinterest and Pocket.

Rocketbook—If you still want to take notes on paper, Rocketbook is a great way to take your handwritten notes and file them away digitally. Rocketbook is dubbed a smart notebook that uses special paper with a QR code on each page. Once the Rocketbook app is downloaded on your mobile device, you scan a page and it is automatically emailed, saved or shared to your pre-specified locations. As a bonus, the special pens are erasable on Rocketbook or regular paper. Once the Rocketbook is full, simply wipe the pages down with a damp cloth or place in the microwave for a few seconds and the smart notebook is ready to use again.

Sticky notes—Are you someone who writes down everything on a sticky note? Not only is paper waste bad for the environment, but it does not have the ability to integrate with anything other than the object it is stuck to. Google Keep is the next generation of sticky notes that easily integrates with many
other G Suite applications. You can create a shopping list, draw, savewebsites and take notes. You can easily set a reminder for something you have in Google Keep, for example, a student could take a picture of the board in class that has homework assignments listed, open in Google Keep, set a hashtag to organize all homework assignments and notes from the same class and then set a reminder for due dates. The possibilities of Google Keep are endless!

Troubleshooting kit—As teachers for the deaf and hard of hearing travel from place to place, it is helpful to have some items readily available to quickly troubleshoot students’ hearing assistive technology. The most beneficial items are extra batteries, a battery checker, stethoset and an FM/DM receiver checker. For additional items to include, watch our November 2018 Effecting Positive Outcomes (EPO) webinar titled Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT) in the Classroom. Find out why you should have an eraser in your toolkit!

For a list of links above, visit https://tinyurl.com/y9j7aplx.

TACKLIN’ Assessment: Therapists Actively Consulting & Knowledgeably Leading INdiana

Toys, Collaborative Play and Enrichment

During any time of celebration when gifts are purchased or given to your children, it is important that you think not only about the appropriateness of the toy in reference to the child’s age and safety but also about the level of
enrichment. It is important to provide children with natural opportunities to learn through play, not only with toys but with others who can interact during playtime. Children learn through play. Play encourages the development of motor skills, abstract thought, early literacy skills, emotional health, language development and perspective-taking. Some
ideas for interactive play  that are fun and will allow you to see your child’s skill growth include:

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Creatively build using blocks, magnetic tiles, clay, sand, wooden logs, etc.

-Comment on the shape and size of what your child has erected

-Count the number of items

-Prior to building, have your child sort everything by color, shape, material, etc.

Read, Write, and Color

Sidewalk chalk, dry-erase board and markers, bathtub paint/pens, etc.

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/103-things-do-during-or-after-reading

Additional Ideas

http://www.ncca.biz/Aistear/pdfs/Guidelines_ENG/Play_ENG.pdf

https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Early-Childhood/Play-ideas/Play-ideas-complete-collection.pdf

https://www.pinterest.com/mrsbrookebrown/enrichment-activities/

https://www.laparent.com/Enrichment-at-home-fun-ideas-for-kids

https://www.verywellfamily.com/fun-learning-activities-kids-at-home-3128960

Language and Literacy Corner: Importance of Vocabulary Growth

More and more evidence shows that having robust vocabulary skills are a strong indicator of academic success. Specifically, vocabulary knowledge that includes both breadth and depth of words leads to well-developed literacy. 

Typical Developmental Milestones

-Age 18 months: use 50 different words

-Age 24 months: use 200-300 different words

-Age 30 months: use 450 different words

-Age 36 month: uses 1,000 different words

-Ages 5-7: use 3000-5000 different words; understand 13,000 words

-Age 10: understand at least 20,000 words

-Age 15: comprehends at least 30,000 words

-Age 25: comprehends at least 50,000 words

*Students learn 750-3,000 words per year (2-8 daily)

*In first- and second-grade, students NEED to learn 800+ words each year

*Students NEED to learn 2,000-3,000 words each year from third-grade onward

*Students with enriched vocabulary opportunities learn around 5,000 words each year

*Vocabulary size doubles between the ages of 3 and 7

*Students who are behind by first-grade have a hard time making up the gap

What can you do? 

-Read out loud to your child at all ages. It’s the No. 1 contributor to vocabulary growth.

-When you find a word you don’t know, point it out and talk how you use context to determine meaning.

-Choose five unfamiliar new words to learn each week; see how often you can use them in everyday conversation.

-Build vocabulary by visiting new places, exploring new ideas, and exposing to unique experiences.

-Ditch the dictionary-make words concrete by hands-on activities or use of pictures and teach use of context.

-Be intentional about exposure to multiple meaning words by directly teaching and exploring humor.

Dickinson, D., Griffith, J., Golinkoff, R. & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2012) How reading books fosters language development around the world. Child Development Research. Volume 2012, article ID 602807, 1-15. (http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdr/contents/) doi:10.1155/2012/602807

Nippold, M. A. (2016). Later language development: School-age children, adolescents, and young adults (4th Ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Inc.

Opportunity to Provide Early Intervention Services with our CDHHE Network!

We are excited to announce the next training for future SKI HI Parent Advisors. If you qualify or are already a credentialed First Steps provider with a degree in deaf education, speech and language and/or early childhood education with expertise in working with deaf and hard of hearing children you may be able to become a parent advisor. 

SKI HI Parent Advising 

What is the purpose?

A family-based home intervention program that offers unbiased support and well-rounded resources in natural environments for families with infants and toddlers who are deaf and hard of hearing.

What is involved? 

Ongoing early intervention home visits utilizing the SKI-HI curriculum and other resources, which include information and activities for families on early communication, audition, assistive technology, American Sign Language, Aural-Oral Language, emotional support and more.  In addition, the SKI-HI parent advisor connects the family to other services, entities and families.

SKI HI Curriculum Topics

First Visits & Family SupportInfants 0-12 Months
Hearing Aids
Cochlear Implants

Being Deaf, Basic Communication Issues & Approaches

Earliest Interactions

Natural Environments & Routines

Play & Concept  Development

Young Children with Special Needs &/or Challenging Behavior

Young Children with Minimal, Mild, Unilateral, Conductive, and Auditory Neuropathy Hearing Losses

Young Children with Syndromes & Other Medical Conditions

Early Visual Communication

Early Spoken~Language through Audition

Early Auditory Learning

Communication Methodologies

Literacy

Our next training series in 2019 will take place across three weekends:  Feb. 15 and 16, April 12 and 13, and May 31/June 1.  Please contact Cindy Lawrence at clawrence@isdh.in.gov or at 317-232-0899 if you would like further information about becoming a parent advisor to work with families of deaf and hard of hearing children.

Brain Builders Corner: Early Intervention

Children and Families Connecting

Why attend a playgroup?

We know that early experiences are important for brain development and that early intervention and engagement with infants and toddlers are essential for language development. We also know that:

· Connections families make with other families of deaf and hard of hearing children is  important for providing
emotional support to families.

· Meeting others who have had similar experiences is comforting and affirming.

· Children benefit from meeting and seeing other children like them of all ages.

· Siblings benefit from meeting other children who are siblings of deaf and hard of hearing children.

Playgroups offer opportunities for families to be provided with emotional support and affirmations from other families along their journey. Siblings and deaf and hard of hearing children receive the benefit of time with children like themselves. The playgroups offered through our Center are typically offered the first Saturday of the month and we work with community resources to offer various settings of family-friendly places.

Playgroups like this not only benefit the families who participate, it also gives an opportunity to educate family-friendly community locations about deaf and hard of hearing children, accommodations that will benefit them, and to understand diverse communities of children.

Have a Happy New Year and keep making those connections!


REMINDER: Our next playgroup is an exciting partnership with the Indianapolis Children’s Museum that will provide an opportunity for our families to gather in the Playscape area an hour prior to the opening of the museum, view a special production on vibrations for young children and then you can visit the rest of the museum at no cost to your family. This is a special event designed for families with deaf and hard of hearing children only ages birth through 5 years of age and their siblings. Registration is full, but watch for information on the next opportunity.

Sound Advice: Audiology

Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT): The Method to the Madness

Why do we use HAT?
Children are less mature and less skillful listeners in background noise as compared to adults and cannot rely on the life and language experience that adults have. They require a quieter environment and greater speech signal clarity in order to hear, listen, and comprehend what is said in a classroom. How do we help children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) hear in a noisy classroom setting? Enter Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT). HAT is intended to help minimize the adverse effects of listening in background noise and from a distance to improve the listener’s ability to understand speech. HAT can be used with almost any personal hearing devices, including hearing aids, cochlear implants and bone-anchored hearing aids; however, some specific models may not be compatible with certain devices. There are many different types of HAT and a seemingly endless list of different pieces of equipment that your child may be using at school. This is often difficult to digest and can be overwhelming, but understanding fundamental HAT components will help give parents/caregivers a clearer picture of their child’s needs and help them to best advocate for their children in the classroom.

Let’s break it down.
The following are descriptions of some of the most common types of HAT that children may use in the classroom:


Transmitter: The microphone worn by school staff to transmit their voices directly to the child’s personal hearing devices (i.e. hearing aids). It is important that school staff wearing a transmitter receive appropriate training on its use. The transmitter can also be used to help your child connect to external audio sources in the classroom (e.g., computer) in lieu of wearing headphones over their devices.

Receiver: Piece that attaches to your child’s personal hearing devices and receives the signal (i.e. teacher’s voice) from the transmitter. Receivers may be dedicated for specific devices and connect only to specific hearing aids or implants, or they may be universal and may be used with many different devices via an audioshoe or adapter.

Audio Input Shoe/Adapter: Used to help connect the receiver to a hearing aid (HA). The type of audioshoe required will depend on the type and manufacturer of HA technology and receiver your child is wearing. A special adapter is also commonly used to help connect receivers to CI processors. Your child’s managing audiologist and Teacher of the Deaf (TOD) can help determine the most appropriate equipment for your child.

Induction Loop: Universal neckloop receiver that can receive sound from a compatible transmitter and deliver it to any personal listening device with a T-coil. Can also be used in-lieu of an audioshoe by plugging an FM/DM receiver directly into the bottom of the induction loop device. The FM/DM receiver receives the sound from the transmitter and the sound is then transmitted via the induction loop to the child’s T-coils in their personal hearing devices when the setting is activated.

Remote Microphone: Microphone worn by the teacher that sends their voice to the child’s personal hearing device via a streamer worn around the child’s neck or a Bluetooth connection in the child’s personal device.

Streamer: Worn around the child’s neck and streams (transmits) audio/voice directly to their personal listening devices. Can be used with remote microphones, TV, phone or any other media with Bluetooth technology.

Putting it all together:
Hearing Aid with Audio Shoe and Universal Receiver

CI Processor with Adapter and Universal Receiver

Other Examples of HAT:

Information gathered from the Educational Audiology Handbook, 2^nd Edition (Johnson & Seaton)

Staff Spotlight: Sarah Leathers, Educational Consultant

The Center is pleased to welcome Sarah Leathers as our newest educational consultant!

Sarah will provide educational consultation and technical assistance to schools, parents and students statewide. Additionally, she will serve as the teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing for school districts that have contractual service agreements with the Center.

Sarah received her bachelor of science degree in special education and deaf education from Illinois State University. She has 14 years of experience as a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing. Her broad experience encompasses teaching, interpreting, guiding families, and making community connections, showing her commitment to children who are deaf and hard of hearing and the families. She will be a valuable asset to the Center’s mission of promoting positive outcomes for all deaf and hard of hearing children through information, services and education.