Hearing Loss and it's Relationship to Listening and Learning Needs

When we think of hearing loss, it's easy to focus the attention simply on the auditory input that is being missed.  But even a minimal hearing loss can have a significant impact on learning, understanding language, and social interactions.  See below a straightforward review of minimal hearing loss and it's relationship to listening and learning needs.  

MINIMAL HEARING LOSS (16-25 dB)
Possible Impact on the Understanding of Language and Speech	Possible Social Impact	Potential Educational Accommodations and Services
Impact of a hearing loss that is approximately 20 dB can be compared to ability to hear when index fingers are placed in your ears. Child may have difficulty hearing faint or distant speech. At 16 dB student can miss up to 10% of speech signal when teacher is at a distance greater than 3 feet. A 20 dB or greater hearing loss in the better ear can result in absent, inconsistent or distorted parts of speech, especially word endings (s, ed) and unemphasized sounds. Percent of speech signal missed will be greater whenever there is background noise in the classroom, especially in the elementary grades where instruction is primarily verbal. Young children have the tendency to watch and copy the movements of other students rather than attending to auditorily fragmented teacher directions.	May be unaware of subtle conversational cues which could cause child to be viewed as inappropriate or awkward. May miss portions of fast-paced peer interactions which could begin to have an impact on socialization and self concept. May have immature behavior. May be more fatigued due to extra effort needed for understanding speech.	Due to noise in typical classroom environments which impede child from having clear access to teacher instruction, will benefit from improved acoustic treatment of classroom and sound-field amplification. Favorable seating necessary. May often have difficulty with sound/letter associations and fine auditory discrimination skills necessary for reading. May need attention to vocabulary or speech, especially when there has been a history of ear problems. Depending on loss configuration, may benefit from low power hearing aid with personal FM system. Appropriate medical management necessary for conductive losses. Inservice on impact of “minimal" hearing loss on language development, listening in noise and learning, required for teacher.

©1991,RelationshipofDegreeofLongtermHearingLosstoPsychosocialImpactandEducationalNeeds,KarenAnderson &NoelMatkin,revised2007 

May is Speech and Hearing Month!

Did you know...May is Speech and Hearing Month?!

What a perfect reason to learn a little more about speech and hearing.  Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC) has compiled resources, tips, and even a kids' contest to spread the word about speech and hearing.  Find great info sheets and tips for communication disorders and hearing impairments among other great resources! 

Here are just a few of the fun kids activities you'll find on the site too!

Colouring Sheet

Activity Sheet 1

Activity Sheet 2

Ontario Association for Families of Children with Communication Disorders

Ontario Association for Families of Children with Communication Disorders - OAFCCD - is the perfect place to find parent resource information, parent support activities and public awareness activities.  The association works with families and communities to ensure all children with communication needs have access to effective speech and language services.  Here, families can find resources, tips, and news about services, funding and getting involved.  Go ahead, check it out for yourself! 

Ontario Association for Families of Children with Communication Disorders

Major funding - and major changes - for autism services

In early April, the government announced a new Ontario Autism Program with $333 million dollars in funding, but this announcement came with the news of changes too.  These changes to government funded-intensive therapy include age restrictions of 2-4 years, and the release of any children over 5 years old currently on the waiting list for intervention.  Since the announcement, some families and staff from local providers have gathered for rallies and have spoken with members of local government.  They are using these encounters as well as social media to share their stories and voice their concerns over these sudden and significant changes - speaking up for their children and clients alike.  Find the details here, from CTV news. 

CTV News: Ontario kids with autism aged 5 and older cut off of gov't-paid therapy

What's that again?

Plenty of research has shown that the amount of language children hear in the first years of life is undeniably important to their own verbal abilities later, and some are now focussing on the quality of that language.  Using short repeated utterances has been found to play a role in language development and identification skills. Check out the details of this research HERE! 

Popular Science - What's that, again? How short, repeated phrases may further your tot's speech

Low levels of hormone linked to social deficit in autism

Stanford Medicine reports findings that children with autism present with low levels of a hormone that affects their ability to empathize with others.  Researchers have found a correlation between the low levels of this hormone - vasopressin - and the inability of autistic children to understand that the feelings and perspectives of others differ from their own.  Check out how these researchers investigated this hormone to find these correlations, and what the effects of this hormone may mean for future treatment. 

Stanford Medical - Low levels of hormone linked to social deficit in autism

Concussion Recovery

Check out this helpful Concussion Handbook created with the expertise of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Concussion Centre.  This guide is intended to provide information about concussion and it's potential effects, strategies for recovery, and self-management tools.  Discover how to improve recovery time by resting your brain and body, and along what timeline you can begin to reintegrate different types of activities.

Find this guide and other helpful resources from Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital: Concussion Centre

A newfound link between brain injuries and ADHD

Researchers in Toronto have found a link between brian injuries and ADHD - and it goes both ways.  Suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has been found to make a person 2 1/2 times more likely to screen positive for ADHD, while having ADHD makes a person who has had a TBI will incur future traumatic brain injuries.  The increased chance brought on by the presence of ADHD is due to the individuals' impaired attention, making them less aware of danger for example.  The relation between these injuries to the brain and an attention disorder draws even more attention to the importance of the healing process following any kind of brain injury - including concussions. 

Maclean's - A newfound link between brain injuries and ADHD

Bedtime Stories for Young Brains

Reading a bedtime story can be a signal in routine that the time to sleep is nearing.  It can be a chance to escape to a make-believe world, or just a calming wrap-up to a busy day.  But according to studies, reading bedtime stories - really, any stories at any time of day, can be so much more.  Children who are frequently read to, and with, from a young age have more experience attaching images to words and stories they hear.  It can help them understand, and later support the transition to books without pictures.  This simple act of reading together is not just an enjoyable time together - it can truly impact your child's learning, language development, and even future school success.

The New York Times: Bedtime Stories for Young Brains

The E's and P's to Build Critical Thinking

Critical thinking skills like problem solving, predicting, and projecting can grow with language, and can impact literacy too!  As a child's thinking is encouraged to expand, their language framework expands along with it to support these new ideas and interpretations of the world.  These same skills are called to action to understand the meaning of a book - reading between the lines, drawing on experiences, and making inferences enable them to understand things not explicitly written in the text.  Learn the E's and P's to easily encourage the development of your child's critical thinking skills.

The Hanen Centre - Build Children's Critical Thinking Skills with the E's and P's