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Assistive Listening Devices For Children With
Hearing Impairments
Developed by the Department of Public Instruction in collaboration
with
the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative
1. What are assistive listening devices (ALDs)?
ALDs are devices designed to solve specific listening problems created
by a hearing impairment which cannot be solved by personal hearing
aids alone. ALDs may be use alone or in conjunction with personal
hearing aids.
2. What are some example of ALDs?
Two major categories of ALDs are personal frequency modulated (FM)
systems that are worn by the student and receive speech input from
a teacher-worn microphone, and sound field FM systems that provide
amplified speech from a teacher-worn microphone to a loud speaker
directed into an
entire room or parts of a room. Both types of ALDs may be used alone
or in conjunction with a student's hearing aids.
3. Why are ALDs needed in schools?
The acoustic environment in most public school
classrooms makes auditory learning and communication extremely difficult
or impossible for many students with hearing impairments. The most
common acoustic problems in classrooms are excessive background
noise, reverberation, and distance between the teacher and student.
None of these acoustic problems are solved by the use of personal
hearing aids alone.
4. Which Wisconsin students will benefit from
an ALD?
Any student with a hearing impairment, with or without hearing aids,
for whom the acoustical conditions in the learning environment are
a significant barrier to auditory learning and communication may
benefit from using an ALD. Students with all types and magnitudes
of hearing impairment are vulnerable to these acoustic barriers.
5. How do you define a hearing impairment for
students in Wisconsin schools?
State Special education law defines hearing impairment as a significant
impairment in hearing, with or without amplification, whether permanent
or chronically fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational
performance, including academic performance, speech perception and
production, or language and communication skills. The definition
may include children with mild hearing loss, unilateral hearing
loss, chronically fluctuating hearing loss, and children with normal
auditory sensitivity with a central auditory processing disorder.
6. How many students in Wisconsin schools are
identified by school districts as having a hearing impairment?
Based on a statewide count made on December 1, 1999, 2177
students were identified as needing special education services because
of an identified hearing impairment.
7. What should I do if I think a child is having
hearing difficulties in the classroom?
Thechild should be referred to the building administrator or school
nurse to ensure that the child's hearing is properly screened (see
The Wisconsin Guide to Childhood Hearing Screening,
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 1994). If the child
fails the hearing screening, the child’s parent should be
encouraged to seek medical and hearing evaluations for the child.
If the evaluation reveals a hearing impairment, school staff should
consider whether a referral to the building student assistance team
or a special education referral is appropriate.
8. Who decides if a student needs an ALD?
If the child is identified as a child with a disability under the
IDEA, the child's IEP team decides whether the child needs an ALD.
For such a child, an educational audiologist should be a member
of the IEP team. In the case of a child who is qualified as a handicapped
person under section 504, the team that determines the child's educational
needs and develops the child's accommodation plan should make the
decision. If the IEP team or section 504 team decides that an ALD
is necessary for the child, the school district must provide the
device, and the services necessary to select, fit, monitor, and
maintain the device. The ALD and the services should be clearly
identified in the child's IEP or accommodation plan.
9. Can any member of a child's IEP team or section
504 team evaluate a child's candidacy for an ALD, select the ALD,
and fit it to the child?
The child's IEP or section 504 team must make the decision concerning
the child's need for an ALD. However, some ALDs are considered hearing
aids ! and can only be provided to children in accordance with applicable
state laws. Only persons licensed by the state may dispense “hearing
aids”. Audiologists in Wisconsin are licensed to dispense
hearing aids, and are the appropriate professional to evaluate,
select, and fit ALDs for children for use in the school environment.
Fitting an ALD that qualifies as a hearing aid under state law also
requires clearance from a physician. ALDs that do not qualify as
a hearing aid do not require the involvement of a person licensed
to dispense hearing aids or a physician's approval. If you need
help in determining if an ALD qualifies as a hearing aid, contact
your district's educational audiologist, teacher of the hearing
impaired, or speech and language pathologist.
10. What should I do if my school district doesn't
have access to an educational audiologist?
Many school districts in Wisconsin are located in cooperative educational
service agencies (CESAs) that employ educational audiologists. School
districts in those CESAs may purchase educational audiology services
from their CESA. Some individual school district's also employ educational
audiologists. Wisconsin school districts and CESAs currently employ
22 educational audiologists statewide. In order to meet the needs
in Wisconsin and conform to maximum educational audiologist/student
ratios recommended by the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association
(ASHA), 70 educational audiologists should be employed statewide.
If your school district does not have access to an educational audiologist,
a member of the child's IEP or accommodation plan team should facilitate
the involvement of a community audiologist. The audiologist should
be willing to work with the child and school staff in the educational
environment to ensure that the proper audiological evaluations are
conducted and that the proper ALD is provided to the child in accordance
with applicable laws.
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