Madmum Posted June 29, 2014 Posted June 29, 2014 Hi We have a little boy joining us who has moderate hearing loss. He wears hearing aids. The Hearing Impairment lady has been in and was impressed with our set up ( think she expected to have to tell us to make lots of modifications but actually there weren't any!). The only issue may be the hand drier. I have watched the DVD she gave us and read the information and the one thing it doesn't mention is whether we need to tell other children to leave the hearing aids alone, or whether to explain them. He has little cartoony things on the sides which I think will intrigue other children. Has anyone any experience of this?
finleysmaid Posted June 29, 2014 Posted June 29, 2014 yes one of my little ones has been wearing hearing aids (though not at the moment!) The children did not try to touch or hold them and most did not even take much account of them. Some asked what they were and we explained that they help him to hear as his ears don't work very well ( a few jokes with older ones about whether they should have some!!) after the first few times of seeing them the children didn't bother at all. The problem with hearing aids is that they can amplify the noises you don't want as well as the noises you do. He may not need them so much outside..so if he needs a break from them then this would be the area to do that. 3
Froglet Posted June 29, 2014 Posted June 29, 2014 I didn't particularly highlight it beforehand although that was in part because it was a January intake class so we weren't there beforehand. The other children didn't particularly seem to notice until I was putting them back in one day (they often came out when he pulled his jumper off). A couple of children asked what they were. I said they were hearing aids and then asked the boy who wore them to explain why he wore them. I always felt that it made more sense coming from him and then I knew what language he/his parents were using to answer any follow up questions. He wore splints on his legs too and I took the same approach over that. The other children didn't ask as much as I was expecting - that was just things F wore like some people wear shorts and other trousers! Mine were a little older than yours would be I think. 1
Madmum Posted June 29, 2014 Author Posted June 29, 2014 Thanks for your answers, they're really helpful. Think we'll opt for addressing it if/when it arises!
finleysmaid Posted June 29, 2014 Posted June 29, 2014 unfortunately my little ones has very little verbal language so for him that was not possible!
Froglet Posted June 29, 2014 Posted June 29, 2014 unfortunately my little ones has very little verbal language so for him that was not possible! unfortunately my little ones has very little verbal language so for him that was not possible! Of course - my little boy's speech was pretty clear on the whole and I made the most of it. Although I won't forget the time he came up to me and (while jigging about from foot to foot) said "I'm bursty" given the jigging I sent him to the toilet. He came back and said "I'm bursty" again - I was very confused and after lots of questioning it finally turned out that he was saying "I'm thirsty!"
finleysmaid Posted June 29, 2014 Posted June 29, 2014 one of the things you might need to look at is circle time ....circles are difficult because these children need to be facing you AND near you ...so with a circle they are either one or the other..you might need to go for lines of bottoms rather than a round!
Stargrower Posted June 30, 2014 Posted June 30, 2014 We have a little boy who uses hearing aids. The children have never touched them as far as I'm aware. At circle time, we use a little piece of equipment called radio aid. The adult leading circle or story time wears it round her neck on a lanyard. When it is switched on, it tunes into his hearing aids and means he can hear the adult clearly above any background noise. We have to remember to turn it off afterwards though, as he would hear everything that person said (or did!) from the bottom of the garden!
Guest Posted June 30, 2014 Posted June 30, 2014 I agree with what's been said so far about saying something only if another child asks. Maybe speak to his parent/s about what they'd like you to say and what terminology they're happy for you to use. If it's the first setting he's been to, parent/s could also explain to him that other children might be interested in his hearing aids (because they've got a cartoon character on!) and what would he like staff to say if children ask questions? The National Deaf Children's Society have some great resources which are free, you just need to give some basic information before you can download them. They also have a story book about a boy being fitted with hearing aids. The link for a 0 -4 year section of the website resources is: http://www.ndcs.org.uk/family_support/0_to_4_years/index.html
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