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Hearing impairment is similar to the category of deafness, but it is not the same. The official definition of a hearing impairment by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is “an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but is not included under the definition of ‘deafness.'” Thus, knowing the definition of deafness is necessary to understand what sort of disabilities are considered hearing impairments. A hearing loss above 90 decibels is generally considered deafness, which means that a hearing loss below 90 decibels is classified as a hearing impairment.

Common Traits-

The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) explains that hearing loss falls into four subcategories: conductive, sensorineural, mixed and central. These identify the location in the body in which the hearing impairment occurs. Hearing aids and other sound amplifying assistive technologies (AT) often work for students with conductive hearing loss, as their impairments stem from the outer or middle ear. Such does not hold true with sensorineural, mixed and central hearing losses, as these impairments stem from the inner ear, the central nervous system or a combination of the two. Typically, hearing loss is categorized as slight, mild, moderate, severe or profound, depending on how well an individual can hear the frequencies that are commonly associated with speech.

Educational Challenges-

Educational obstacles related to hearing impairments stem around communication. A student with a hearing impairment may experience difficulty in:

the subjects of grammar, spelling and vocabulary

taking notes while listening to lectures

participating in classroom discussions

watching educational videos

presenting oral reports

Underscoring the difficulty that students with hearing impairments may have in presenting oral reports are the potential language development problems linked to hearing impairments. Arizona’s Department of Education’s Parent Information Network notes that, “Since children with hearing impairments are unable to receive some sounds accurately, they often cannot articulate words clearly.”

Tips for Teachers

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) strongly endorses early intervention. This can limit communication hurdles. Typically, both oral (speech, lip reading and use of residual hearing) and manual (sign language) communication are used with and taught to children with hearing impairments. Voice and articulation training is often recommended to help students learn to form the sounds which they cannot hear.

Designating a note taker can allow a student with a hearing impairment to concentrate fully on listening to a lecture. A combination of traditional communication, lip reading, sign language and assistive technology can compensate for issues which make listening to lectures and participating in class discussions challenging. Children who read lips often need to sit close to the teacher, while those who use sign language may use an interpreter. Turning on captions during a video can reiterate what a student may pick up from his or her amplifying device.

Finally, it’s important that parents and teachers don’t underestimate a child’s intelligence based on a hearing impairment. Arizona’s Department of Education’s Parent Information Network warns, “For most children with hearing impairments, language acquisition and language development are significantly delayed. As a result, some may incorrectly estimate the child’s intelligence as low.” Avoid this mistake!

Sources-

https://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/hearing-impairments/

https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/health-wellness-and-safety-resources/helping-hands/children-with-hearing-loss-guidelines-for-schools

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Emotional Disturbance is defined by IDEA as having a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance: An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors, an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers, Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances, a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression, a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems, emotional disturbance also includes schizophrenia.

Common traits of Emotional Disturbance include physical symptoms or fears which are different from peers and are correlated with school problems, inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances, inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers, pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression, characteristics have been exhibited over a long period of time, characteristics are exhibited to a marked degree, and behavior that affects educational performance.

The most common educational challenge for a child with Emotional Disturbance is classroom disturbances. Some behaviors expressed by children with Emotional Disturbance are reviewed by a behavioral analyst who can help develop a behavioral plan to encourage behavior more appropriate for class time and to optimize learning. Emotional and behavioral support should be offered to help academic achievement, self-awareness, and self-control.

https://www.ksde.org/Portals/0/ECSETS/FactSheets/FactSheet-SpEd-ED.pdf

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Vision impairment -means that a person's eyesight cannot be corrected to a “normal” level. Vision impairment may be caused by a loss of visual acuity, where the eye does not see objects as clearly as usual. Kids who have vision loss that can't be fixed with glasses, contacts, or other methods visual impairment.

Common Traits- vision loss (blindness), strabismus (misaligned or crossed eyes), eye or brain injuries, or birth defects.

Potential Education Challenges -not being able to see objects at a distance, having trouble reading (or learning to read), participating in class and bumping into things often.

Tips for Teachers- Make seating changes when needed to help kids see you, whiteboards, blackboards, or learning materials. Extra lighting may be needed. Keep walkways open and give extra time, if needed.

Source- https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/vision-factsheet.html

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Speech or language impairment- means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.

Common Traits- repeating or prolonging sounds, distorting sounds, adding sounds or syllables to words, rearranging syllables, difficulty pronouncing words correctly, and speaking with a hoarse or raspy voice.

Potential Education Challenges - include not reading at the skill level expected for their grade, learning or remembering the names of letters or new vocabulary words, difficulty understanding what their teacher is saying, trouble expressing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings through both verbal language.

Tip for Teachers- Try reducing unnecessary classroom noise as much as possible, provide verbal clues often, and provide a quiet spot for the student to work if possible.

Source- https://do2learn.com/disabilities/CharacteristicsAndStrategies/SpeechLanguageImpairment_Strategies.html

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According to IDEA, Autism is defined as “a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” The term autism does not apply if the child’s educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance, as defined in [IDEA].”

Because autism is a spectrum it is hard to narrow down only a few characteristics. Some common traits found in ASD include: Engaging in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. Unusual fixation (for instance, only playing with round toys), inability to focus without first completing a routine, disruptive behavior when an ordinary schedule is interrupted, unusual communication habits (from not talking at all to repeating certain phrases), and difficulty understanding social interaction is also common with ASD.

Learning challenges for those who fall in the spectrum include: Trouble following directions, hampered ability to communicate, disinterest, and/or disruptive behavioral problems.

Tips for educators working with these students can be: Assistive technology, learning what intrigues your student so that you can grab their attention, finding out what calms your student and what riles them up, and even getting advice or help from their guardians who know them best.

Sources: https://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/autism/ and https://www.parentcenterhub.org/wp-content/uploads/repo_items/gr3.pdf