Children

What parents should know about hearing loss

Beyond the test booth

BEYOND THE TEST BOOTH

You have just found out that your child has a hearing loss. The questions that are often on parents’ minds at this point are, “Will my child be able to talk?” “What about my child’s future?” “Will she be able to go to college?” Though you may feel confused and overwhelmed right now, remember, a hearing loss in and of itself does not preclude anything… the sky’s the limit.

When I first found out about my daughter’s hearing loss I was lost. All I could think was I would never hear my daughter call me Mommy. At her test I was told it was moderately severe to severe. I didn’t know what that meant. I thought hearing was all or nothing, kind of like a light switch. I never knew a child with a hearing loss. I didn’t know a thing. All I knew was that I was deeply sad and very scared. At my appointment, the audiologist spent a lot of time with our family and presented the various options to us. She helped to guide us through this new world we entered. She introduced us to another family where I saw another hearing impaired child singing with Barney on TV. She fit my daughter with hearing aids and the rest is history. She celebrated with me her first words and has watched her grow. My daughter is now 9 and in Fourth Grade. She has more then succeeded both academically and socially. There is no greater joy then to make her take off her IPOD to answer the phone.
- Melissa V., mother of Samantha, Age 9

Having a child with a hearing loss adds a whole new dimension to parenthood that you may never have planned on, but with commitment and support, your child will be able to reach his or her highest potential.

Communication With Your Child:

Parents have various options to choose from regarding their child's method or mode of communication. There are a variety of methods of communication that are used with children with hearing loss. The League's Children's Communication Program follows an auditory/oral approach. The goal of the program at the League is to teach a child with hearing loss to develop spoken language skills so that he or she will be able to be mainstreamed into a regular classroom setting and society at large. It requires that your child wear a hearing aid or cochlear implant and participate in intensive communication therapy with parent and family involvement.

Auditory/Oral Approach: When parents choose an auditory/oral approach, extensive speech and language input is necessary, and this takes time. However, exactly when the child will start to talk depends upon the child, the degree of hearing loss, the family's support system, the child's age when the hearing loss was identified and amplification provided, the benefit received from the amplification, and other factors. Learning to talk is a process that always requires much time and effort and includes reading lips and using other verbal cues to understand what others are saying.

Sign Language: Children learn American Sign Language (ASL) as a first language. ASL is a language that uses hand movements, facial expressions and body positioning to communicate. ASL has its own system of meanings and grammar and is one of the most widely used languages in the U.S. ASL users may learn English as a second language and/or may learn English simultaneously with spoken English.
Cued Speech: A way for deaf people to "see" spoken English, it was initially invented to teach deaf children how to read and helps children to “see the sounds.”
Total Communication: This method typically refers to using a variety of methods of communication, including sign language, speechreading, learning spoken language, cued speech. In some Total Communication programs, teachers and children always speak and sign at the same time. In some Total Communication programs, communication at different times during the day is either done using sign language or spoken language.

Remember: There are many different ways of communicating. Every child is different. There is no one "right" way for all children. Regardless of which method you choose for your child, there are some important factors to remember:

It is never too early to test a baby’s hearing
A baby can be fit with hearing aids at just a few weeks of age
Communication therapy can begin immediately
Regardless of the mode of communication, parental and family support is key for a child to succeed.