With the right support, children with hearing loss can still find success in school. Parents play a crucial role in this journey, often serving as their child’s biggest advocate. Whether it be fighting to ensure that their child has access to the necessary resources to achieve success or providing support for the child at home, the role of parents in their children’s academic lives is vital. In a recent discussion involving Dr. Michelle Kraskin (Weill Cornell Medicine’s Director of Audiology), Sammie Levy (an educational specialist), Kimberly Szabo (an educational audiologist), and Laurie Winter (a teacher of the Deaf and hard of hearing), they provided four essential tips regarding steps parents can take to help their child flourish both academically and socially. 

Provide copies of your child’s hearing tests to the school.

When asked about how audiologists might help support their patients in educational environments, Kraskin answered, “One of the things we do at our center is provide our patients with copies of their hearing tests that they can provide to the school.” Szabo agreed with this statement, adding that while audiograms are helpful, speech and noise testing is also extremely important, as it “gives a lot of information on how [audiograms] translate into the classroom.”

Providing both tests to the school helps them understand what the baseline is for the child at that moment, rather than having to work with tests from several years ago. Winter re-enforces that while audiograms do give an idea of “the type and degree of hearing loss,” they “don’t tell how that person functions with their hearing.” This is important for teachers and educators to be aware of so they can figure out the student’s educational needs. 

Meet with the school to discuss expectations regarding your child’s hearing loss.

Another thing that the experts agreed was beneficial, especially with younger students, was a conference between parents and educators. When it comes to a small child, who is often unable to fully or accurately express themself, parents understand best how they function and how to manage their hearing loss. Parents can also provide insight into the challenges and struggles their child encounters in the classroom.

Levy adds that for older children, “quality of life check-in’s” work, and that even though “the school day is 8:30 to 2:30, we want to support our patients [and empower them to] enjoy extracurricular activities, complete their homework, and engage in dinner conversations,” like their peers.

These conferences give parents an opportunity to discuss concerns with their child’s educators, and create a game plan for their students. Levy mentions that these conferences help educators develop a “school year bucket list of things that they want to accomplish or enhance at the beginning of the school year,” which can be discussed later in the year, to track growth and success. 

If your child needs something to succeed, don’t be afraid to ask.

If you know that your child needs something in the classroom to succeed, whether it be an FM system, microphone like the EduMic, or something else, Winter states that it is “very helpful for the educator to have that information” so that they “have something available that is geared specifically to [the child’s] needs.” Winter notes that although this is helpful for educators and kids, she rarely hears about parents sharing this information.

The experts agree with Winter, and Kraskin adds that avoiding “wishy-washy terms, such as may benefit,” is also helpful. Rather, use definitive terms, such as “will benefit,” to avoid any “gray area or interpretation,” which frequently results in the student not getting the proper accommodations they require.

Levy continues by giving the example, “We know that X, Y, and Z would be very beneficial for the student because…” The experts agree that this statement reduces a lot of those “gray areas” that may have been left up to interpretation. This avoids the need to leave things up to the discretion of teachers or administrators, who may be completely unfamiliar with working with hard of hearing students, as well as help break down the “lack of willingness to give all the accommodations.” 

Empower yourself with information.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Kraskin says. Believing that one of the most important things is empowering the parent with information, Kraskin adds, “A lot of the parents do not know what their rights are, what kind of care and accommodations their child should be receiving, or what the law is.” Whether parents learn from clinicians and audiologists, other families who have already dealt with the same issues, or other trustworthy resources, it is essential that they are aware of what their children are entitled to and how to fight for it.

Winter agrees, stating that from her experience, “parents do not know what their rights are, what’s out there for their children, or what schools can provide.”

Supporting children with hearing loss requires a combination of efforts from parents, educators, and hearing care professionals working together. By keeping these tips in mind, parents can help ensure that they have all the tools and confidence to fully engage in their education and reach their full potential.

Want to learn more? Find the whole discussion on Audiology Online!