Many factors need to be considered when selecting educational placements for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. School placement needs to support a child's learning and social development. Different settings accomplish these goals for individual children.
Depending on where you live, you may have various educational placement options for your child. Here are some examples of different placements
| Special classroom for children who are D/HH may include hearing peers. | Regular classroom setting often includes supports like hearing assistance technology (HAT) & services of a speech pathologist or teacher of D/HH). | Regular classroom may provide special supports (e.g., sign interpreter, captioning, hearing assistance technology, speech pathologist and/or teacher of the D/HH). | Self-contained classrooms in a school for the Deaf or other programs may provide sign language access. |
Your Placement
Some of the key school placement factors are:
- Child's current speech and language abilities
- Academic readiness
- Socialization abilities and needs
- Auditory abilities
- Visual abilities
- Communication access needs (e.g., spoken language, sign language, cued speech)
- Support needs (what supports are needed to ensure success in the classroom environment?)
- Available class sizes & teacher characteristics
- Classroom characteristics
Educational placements range from full time inclusion in regular classrooms, part-time inclusion in a regular classroom with part-time special classes, inclusion in a special class focusing on spoken language, inclusion in a regular classroom with a sign language interpreter, or enrollment in a school for deaf children, or other combinations, depending on the needs that parents and educational team see.
An important point is that you might try a placement and find out that it is not supporting the child in the way the team envisioned. The team can explore other placement options – this flexibility helps you find a good match between the child's needs and the educational environment.
A child who receives one kind of program, but doesn't learn as successfully as parents and teachers had hoped, may make wonderful progress by changing to a different kind of program.
Resources on Educational Placements from Parent Perspectives
Deciding if my child is ready for a regular school
Is
Your
Child
Ready
for
a
Mainstream
School? A
Checklist*
*The information in
this
final section was originally developed by a team that created a website for families focused on “raising deaf kids” (See About Us). Minor edits may have been made.
Use
this
checklist
to
see if
your
child
is
ready
for
the
mainstream.
Are you thinking about sending your child to a mainstream school? Going to a school
with mostly hearing children can have its rewards.
It can also be tough. Before you
make
your final
decision,
ask yourself
if this
is the
right
choice
for your
child:
-
Is your child ready to go to a school where she may be the only student who is deaf or hard of hearing (DHH)?
-
Is the school ready and willing to help your child learn?
-
Are you ready to help your child with any problems that may come up?
Use this checklist to see if you and your child are ready for the mainstream. You
don't
have to have all the points on the list.
However, the more you have, the better the chances
are that
your child will do well in school.
Your
child
may
do
better in
the
mainstream if
she:
Knows how well she can communicate with other people.
Your child will be in classes with
mainly hearing people. Does she know
various
ways she can communicate with hearing people? If she does, she can try
flexible ways to
communicate
with classmates and others.
Can use her
hearing technologies (hearing aids, cochlear implants, remote microphone technologies) on her own.
Your child should know how to keep them
on. And she should be able to tell
when
they're not working. That way, she can tell the teacher when
there's a
problem.
Can
ask
for help
in
class.
Your child may be the only student
who is DHH
in the class, and the teacher may
not
understand
what
kind
of
helps she
needs.
It
will
be
up
to
your
child
to
ask for
this help. This could be
anything that will help her learn -
from asking for the teacher's notes, to getting extra
help after
school,
to setting
up a
study
group.
Can
work
with
an interpreter
well,
if
she uses one.
This means paying attention to the interpreter, and
what's going on in class. It
may
be
hard, but
the
interpreter
may
be your
child's
only
way
of
understanding
what's
being
taught.
Gets along with other children
well and can make friends.
This is important, especially if your child is one of the few
students who are DHH in her school. If the other children are shy about talking to a
person who is DHH, she may
have to be the one to go up to them.
Feels good about herself.
Your child may be the only
child who is DHH in her school. She may feel different from
all the other students.
If she feels good about herself,
she'll see being different as a good thing, instead of a
limitation.
Has deaf role models and friends.
Your child can look to her friends and role models for help if she has problems at school.
Is willing to work hard.
A different school may be harder than the school your child has been going to. She may have to work extra hard to keep up or to catch up.
Your
child
may
do
better
in the
mainstream
if her
school
has:
Had other children who are DHH.
If the school has had other students who are DHH, the staff may know what help these
students
need.
This
can
make
it
easier
to
get
the
same
kind
of
help
for
your
child.
People
who
can
help your
child
if
her
hearing
aid,
cochlear
implant
or
RM (remote
microphone) system
stops
working.
If
your
child's
hearing
aid
stops
working
all
of
a
sudden,
what
will
she
do?
Getting
sent to the library for the rest of the day would be a waste of time. If her school
has
someone on staff
to
help her, she
can keep
going
to class.
A teacher in your child's grade who has had students who are DHH in his
class before.
A teacher who has
taught
students who are DHH before
could be
a big help. He may
know what kind of extra help
students who are DHH need.
He may be more
prepared to
help your child.
A psychologist or social worker that has worked with children
who
are DHH
before.
Many
schools
may
not
have
these
kinds
of
people
on
staff.
Having
one
can
help
a lot
if your
child is having trouble in
school.
An IEP team that has worked with other children who are DHH.
This IEP team would have a better idea of what kinds of help students who are DHH need. They will know how to set goals for these children.
Classrooms
that
don't
echo
a lot.
Noisy classrooms can be a big distraction, especially to someone using hearing
aids or cochlear implants. Putting down carpet and padding the bottoms of chair legs and desk can
make
a room quieter.
Educational interpreters.
If
the
school
already
knows
of
trained
interpreters
who
can
work
with
your
child,
it
should
be easier for your child
to get
an interpreter if your child signs.
Your
child
may
do
better
in
the
mainstream
if you
and your
family:
-
Can talk or sign with your child well enough to help her through getting used to a new school.
Going
to
a
new
school
can
be
lonely
at
first.
Your
child
will
probably
need
your
help
in getting through it.
Make sure
you're there
for her.
