“Oh! Here…nope, not this one. It says,
‘hammer, anvil, and stirrup.’ I want one with the scientific words –malleus,
incus, and stapes,” my eighth grader softly explains as he scans internet images
of the ear on my computer, looking for just the right color scheme as well as
correct labeling of the parts. We’ve been talking in great detail about how
hearing works and how hearing loss impacts comprehension of spoken language.
He’s fascinated and wants to put together a presentation to share with his
classmates so that they can better understand how he perceives and processes
sound. Finally, he selects the image below, inserts in into his presentation,
and says, “perfect.”
Why
does it matter how hearing works? Kids (and adults, too!) want explanations for
how and why things work the way they do. Without concrete explanations,
students often feel that misunderstandings are always their own fault. Many
students express moments in school and in social situations of feeling dumb,
confused, lost, or on the outside of the group. Helping them to understand how
hearing works and how hearing loss impacts comprehension can alleviate some of
the self-blame and negative feelings and instead empower students to advocate.
All my students have self-advocacy goals and objectives in their IEPs, and
learning about hearing fits right into those objectives. Even with my youngest
students, we study diagrams of the ear, create our own diagrams and label the
parts, and trace the path of sound up to the brain (what a great opportunity to
include sequential language instruction!). Recently, my first grader was
overheard telling a classmate who asked about her hearing aids, “Don’t you know already? Hearing aids make
sounds louder and help sounds get to my brain.”
As
students get older, they are able to explore in more depth how hearing impacts
language. One parent emailed me saying that my fourth-grade student drew a diagram
of the ear during a family gathering and used it to explain to her grandmother
who also has hearing loss, why dinner conversations are difficult to follow.
Another middle school student showed me sketches of the ear and hearing aid
that she had drawn while on the bus, explaining to her friends how she hears
when they asked. As for my student creating his presentation? The change in him
has been remarkable –once sitting in class unsure of what was going on and
having few strategies to figure it out, he now advocates for information to be
written on the board, alerts teachers when the FM is muted or muffled, and
explains what he needs to new adults and peers. He can quickly sketch a drawing
of the ear and explain where the breakdown occurs for him based on the cause of
his hearing loss. He understands that it is not his fault when he misses what
was said but that it is his responsibility to get the information. My student confidently
presented his PowerPoint to his classmates, responded to questions, and received
overwhelmingly positive feedback. He no
longer blames himself or feels badly when misunderstandings occur because he
understands why; there’s a scientific
explanation for mishearing.
