Meghan Williamson, M.S. CF-SLP
New Teachers to Waterleaf’s d/hh program:
I recently had a conversation with a 2nd grade teacher who currently has 4 students who are deaf/hard of hearing in her classroom. At the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, she received little training rather she referred to it as a “brief discussion” with the audiologist about how to use the FM equipment. She felt very overwhelmed as it was her first year having students who are deaf/hard of hearing in her class and stated that it took time to get used to using the FM amplification system. “Time” is the big red flag here. Did the students miss critical information at the beginning of the year? On average, how long does it take for a new student to our school and teacher to get used to working with the FM?
This has been my first year at Waterleaf Elementary. Currently, I have 40 students (K-5) on my caseload of which 28 are deaf/hard of hearing. Waterleaf is known as the “home” school in the district for students who are deaf/hard of hearing using an auditory-oral approach. As the end of the year approaches, new teacher meetings occur weekly to discuss the upcoming year and their new assignments. There are a handful of teachers leaving and a few who are transitioning to a new grade. Since we are the home school for students who are deaf/hard of hearing, chances are teachers will have one or more students in their class with a hearing loss. To allow teacher’s to feel confident in their ability to work with these students, I provided them with information at their meetings regarding their role and the students in the classroom in regards to the student receiving maximal access to sound. Also, my goal was to provide new teachers/substitutes with a visual demonstrating how to use the FM amplification system successfully in the classroom. I shared that I will be available at the beginning of the school year to provide hands on training of the information included in the handout.
*See the attached handout for the information presented.