DHH Transition Survey

You are unique! You have your own interests, skills, abilities and personality characteristics. You must consider all of these when you choose a job or career. This will help you find the best job "fit" for you - you match the job. Knowing about yourself will also help you choose the right postsecondary education plan.

All people are different.

Are you deaf? Hard of hearing? Did you lose your hearing later? That's a part of who you are. Be comfortable with who you are. By knowing yourself and being confident in who you are, other people will also be comfortable with you.

Explore your goals and dreams. Find other people who support your goals such as friends, family, counselors and teachers.

When you make mistakes, learn what things will work better. Even mistakes are a chance to grow! Keep working hard and don't give up!

How do you choose the right career and education plan after high school? You begin by learning about yourself!

Completing a self-assessment will help you learn more about yourself. The results of the self-assessment can be used to make decisions about what you need to do.

Think about each question before you answer it. Once you have completed the assessment, you will have a much better understanding of yourself.

HEARING LEVEL

Hearing loss is defined by type of loss and degree of loss. There are three types of hearing loss:

Conductive - parts of the ear are not there or do not work. Occurs when sound cannot be transmitted within the middle ear.

Causes

  • Blockage of ear canal or eustachian tube
  • Damage to eardrum or ossicles
  • Restricted movement of ossicles

Effects and rehabilitative measures

  • Sounds and speech seem softer, but are not distorted
  • Hearing aids are helpful
  • Often can be medically treated

Sensorineural - the hearing nerve is damaged. Occurs due to sensory or nerve damage in the inner ear.

Causes

  • Heredity
  • Illness, disease, drug treatments
  • Aging
  • Prolonged exposure to loud noises

Effects and rehabilitative measures

  • Sounds and speech seem softer and distorted
  • Hearing aids are of limited use. They only make the distortions louder, not clearer.

Mixed- Indicates the presence of both sensorineural and conductive hearing losses.An individual with a mixed loss would have a middle ear mechanical fault and nerve transmission damage from the cochlea to the brain.

What type of hearing loss do you have?

Right ear: ______

Left ear: ______

What kind of assistive technology do you use? ______

Without it, what can you hear? ______

It is important to understand your hearing loss so you can:

  • Explain your loss to others.
  • Identify the right accommodations to fit your needs.
  • Get services you need to communicate and learn.
  • Put the right information on forms (papers) you may need to fill out.

The second component of hearing loss is the degree of loss. Degree of loss is the extent of hearing loss. It ranges from mild to profound and is measured in decibels (dB).

  • Mild losses are between 20-35dB. You can hear speech, but not always clearly.
  • Moderate losses are between 35-70dB. You can hear just a little speech and it can be difficult to understand. You can hear loud noises.
  • Severe losses are between 70-90dB. You can hear a little sound and very loud noises, but can't understand speech.
  • Profound losses are over 90dB. You can't hear any speech or noises.

The audiogram shows the decibel level of common sounds. Click on the words Normal, Mild, Moderate, Severe and Profound to find out what a person can hear at different degrees of loss.

Right:

Mild (20-35dB)

Moderate (35-70dB)

Severe (70-90dB)

Profound (Over 90dB)

Left:

Mild (20-35dB)

Moderate (35-70dB)

Severe (70-90dB)

Profound (Over 90dB)

COMMUNICATION STYLE

Concerning your communication style, what do you prefer?

American Sign Language (ASL)

Combined ASL and English

Cued Speech

Signed English (SEE)

Speech and Lip Reading

Tactile

Total Communication

Other: ______

LEARNING STYLE

Everyone can learn in more than one way - but most people have one way that they learn best. Some people learn best by reading and thinking. Other people learn best by trying to do things. How you learn best is your learning style.

There are three learning styles

Visual learner - learns best by watching and using their eyes to see information.

Verbal learner - learns best by talking, signing and listening to others.

Hands-on learner - learns best by being physically active.

Here are some statements that describe different types of learning. Read each statement. If you think that it describes your learning style, circle it. Select as many statements as you wish.

I like group discussion

If I can’t spell a word, I write it out

I can understand and follow directions on a map.

I think better when I can move around

If I can’t spell a word, I like to sound it out.

I like to fix broken things.

Sometimes I do math by counting on my fingers.

I like observing how things work.

I understand better if I read out loud.

I can follow directions better when people tell me than having to read them.

I like to build models and make posters in class.

I picture things in my mind to help me remember.

I enjoy working with my hands or making things.

I would rather listen to my teacher talk about a topic than read it in a book.

INTERESTS

Many people follow their interests to a job or career. For example, someone who is interested in cars may become a mechanic. Someone who likes to cook may become a chef.

Below are some areas of interest. Circle each picture that is something in which you have an interest.

ABILITIES

Here is a list of some abilities. Read each and decide if you have that ability. If you do, circle it. You may select as many as you wish. You may also write down additional abilities.

Work with others

Research information

Act or perform for others

Influence others

Teach others

Use imagination

Lead a group

Build things

Write stories

Supervise others

Entertain people

Type documents

Train animals

Repair things

Paint pictures

Clean things

Manage money

Solve problems

Work the details

PERSONALITY TRAITS

People have different kinds of personalities. Your personality is the mixture of your mental and emotional characteristics. It is a mix of how you feel, behave, and think. Knowing your personality will help you know yourself better and how you interact with others. Your personality will affect the kind of work you do and how you will interact with other people. You will need to take a realistic "picture" of your personality to know how it will fit with the kind of career directions you want for the future. For example, if you want to become a teacher, positive personality traits include being understanding, outgoing, helpful and friendly.

Some personality traits will limit your chances for success in any training or work field. For example, complaining a lot, or being lazy, opinionated and rude will hinder you from getting along on the job and get in the way of having good relationships with others.

Take a good look at your behaviors, feelings and how you think!

Work to develop good personality traits such as:

  • Friendliness
  • Honesty
  • Being positive and thoughtful

Ask your teachers, family and friends to give you honest information about yourself so you can be sure to use your personality in a useful way rather than let it get in the way of helping you achieve your goals.

Be positive!

Here is a list of personality traits. Do any of these describe the way that you feel, behave and think? Circle all that describe your personality traits.

Adventurous – like to try new things

Appreciative – thankful

Athletic – fit

Artistic – creative

Careful – cautious e

Confident – sure of self

Complaining – crabby

Cooperative – helpful

Creative – good imagination

Curious – strong interest to know

Dependable – responsible

Dissatisfied – unhappy

Emotional – express feelings easily

Energetic – lively

Enterprising – like thinking of new things

Faultfinding – critical

Forgiving – accepting others’ mistakes

Generous – giving

Headstrong – stubborn

Helpful – caring

Honest – open, truthful

Humorous – funny

Independent – self sufficient

Industrious – hard working

Lazy – not active

Moody – grumpy

Neat – tidy

Nervous – tense

Open-minded – accept new things

Optimistic – positive

Outgoing – friendly

Patient – ability to wait

Persevering – ability to stick to plan

Positive – looking at the good side

Punctual – on time

Reckless – not careful

Reliable – trustworthy

Resourceful – capable

Rude – not polite

Sincere – open, honest

Thoughtful – caring

Timid – shy

Undependable – do not follow through on plans

Understanding – accepting

Unfriendly – not sociable, doesn’t get along with others

ACADEMIC SKILLS

"Academic" refers to subjects taught in school. In high school, you take several different subjects. These may include:

Many people have better skills in one or two areas. Those are your strengths. Developing skills in other areas will be very important in achieving your future job and education goals.

What are your academic strengths? Circle each subject that you consider an academic strength.

Science

Biology

Math

Reading

Chemistry

History

Social Studies

Algebra

Health

Geometry

Writing

English

Foreign Languages

Geography

Business Education

Art

Computer Science

Physical Education

Other: ______

What’s your ideal job? ______

If you don’t do that, what else would you like to do? ______

Do you want to work right after high school or get additional training/schooling? ______

Where? Doing what? Majoring in what? ______

______

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