School is hard for many students whether they have a disability or not. The load of work piled on students is increasing with age. Many students feel as if the work is too hard for them to do on their first try so they drop out. Now imagine if you had all of this work to do, notes to take, exams to cram for and you did all this without being able to hear your peers or teachers. My whole school career has been with minimum hearing ability. I was given hearing aids at the age of five and went until seventh grade without any hearing devices such as an FM system to help me hear more. Many people I have encountered believe that communicating with someone who has hearing loss is considered hard. I know that other children in public schools within South Carolina are not as fortunate as I am. Other children with hearing loss, struggle to hear their teachers and their peers. Public schools are supposed to make sure a student with hearing loss is able to be successful in their school careers, but not every school have the required products to do this.
Children with hearing loss often struggle to hear their peers, teachers and instructors even with hearing aids. Hearing aids does not always solve the problem of hearing loss. Public schools are to provide students with hearing loss with devices such as an FM system. Public schools are providing the children with hearing loss with helpers and interpreters along with devices such as FM Systems to benefit the students that need them. An FM system works like a small radio. The FM system has a small radio transmitter that is attached to a microphone and a radio receiver. A teacher wears the FM system usually at chest level. When the teacher talk, the radio receiver picks up the voice and sends it through the radio transmitter to a piece that is attached to the child’s hearing aid. These products allow for children to hear less background noise that their hearing aids pick up and focus on the teacher.
Rates of success among students with hearing disabilities are different from the rate of success from their hearing peers. “Academic Status and Progress of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in General Education Classrooms” written by Anita, Jones, Reed, Kreimeyer, state that a majority of students studied are achieving within the normal range of their peers (Antia, Jones, Reed, Kreimeyer 13). The public school system is working hard to establish equality in education for students with hearing loss. This is shown by the rate of success from students in public schools and their ability to learn like their hearing peers. Even though previous studies show that students with hearing loss lag academically behind their hearing peers and the average performance in reading is approximately six grades below their hearing peers, (Karchmer & Mitchell, 2003) the new studies from 2009 show that children with hearing loss can achieve within the normal range of their hearing peers. The children in studied for these testings, were enrolled in a program that gave support to them with their school work (Anita, Jones, Reed, Kreimeyer 14). If a child with hearing loss works hard enough, they can achieve as well as their hearing classmates.
An adult with hearing loss living on their own portrays serious risk possibilities and dangers. 92% of those who took my survey entitled “Hearing Impaired Survey,” feel that a family member of someone with hearing loss should teach them how to live on their own. 60% of those who took my survey feel that teachers should teach someone with hearing loss to live on their own (DeSantis). Parents and family members should teach children what to do if there is ever an emergency such as a fire. There are products made specifically for people with hearing loss so they can protect themselves and others.
Many products are being produced each day by manufactures to make the lives of people with hearing loss easier to manage. Products such as amplified telephones, vibrating watches, flashing lights, Clarity alarm clocks with bed shakers, and FM systems are made with precaution for the lives of those with hearing loss. These products are created to help people with hearing loss live on their own. Products such as these, allow people with hearing loss to live on their own by notifying them if there is someone at the door, if there is a fire, and if their baby is crying. The products produced and invented take away some of the risk factors that people with hearing loss face every day.
More than half of those who took my survey said that it is hard to communicate with people with hearing loss. I found this unreliable because they communicate with me every day and have minor problems understanding and talking to me. A common myth by hearing people is that those with hearing loss cannot understand what other people are saying. Many people with hearing loss can read lips and fully understand spoken language. Sign language is a common way of communication. ASL, a type of sign language, is used by one half million deaf people in the United States and Canada (About ASL). American Sign Language is the third most used language in the United States (Hand Speak). Learning sign language is a challenge, but many people with hearing loss read lips to communicate with hearing peers.
Children with hearing loss should be allowed in public schools because each child deserves equal education. Studies show that children with hearing loss can learn like their peers in a normal classroom (Antia, Jones, Reed, Kreimeyer 13). With the proper equipment, students with hearing loss can achieve the same successes as their classmates. Products such as FM systems are invented to make communication between hearing and non-hearing people. Communication, whether it is spoken, signed, or read, should not be difficult for people.
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