Case Study: Allison
by Rudrasri Ramachandran
1. nature of hearing loss
1.1. bilateral conductive (mild to moderate)
1.1.1. conductive (temporary)
1.2. cannot hear sounds below 40dB
1.3. across all frequencies
1.4. acquired (does have some typical function)
2. possible challenges in classroom
2.1. cannot keep up in class (mostly concerned about literacy skills)
2.2. difficulty communicating with peers (social problem)
2.3. embarrassed to participate
2.4. loss of motivation in classroom
2.5. may experience bullying
3. Solutions
3.1. use of technology - word processing devices
3.1.1. closed captions
3.1.2. subtitles
3.2. have an assistant teacher
3.3. subtitles and closed captions when watching movies or videos
3.4. emphasise on acceptance and teamwork
3.5. encourage participation (reward system)
4. cause
4.1. repeated, severe ear infections (infancy and throughout childhood)
5. current accomodation
5.1. speech and language services
5.2. consultation from itinerant teacher
5.3. school developed IEP for her
5.4. consultation from audiologist
5.5. speech and language pathologist ensure that hearing aids are working and well maintained
5.6. inclusion in mainstream school
6. benefit/limitation
6.1. limitation
6.1.1. mainstream school and might not be able to keep up
6.1.2. no people her age involved in helping her
6.2. benefit
6.2.1. does not feel excluded
6.2.2. receives a lot of professional help/attention