Hearing Impairment

Hearing Impairment

In order to develop language appropriately, and to interact comfortably and successfully, our sensory systems (including our hearing) need to be optimal. A hearing impairment happens when there is a problem with one or more parts of the ear, the nerves coming from the ears, or the hearing part of the brain. According to ASHA (The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association), there are four major ways in which hearing loss affects children:

1. Hearing loss causes delay in the development of receptive and expressive communication skills (speech and language)
2. The language deficit causes learning problems that result in reduced academic achievement
3. Communication difficulties often lead to social isolation and poor self-concept
4. It may have an impact on vocational choices

Our team of speech pathologists can help hearing impaired clients by working on:

• Vocabulary
• Sentence structure skills
• Speaking and listening/comprehension skills
• Social communication skills
• Alternative and augmentative communication tools, such as apps and devices to support learning
• Liaising with school staff regarding hardware, AAC and differentiated learning strategies to support students with their learning.