Inclusion of Children with Hearing Impairment

SOUND HEARING 2030

DISCUSSION PAPER ON

INCLUSION OF CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT

9-10 December 2010    *    New Delhi

Inclusion is an ideology and not a programme.  It is a concept of effective schools where every child has a place to study and teachers become facilitators of learning rather than providers of information. Inclusion is the general goal in developing nations and the ways of facilitating inclusion are many. Inclusion has different connotations in different nations.  For some countries, refining the entire educational system is the objective of inclusion whereas for some others entry of a special needs child in general classroom itself is inclusion.  Yet for some others, inclusion is a macro level policy issue whereas for many, inclusion at the micro level (school) is the major concern. In some nations, the child with disability has an option for inclusive schools or for specialized programmes whereas for many developing nations, inclusion is the only option/chance.  However, accessibility, availability and affordability emerge as issues to be addressed in inclusive settings.

The idea of making education of persons with disabilities as an INTEGRAL PART of the general educational system is the academic interpretation of ‘inclusion.’ This implies that the general classroom teachers should be equipped with skills to address the educational needs of children with special needs with minimum or no assistance of special teachers.  This calls for strengthening the pre-service general-teacher preparation programme by including adequate component of education of disabled children in the general curriculum.  The concept of effective schools will flourish only when the general educators understand the individual learning requirements of disabled children.

There are three major principles of inclusive education.  The concept of inclusive education recognizes the fact that every child in the class is special in a way or other.  The children are not categorised on the basis of the achievement or cognitive abilities or even sensory defects.  They are treated as individual children having specific strengths and limitations.  This approach makes the teacher to see the child as an individual, which is very vital for the overall development of the child.  The second principle of inclusive education is that true learning happens in a non-threatening environment.  This approach focuses on using all flexible methods of teaching in the classroom.  The third principle is that the teacher plays the role of facilitator of information rather than provider of knowledge.  These fundamental principles provide strength to the concept of inclusive education.

Parameters of successful inclusive education:

The following are generally observed as the most common parameters for inclusive education. 

1.                  Readiness of the general education system to accept responsibility for education of children with disabilities.

2.                  Encouragement provided by the community for including children with disabilities in local schools.

3.                  Readiness of parents of children with disabilities to admit the children in local schools.

4.                  Basic knowledge of general classroom teachers about the education of children with disabilities.

5.                  Admission of all types of disabled children in local schools irrespective of the extent of disability.

6.                  Enrolment rate of children with disabilities at least on par with that of non-disabled children.

7.                  Presence of proactive and flexible Government policies and programmes to promote inclusive education.

8.                  Retention of children with disabilities in schools.

9.                  Ability of the general classroom teachers to modify teaching learning strategies to teach children with disabilities.

10.              Availability of support from peer-group to children with disabilities and vice-versa in teaching-learning processes.

11.              Provision of support materials such as assistive devices and books.

12.              Comparable achievement of children with disabilities in curricular, plus curricular, and co-curricular activities on par with their capabilities.

13.              Availability of specialist teacher support, if possible, to the regular classroom teachers.

14.              Adequate allocation of resources to mainstream education of children with disabilities.

15.              Periodical monitoring and ensuring the accountability at all levels in mainstreaming education of children with disabilities especially girls with disabilities.

Among the above (15) parameters, the first seven are related to the creation of an inclusive climate whereas the remaining eight items are related to the inclusive education of these children.   Mere creation of an environment for inclusion will not suffice and there should be efforts to provide real educational support in the inclusive setting. 

Inclusion of children with hearing impairment:

Though the principles of inclusion can be applied to a large extent to all categories of children with disabilities, certain categories pose specific challenges that should be addressed for their effective inclusion in mainstream schools.  In the case of hearing impaired children communication is one of the main problems to be addressed in inclusive settings and the learning environment should be adapted to overcome this major channel of learning. 

The following broad guidelines are suggested for the success of inclusion of children with hearing impairment:

1.      The understanding of the regular classroom teachers to the educational needs of children with hearing impairment is the basic criterion in the success of their inclusion.

2.      Even if the teachers are not aware of sign language to communicate with these children, their effective use of gestures will help them in learning.  It will also help other children in the classroom.

3.      Use of visual cues in the classroom in terms of flashcards, charts, teaching aids, etc., is vital to supplement the understanding level of these children.

4.      Though preparatory training with hearing impaired children need not be mandatory for inclusion, provision of such training, if possible will definitely enhance their inclusion skills in classrooms.  (Consider the pre primary system in the community to help in this regard so that the mainstreaming process could be initiated from the beginning)

5.      Exemption of language for learning should be left to the children.  The adults who have passed out feel that English language learning is useful as they are able to use their knowledge later when they learn computers and use technology.

6.      Parents have to be involved in the education of these children and they may be encouraged to learn sign language in order to communicate effectively with their children at home.  They must be encouraged to make judicial use of oral communication as well as sign language with children with hearing impairment.  The same should be insisted upon with teachers.

7.      Availability of a resource centre in the vicinity of the school when the child is enrolled may be useful for augmenting learning experiences but this should not be treated as a pre-condition for the inclusion of children with hearing impairment.

8.      A specialist teacher assistance occasionally will be beneficial to both hearing impaired children and the classroom teachers for enhancing the learning of children.  Over dependence on specialist teacher, however, should be avoided and the children must be trained to depend more on general classroom teachers, peer group and parents.

9.      In order to facilitate effective inclusion of children with hearing impairment, the specialist teachers wherever available should encourage regular teacher involvement in educating these children and they can offer suggestions on methodologies to be used and at any cost should not be prescriptive. 

10.  Working with the National and State Bodies concerned with the teachers’ training to incorporate issues related to facilitating the children with disabilities as part of their curriculum.

In addition to the above general guidelines, the following points are suggested for the respective stakeholders who facilitate inclusion of children with hearing impairment

School management:

·         The lighting of the black board should be good and the children with hearing impairment should be seated in such a way that the board is clearly seen. It is better that the child sits in the first row so that the child is able to see the teacher clearly

·         The classroom may have minimum sound distraction.

·         Children with hearing impairment may be encouraged to take part in NSS and other extracurricular activities

·         The school management should follow a non discriminatory and proactive approach in facilitating the education of the children with hearing impairment by ensuring reasonable accommodation and regular teacher skills-upgradation initiatives.

·         Management should ensure the representation of the parents of children with hearing impairment to actively take part in the School Managing Committee (SMC) and other Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) meetings and discuss specific and general issues for appropriate action.

Teachers Role:

·         Teacher should face the deaf child and speak (Face to face)

·         Teacher should have the knowledge of hearing aid and its operations

·         Teacher should encourage peer group learning and peer tutoring

·         Special class may be arranged for hearing impaired children to understand abstract contents

·         Repetition in teaching may be encouraged whenever necessary

·         Group discussion involving hearing impaired children may be encouraged

·         Teachers should have regular follow up with parents

·         Other children in the class/school should be sensitized to understand the hearing impaired child and the specific needs and educated to be proactive and treat them as one among them.

·         Teachers should be handling the issues arising out of the challenges with positive and reinforcing methods rather than labeling or exposing the limitations in public.

Parents’ Role:

·         Parents should not discriminate the child at home on the basis of hearing impairment

·         Parents should regularly contact their child’s teacher and know the status of the improvement of the child

·         Parents should have the knowledge of hearing aid and its operations

·         Parents should encourage child to use hearing aid

·         Parents should allow the child to communicate in sign language too

·         Parents should be actively participating in the SMC/PTA meetings and support inclusive environment.

General:

·         A preschool for children with hearing impairment at each block may be initiated which will be helpful in auditory training and speech training.

·         Training on new trends in the field of hearing impairment should be given to regular teachers

·         Change of hearing aids should be insisted at least once in two years

·         A sign language interpreter and speech therapist may be made available at block level resource centre/health system.

·         An interpreter may also be made available in the examination hall

·         Advocating for the introduction of basic identification and stimulation supports the pre primary schools (Balwadi/Anganwadi).

·         Advocating for affirmative policies and budgetary supports by the concerned Governments and Departments/Ministries to ensure inclusive programmes and schemes.

·         Advocating for the timely availability and access to appropriate assistive devices at an affordable cost.

·         Advocating for ensuring access to higher and professional education leading to employability and mainstreaming.

Implementation of the above guidelines may facilitate effective inclusion of children with hearing impairment.