How our Mainstream School Embraced our Child

Emmy was mainstreamed into a public charter school when she was in Pre-Kindergarten. She entered a class with twenty other students and an amazing teacher. Emmy was the only child with hearing loss in her school of 1,200 students. 

The first week of school, Emmy got up in front of the class and showed everyone her cochlear implants. She brought coloring books to the class that explained hearing loss and how cochlear implants helped, and we answered questions from the students. We did this at the beginning of each school year until she was in third grade.

We taught the school staff how to use an FM system, an assistive listening system that required the teacher to wear a microphone so their voice could bypass the noise in the classroom and be transmitted directly into Emmy’s implant. We shared resources with the school that taught them about hearing loss, the differences between hearing aids and cochlear implants, and how to teach a child with hearing loss. 

Throughout Emmy’s years in school, her needs have changed, and we adjusted accommodations accordingly. In the early years, Emmy used a traditional FM system with her cochlear implant. She had preferential seating in the classroom, daily listening checks of her hearing devices, and constant communication between school staff and parents. 

As she got older, she asked for closed-captioning on all videos shown in school. When she entered middle school and the classes became more discussion based, she started using other assistive listening devices such as a Phonak Roger Pen and Roger Select to supplement her hearing in a noisy classroom and while playing sports.

Emmy is now a freshman at Northern Arizona University and is studying Elementary and Special Education. She is a board member of the local AG Bell Chapter, a mentor for Advanced Bionics, a member of ASL club and the College Diabetes Network as well as several education-based clubs. 

We were concerned about what would happen with Emmy’s accommodations at college, but we found that her university was more than willing to go the extra mile to help her. They set up CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) services for each of her classes. In this setup, the teacher speaks into a microphone, and the remote service provider types out the lecture in real time so that it can be visible on Emmy’s computer when she connects to the service via Skype. They also gave her a hearing-accessible alert system, which included a doorbell for her dorm room, fire and smoke alarms for each room and bathroom she uses, and a desktop alert system that connects to her cell phone. 

Nineteen years ago, when Emmy was diagnosed with profound hearing loss, we had no idea what was in store for her or for us as a family. We were terrified to leave our safe bubble of early intervention and professionals experienced with hearing loss to jump into a mainstream school. But in our mainstream school, we found amazing staff and teachers who wanted to learn something new. They wanted to do the best they could for Emmy, but it was also up to us as Emmy’s family to take the initiative and become advocates for our child.

If you have a child with hearing loss, here are some things that you can do to ensure they get the most out of their education, no matter what kind of school setting they are in.

• Stay Informed. You probably tried to learn as much as you could about hearing loss and hearing technology to determine the best path forward for your child when you first discovered their hearing loss. It helps to continue learning and staying informed about the hearing technologies that could help your child at school, whether it’s an FM system or another assistive listening device. A continued conversation with your audiologist is always a good place to start. 
• Know your rights. Federal and state laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require reasonable and appropriate accommodation for kids in public schools. It helps to learn the services and resources your child is entitled to. 
  
• Be a part of the team. Keep a positive and collaborative relationship with your child’s school and their teachers. Stay in contact with your child’s teachers and get to know your child’s learning environment so that, together, you can ensure your child’s needs are met. 
  
• Involve your child. As in everything we do as parents and caregivers, our job is to teach and raise our children so they can be increasingly responsible for themselves as they grow. By the same token, it’s important to teach your child to advocate for themselves and their listening needs. As questions and challenges arise in school, let your child be a part of the process as it is age appropriate. This way, you can identify problems, brainstorm solutions, and overcome challenges together. 

Thankfully, in many schools around the country, there are resident or itinerant educational audiologists and special education specialists knowledgeable and trained in working with children with hearing loss. Their expertise and presence at school is invaluable in making sure a child’s educational needs are met. But regardless of whether such a professional is available at your child’s school, never underestimate the critical importance of an informed parent’s voice. You know your child best, and you are the best advocate for them until they can be their own advocate.