Teachers' perceptions of hearing impaired children's receptive vocabulary skills

Before the inception of Public Law 94-142, many handicapped children in general typically received little or no special services if they were mainstreamed. Hearing impaired children missed much of the classroom instruction due to their inability to hear the teacher. Since the passing of Public Law 94-142, these hearing impaired children, depending on the severity of their loss, are spending part of their day in a resource room or hearing impaired classroom where they will receive the special instruction they need.The number of hearing impaired children enrolled in special education programs in the United States is approximately 76,000 - 90,000 (Gallaudet Research Institute, 1985). Of this number, 50 percent attend special education classes in a public school system or state school for the deaf. Of the other 50 percent, 42.3 percent are in both regular and special education and 6.1 percent are in regular education classes only. It is the children who are spending part or all of their day in the regular classroom that will be the focus of this paper.The purpose of this paper is to examine hearing loss, its' relationship to speech and language, and the need for teachers to be educated concerning the needs of hearing impaired children. Are the classroom teachers aware of the impact that a hearing loss has on the child's language abilities? Do they know how to help the child compensate for his inability to fully hear his classmates, to learn new vocabulary, or to comprehend classroom instruction? If the children who are attending the public school classes are to receive maximum benefit from their time spent in the regular classroom, it is necessary that the regular classroom teachers be aware of the special needs of these children.Department of Speech Pathology & AudiologyThesis (M.A.