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Case Study
Case Study
Pamela Suniega
BTLED-HE 2-2
Case Study 1
Angela is a 10 yr. old girl with a hearing impairment. She wears a hearing aid in each
ear but relies heavily on lip-reading for understanding. Angela's Yr. 5 class has 26
students and can get quite noisy. An itinerant teacher comes into the class two
afternoons each week to support Angela and her teacher. Lately, her has noticed that
Angela is losing concentration and zoning out towards the end of the day. On a recent
reading test, Angela's reading was found to be 3 yrs. behind.
Social Isolation: Angela may face difficulties in social interactions due to her hearing
impairment. She may struggle to hear and participate in conversations, leading to
feelings of isolation and exclusion from her peers.
Academic Struggles: Angela's hearing impairment can affect her learning in various
ways. She may miss important information during class discussions or instructions,
leading to gaps in her understanding. This can result in difficulties keeping up with the
curriculum and falling behind in academic subjects like reading.
Limited Access to Auditory Information: Angela's hearing aids may help amplify sounds,
but they may not provide the same level of auditory information as a person with normal
hearing. This limitation can affect her ability to fully engage with activities that rely
heavily on auditory cues, such as group discussions, presentations, or certain types of
classroom activities.
Listening Fatigue: Angela may experience fatigue and a decrease in concentration due
to the effort required to continuously listen, lip-read, and process auditory information
throughout the day. This can be particularly challenging in a noisy classroom
environment, where she needs to exert extra effort to understand and follow
conversations.
Preferential Seating: Angela should be seated in a location that maximizes her access
to visual cues, such as near the front of the class, facing the teacher, and away from
distractions.
Reduce Background Noise: Efforts should be made to minimize background noise in the
classroom environment. This can include using noise-cancelling devices, carpeting or
acoustic panels to absorb sound, or creating designated quiet areas for individual or
small-group work.
Assistive Technology: Angela could benefit from the use of assistive listening devices,
such as a personal FM system, that can help amplify the teacher's voice directly to her
hearing aids. This can improve her ability to understand the teacher even in a noisy
classroom.
Regular Breaks: Providing Angela with regular breaks throughout the day can help
alleviate listening fatigue and improve her overall concentration and performance.
Individualized Support: The itinerant teacher should collaborate with Angela's classroom
teacher to develop an individualized education plan (IEP) that addresses her specific
needs and provides additional support in areas such as reading. This may involve
tailored interventions, remedial programs, or targeted reading instruction.