Issue 23 Spring 1997 Hearing Loss and Children's Reading Needs Desmond L Spiers	Collections under which this       article appears:       Reading       Special Needs Related Articles or Resources Other Articles by Author

Further links may be found at the end of the article. (Ed.)

Deafness is quite often called the "hidden disability", but it is estimated that there are 7.5 million people in the UK who are hard of hearing or deaf 1. Librarians are therefore bound to serve some of the "hidden" people every day!

Statistics

As we are looking at services to children, the following figures are of interest. It has been estimated that for every 1,000 children:

• 40 will have mild hearing loss (mainly due to glue ear and ear infections);
• 2 will have moderate hearing loss (will need a hearing aid); and
• 1 will be severely deaf 2.

Types of Deafness

• Conductive: this is the result of an obstruction of the outer or middle ear which stops sound from being conducted to the inner ear.
• Sensori-neural: this is the result of a malfunction or damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerves. In this type of deafness a person is unable to accurately perceive sound.

Deafness can be unilateral (in one ear) or bilateral (in both ears). The former does not seriously affect the acquisition of language but does create problems in noisy situations and in the locating of sounds.

Temporary hearing losses resulting from conductive deafness are quite common - a very heavy cold can cause problems with hearing. In children, glue ear is the most common form of conductive hearing loss. It has been estimated that some 10% of children under the age of nine suffer from conductive hearing losses at some point in their childhood. In the majority of cases the hearing loss is temporary.

Hearing loss is measured on two scales - loudness (measured in decibels, dB) and frequency (measured in cycles per second, cps or Hertz, Hz). Talking in a quiet whisper is approximately equivalent to a decibel level of 30dB, ordinary conversation 60dB, and shouting in a loud voice 80dB. A mild hearing loss of some 20 - 40dB can cause difficulty with understanding speech and a hearing aid will benefit the person. The other three levels of hearing loss are: Moderate - 40 - 70dB, Severe - 70 - 90dB, and a person with a hearing loss of over 90dB who would be said to be profoundly deaf.

Hearing loss can occur at any frequency. Most speech sounds fall within 500Hz to 4,500Hz. Speech sounds are divided into vowels and consonants, with vowels being generally lower in frequency. However, it is the higher frequency consonant sounds that make speech intelligible. Therefore a person with a high-frequency loss will have considerably more difficulty in understanding speech.

Terminology

There are a range of terms/words which are used when talking about deafness.The main ones are listed below with a short explanation.

• AURALISM - communication which concentrates on listening skills.
• BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE (BSL) - The language used by the deaf community in the UK. It has a structure, grammar and syntax which is different from English. This is the fourth largest indigenous language in the UK after English, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.
• CUED SPEECH - Some words look similar when lip-read, but sound different when heard. One hand is placed near the mouth and a variety of handshapes are used to show the differences in words.
• FINGERSPELLING - Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a different hand position. In this country a two-handed alphabet is used. However, in other countries such as America and Ireland only one hand is used.
• LIP-READING - When you speak your lips make patterns. It is possible to read these patterns. However, it is not possible to read every pattern without extra help such as Cued Speech.
• ORALISM - An approach to language development which concentrates on speech and the use of the child's residual hearing and lip-reading skills. Signed communication is not used.
• SIGNED ENGLISH (SE) - Signs are taken from BSL to which are added extra signs unique to SE; along with fingerspelling this gives an exact representation of spoken English.
• TOTAL COMMUNICATION (TC) - Using only one method of communication cannot provide all the information a deaf child requires. TC makes use of all communication methods to help the child gain more understanding of language.

Language Development

Most language acquisition in the early years of a child's life is through hearing. Children who have a hearing loss can therefore find it harder to acquire language. The more profound the hearing loss, the more difficult it can be. Additionally, there may be problems with speech which require speech therapy. A child with a hearing loss is therefore more liable to be behind in his linguistic capabilities than a hearing child when he enters school. However, if parents, siblings and other people in contact with the deaf infant use sign language as well as speech to communicate with the child, that child's language development will in the main be parallel to that of a hearing child, though at a slower pace. Babies are born with a predisposition to learn a language, no matter whether spoken or signed. The more language a child is able to internalise at an early age, the greater will be his cognitive understanding and development. As a hearing person would use their knowledge of English to learn a foreign language, so the use of signs can be transferred to the learning of English as in SE.

At Gaulladet University in America, all teaching is done in sign language, whether it be English literature or nuclear physics.

The majority of children with a hearing loss are born to hearing parents and in many cases the problem is not spotted immediately. The late diagnosis can result in the child falling behind in his language development.

Education

Children who have a hearing loss or are deaf can be educated in a number of ways. They could go to mainstream school with no extra support; a mainstream school with support; or a mainstream school which has a special unit for the hearing impaired. Here, the children would be withdrawn to the unit on a regular basis for intensive language tuition. Some children with a hearing loss attend special schools for the deaf.

Choosing Books

Many studies have been carried out on how children acquire language and become readers. Those families where parents constantly 'talk' with their children, and share books with them become more fluent language users and readers.

Deaf children enjoy using books the same as their hearing peers. In the main, books that one would use with hearing children are appropriate for deaf children. They should have:

• good clear illustrations with simple text that would lend itself to signing in the early years of reading
• simple explanations of word meanings in either the text or pictures
• illustrations and text beside each other
• simple language and sentence structure
• a straightforward storyline
• a direct narrative style
• a high level of interest. Some hearing-impaired children can be behind their peers in cognitive, language and reading ability.
• a storyline which does not rely on the sound words make to create an effect
• language which does not rely on puns or metaphors
• a more realistic than fantastic storyline
• more action than descriptive narrative.
• a plot which is easy to follow.

There is a vast selection of picture books at age-appropriate levels, suitable for children up to teenage level (our new Starting Points Booklists number 13, 14 and 15 list appropriate picture books). However, the deaf child wants to read the same sort of books as his hearing peers, particularly as they move up the school ladder. A wide range of fiction series is available and REACH has just published two Starting Points Booklists (11 and 12) on the topic. Additionally, two other Starting Points Booklists have been compiled on Hearing Loss. The first one is an introduction to reading for children with a hearing loss and the second contains books with characters who have a hearing loss as well as reference books on hearing.

Kick-Start, compiled by the Cornwall Education Library Service, is an annotated bibliography listing material with a high level of interest but a low reading level 3.

Positive Images of Deafness

Books are still being published which give a stereotypical view of deaf children and adults. The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) produced the following checklist to help decide whether a book presents positive images of deafness:

• Is deafness seen as something to be regretted, are deaf children 'victims'?
• Do the deaf characters come through as human?
• Does it show potential and achievement of deaf children?
• How does the book deal with prejudice and discrimination?
• Are friendships seen as risky, crossing the divide?
• How accurate is the description of any special provision mentioned?
• Does the book talk about labelling and terminology?
• How accurately are issues such as communication dealt with? (Reproduced by permission of the NDCS 4.)

From A-Z TRANSPORT, first published in the UK by Franklin Watts, a division of the Watts Publishing Group, 96 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4RH

Dual Language Books

For the fourth largest indigenous language group in the UK only eight books which have Signed English have been commercially published. REACH was at the forefront in getting these books published. Beverley Mathias, the Director of REACH co-wrote the first five titles in the 'A to Z' series for Franklin Watts 5. A full list is available in Starting Points 2. Nothing has been commercially published with Signed English since then. The good news is that eight dual language books (Signed English/English) will be published this autumn by Scholastic 6. These books have come about as part of an initiative by the British Deaf Association (BDA). Apart from being invaluable to deaf children, signed books provide an ideal window into the deaf world for hearing children. They are naturally fascinated at being able to 'talk' without the use of speech and many schools already teach fingerspelling as part of the communication topic within the National Curriculum.

Library Use by Deaf Children

Libraries can be daunting places for adults and children who do not have learning problems or disabilities. Having a hearing loss can make libraries more difficult to use. Some library authorities already have a policy that all staff attend a Sympathetic Hearing Scheme course, however they need follow-up sessions so that staff are always aware of potential clients and their problems. Staff need to find out about their clients who have a hearing loss via contact with local schools, the education authority, social services and deaf clubs. Class visits to the library for children who are deaf or have a hearing loss will help children find their way round. The following are some basic pointers to help children:

• Keep your head up and position yourself in good solid light.
• Avoid standing in front of windows; the child will be facing into the sun/light which will make lip-reading very difficult.
• Speak clearly and move your lips. However do not excessively slow down your speech as this actually distorts the normal lip patterns, making lip reading practically impossible.
• Do not shout; again you distort your lip patterns.
• Try and face the child at their own level.
• Always face the child as turning away makes it difficult to lip read and also makes it more difficult for hearing aids to pick up sound.
• If possible, fit an induction loop system in the library so that hearing aids can be switched to the 'T' position. This cuts out extraneous sounds. However, if your library does install a loop it must be permanently turned on with a notice in a prominent place stating this.
• Install a minicom so that deaf clients have the same opportunity to telephone in renewals and requests for information.Telephones such as the new UNIPHONE are a combined voice, text and amplified telephone all in one 7.

Subtitled Videos

Unlike the USA, we still have not reached the position whereby all commercial videos have, by law, to be subtitled with hidden captions. There are two types of subtitling:

• OPEN - Where the captions can be viewed with an ordinary video recorder.
• CLOSED - Where a special decoder is required for the captions to be seen via your video recorder.

Open captioned videos are available from the National Subtitling Library 8 who make their catalogue of holdings available. Closed captioned videos are widely available through normal shops and video outlets. Their logo appears on the spine and back of the video case as a small television shaped speech mark. The subtitling work is carried out by the European Captioning Institute 9 from whom a catalogue is available. The decoder is available from Sarabec 10. Furthermore, an increasing number of television programmes have subtitles accessed through 888 on your television remote control, and some video recorders will record these subtitles as you record the programme.

Signed Videos

The British Deaf Association have produced a range of videos under the heading See, Say, Sign which include many well known fairy tales.

Notes

Desmond L. Spiers is Librarian and Information Officer, REACH: National Resource Centre for Children with Reading Difficulties, Wellington House, Wellington Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 2AG.
Tel: 0118 989 1101 (Voice and Minicom)
Fax: 0118 979 0989

Additional informationAriadne. In the first of a regular column, Cathy Murtha looks at the problems that visually- and print-imparied people encounter when trying to use network-based resources. The article includes some useful links.
There is also a short article in Free Pint (Issue 14, May 1998) which addresses "Deafblind access to the Web". The article is by James Gallagher and links to examples of both good and bad sites. James' own site called Deafblind Link is also linked.
The NewMedia issue of June 2, 1998 also has information in a one page article. The article addresses design and suggests a logo could be applied to sites measured for accessibility by people with a wide-range of disabilities. The NewMedia Web site has links to other useful sites and allows access to the magazine article.
Ian Winship has also alerted me to the following site. The Bobby program at CAST (the Center for Applied Special Technology) allows you to check Web pages for accessibility by disabled people and for compatibility with a wide range of browsers very easily. If you get a four star rating you can display the Bobby icon - and, yes, its a policeman's helmet!
Two sets of guidelines which address Web access for the blind or partially sighted have been released (July 1998). The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have Browser Accessibility Guidelines (updated 5th May 1999) and The Royal National Institute for the Blind also has a set.

There is also an author's update to this article in Issue 24.
(Ed.).
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