In this issue:
  • National Protect Your Hearing Month
  • Strategy of the Month: Active Learning Spaces
  • Upcoming Events

As we get ready for the cooler weather and Halloween celebrations, I wanted to share a quick resource below for an adapted Halloween-themed literacy activity. This would be great to use with students who have multiple disabilities.

This month we will also share information about Hearing and another helpful strategy to use with your students. Enjoy!

Rose and Brandy
OCTOBER is
National Protect Your Hearing Month
Also included is information on:
  • degrees & types of hearing loss
  • the impact of hearing loss
  • understanding audiograms
  • hearing loss information from early intervention to the elderly.
We interpret what our ears hear with our brain! Watch this quick video to see how the ear converts sound into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain.
Degrees of Hearing Loss
Mild
May hear some speech sounds, but soft sounds are hard to hear
*Even mild hearing loss can have a big impact on an individual's listening and learning needs. Read more HERE !
Moderate
May hear almost no speech when another person is talking at a normal level
Severe
Will hear no speech when a person is talking at a normal level and only some loud sounds
Profound
Cannot hear any speech and only very loud sounds

This quick Flinstone video allows you to hear how a mild, moderate, severe hearing loss can impact everyday conversations.

What is an Audiogram and how do I know what it means?? Here is a quick video and an article to learn the basics of reading an audiogram!
This table emphasizes the effect of the degree of hearing loss on one's ability to interpret speech signals. Even slight and mild hearing loss can be impactful on speech.
Babies & Early Intervention

Did you know that South Dakota has great resources for early identification and intervention?

The South Dakota Department of Health Website is full of information and resources!

If you have any concerns about your child's development, the Center for Parent Information & Resources is also incredible!

American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) goes into detail here about the effects of hearing loss on development.
School Aged Children
‌
South Dakota School for the Deaf was established in 1880 to serve children with hearing loss. Since that time, SDSD has worked to provide quality educational programs and support services for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. The school’s mission includes consultation to families and educational teams statewide and comprehensive student evaluations including audiology and hearing screening. SDSD serves as a resource for families and local schools by providing a specialist in the education of deaf and hard of hearing children as a member of the educational team.


The South Dakota School for the Deaf also has a Mobile Lab that travels across SD.

The purpose of the SDSD mobile hearing lab is to expand audiology services and educational outreach to all children identified as deaf or hard of hearing across the state of South Dakota. The mobile lab has been providing services since January 2010.
If you are in education and work with a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center offers a
designed to equip education professionals with the knowledge and skills they need for working with these students in the classroom or school environment!
Adults


Go here to find
for people who are deaf or have hearing loss



Check out this
to see how loud different sounds are, and how you can protect your ears when you are around them!
Strategy of the Month:
Active Learning Spaces
WHAT
Active Learning is an educational approach that emphasizes all individuals learn best by active participation.
WHO
Children who have multiple disabilities (cerebral palsy, vision impairment, cognitive impairment, autism, hearing impairment, deaf-blindness, etc)

WHY
These children are at great risk of developing reliance on others to interact with the world around them. Active Learning recognizes that every child with special needs is unique.


"Play is often overlooked as the key that helps unlock the door to learning."
-Mary Reilly 1974

Play is:
  • A complex set of behaviors characterized by fun and spontaneity
  • Play can be sensory, neuromuscular, cognitive & any combination of the three
  • Play involves repetition of experience, exploration, experimentation, and imitation of ones surroundings

" Play is the universal language of childhood. It is through play that children understand each other and make sense of the world around them."
-Linda L Florey 1981
Active Learning includes an assessment , a curriculum , specifically-designed equipment and instructional strategies that support learners.

Here are just a few examples of what Active Learning equipment can look like after an assessment has been completed and curriculum and instructional strategies are being implemented.
The “Little Room” is designed to give blind infants and children with combinations of disabilities the possibility to gain the ability of reaching, the beginning of the understanding of space, and early object concept.
The HOPSA-dress (H-d) is designed to give wheelchair users the opportunity to move their legs, learning to bear their own weight, balance while standing, and achieve the ability to walk.

It can feel overwhelming to begin implementing Active Learning Spaces from scratch. I highly encourage you to go here to browse the Active Learning Space archived Newsletters. They include photos & videos, tools & strategies and so much more!
Upcoming Events
Rose Moehring, M.A. Spec. Ed.
Certified Low Vision Therapist
Deaf-Blind Program Director
Rose.Moehring@usd.edu
(605) 357-1437
Brandy Sebera, M.S. Spec. Ed.
Deaf-Blind Program Instructor
Brandy.Sebera@usd.edu
(605) 357-1437
South Dakota Deaf-Blind Project| Visit our website!
SD Deaf-Blind Program Grant #H326T180053