Purpose:
To provide technical and educational support to hearing-impaired students who are attending regular classes in their home school districts.  This support includes direct service to the student, as well as consultation with school personnel and parents.

Components

• Regular visits by a Teacher of the Hearing-Impaired who specializes in helping children who have hearing loss learn spoken language and strive for success in the mainstream.  Frequency of visits determined by the student’s PPT.
• Audiological support services including annual audiological assessment of the student’s hearing, and computer analysis of the student’s personal amplification and FM equipment.
• Cochlear implant mapping (available, by parent choice).
• Monitoring of audiological equipment in the student’s classroom(s).
• Prompt on-call repair of FM equipment and provision of loans when breakdowns occur.
• Earmolds for use with FM equipment made free of charge.
• Assessment of student’s auditory, language, vocabulary, speech, reading, writing, and academic needs; setting of goals and objectives related to the hearing-impaired student’s unique needs.
• Instruction to improve the student’s auditory, language, vocabulary, speech, reading, and writing abilities.
• Language-based resource support for academic classes.
• Support to the student regarding social-emotional issues related to his or her hearing loss; self-advocacy training.
• Educational and social events for hearing-impaired students and families.
• Workshops to school personnel to provide information regarding hearing impairment, successful instructional techniques with the individual hearing-impaired student, and regarding optimal use of the student’s FM amplification equipment.  Peer workshops available on request.
• Consultation and assistance to the school staff in meeting the educational needs of the hearing-impaired student.
• Consultation regarding the use of trained Oral Interpreters, adult notetakers, or C-Print Captioners, as appropriate.
• Short-term counseling services (available, as appropriate); consultation regarding referrals for long-term counseling.

Contact:

Elizabeth B. Cole, Ed.D., CCC-A, AVT (cert.)
Director, CREC Soundbridge
123 Progress Drive
Wethersfield, CT 06109
860-529-4260