Everyone knows that the teenage years are extremely difficult for all children.  Teenagers worry about how they are perceived by others, whether it be what they wear, their acne, what classes they are taking, or what activities they do outside of school.  For every decision that a teen makes, he/she thinks, “What will my friends think?”  

For the teenager with hearing loss, trying to fit in is even more challenging. Wearing hearing aids, cochlear implants and FM/DM systems makes it impossible not to stand out.  As a result, the teenager with hearing loss often doesn’t want to draw even more attention to himself/herself by advocating.  

As a parent or teacher, this makes preparing children with hearing loss to be successful adults an extremely complicated task.  Where is the line between doing too much and not doing enough?? The phenomena of lawn mower parenting is all over the media. These are parents who “mow down” all of the obstacles before they happen so that their children never have to face failure.  But, should we solve the problems for our children every step of the way to protect them or should we let them experience difficulty (or failure), problem solve (alone or with them) and in turn learn the advocacy skills needed for success?

Luckily, for children with hearing loss, there are federally mandated laws that are in place (IDEA and ADA) that allow us to set children up for success through accommodation, modification and direct instruction.  Each of these tools is critical for providing children with hearing loss with the access they need to be successful in school. It is the job of parents and teachers to find the balance between anticipating and solving every issue that might come up and teaching the self-advocacy skills needed for success.

So, the question is….

Should we create an IEP or 504 that accommodates ALL of the needs, rather than teaching the student to advocate?  

Recently, I observed a middle school student working in a group with 3 other peers.  For homework, the students had each researched their own topics and then needed to share the information with their group.  Each group member was given a worksheet to take notes about what was said and then was expected to ask a follow up question to expand the discussion.  When it was time to begin, the teacher handed the DM microphone to the student and suggested they work outside the classroom where it would be more quiet.  The group of students chose a long table and sat spread out. The student with hearing loss took the microphone, left it in the mute position and placed it next to her.  When the first person began to share information, it was clear that the student with hearing loss could not hear what he was saying, as she had a look of confusion on her face and did not take any notes. When she looked over, I whispered “Do you want to use the FM?”, she looked back down but did not pass the microphone.. The second student, who was sitting immediately next to the student with hearing loss, took her turn and the student with hearing loss did take some notes down.  The third student was sitting the farthest away, but was facing the student, so she was able to record a few things. Once the students were finished, I pulled my student aside, before returning to the classroom. We discussed what had just happened. She reported that she heard approximately 5% of what the first student had said, 75% of what the second student (sitting next to her) had said, and about half of what the third student had said. While this is awful, it is often the reality for students with hearing loss.  What was most distressing to me was that my student knew exactly what she needed to do to advocate and thus, hear better. She knows that peers can use the microphone and has even learned how to adjust the microphone for table work. BUT, she just doesn’t want to stand out!

There are two options here…she either needs to change her mindset and no longer care what others think (which is not likely for a teenager) and advocate for herself OR we need to adjust her IEP accordingly.  If we were to add an accommodation that said she can only work in groups of two, she’d certainly have much more success. That is clear from the fact that she did hear the peer sitting next to her better than the others.  However, if that becomes an accomodation, then teachers MUST abide by it and the student does not need to advocate for herself. Becoming comfortable with advocating takes time and practice, so by providing her with that accommodation, she does not learn to become comfortable advocating with her peers.  After this incident, I asked the student her preference. We also discussed that working in a group of two, while others work in groups of four, also makes her stand out! She responded that she does want to advocate. This discussion was definitely an “aha moment” for this student and demonstrates the need for discussions like this one to occur regularly.  The ability for a trained hearing education specialist (e.g. LSLS, Educational Audiologist, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) to observe, discuss and problem solve with the student might just be the solution to this problem in the long run. However, the question still stands, should we accommodate every need for access, or determine the best way to work towards advocacy???

Maybe now is not the time.  But if not now, when? In high school, will she care less about what others think? Probably not. And, of course, then comes college when we aren’t there to help anymore!  I know this student did not feel good when she wasn’t able to hear during that activity. Can we take the attitude that allowing her to experience these situations will be teachable moments and that they’ll help her learn to advocate when she’s ready?

Later in life, these accommodations will not be written down as “laws” that need to be followed and it will be necessary for her to advocate.  In the workplace, she may need to request accommodations for herself, such as one-on-one conferences rather than large group meetings, a special telephone or for her co-workers to use a personal microphone.  If she hasn’t had the opportunity to practice advocating for her needs, with the help of a trained professional, will she be ready? 

Adding advocacy goals for children with hearing loss is critical to their lifelong success. Starting early with small goals is important, but continuing these goals (even after they have already learned the skills) into the teenage years is so important. Teaching them when and how to best advocate for their needs, rather than anticipating them, will take them far and help them to accept their challenges.