Communicating Phonics - The Communication Trust

Communicating PhonicsSection 4 > Different types of speech, language and communication needs > Children who are deafPossible issuesLevel of hearing impairmentThe child may have delayed language, dependingupon the time of diagnosis and the communicationenvironmentRecent change in hearing aid technology, forexample a change in cochlear implant setting, newhearing aids, one rather than two aids worn)The child may only be able to access certain sounds,and therefore demonstrate limited listening anddiscrimination ability in the screenListening conditions will impact on accessThey may have a phonetic/articulation difficulty,but nevertheless a contrastive sound system. Forexample, to signal ‘s’ they may use teeth togetherposition, but without soundChildren may have letter recognition, but nographeme phoneme correspondence and aninability to blend because of poor auditory memoryWays to helpInstructions should be delivered in an appropriate mode (signed/spoken/Cued Speech etc.),and at an appropriate level, for the receptive and expressive language levels of the childEnsure any hearing aids or other hearing technology used, are in good working orderimmediately prior to the screenEnsure visual distractions are low and use visual cues, if these are used by the childStaff administering the phonics screening check should be aware of the child’s language andvocabulary levels to ensure the screen is suitable for their language levelTake advice from the teacher of the deaf as to whether or not this will affect the child’s access tothe checkLevel of listening and discrimination skills should be known before checkingEnsure that listening conditions are optimum, reduce background noise, reduce reverberation,light on check administrator’s face for lip reading, and seat checker sitting no more than threefeet from hearing aids or use of Radio AidIt may be advisable to video responses from some deaf children, if this does not cause undueanxiety so that non-speech sounds and lip patterns are acknowledgedGive the child more time to respond82