Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing
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Collier County provides educational services in all district schools to students identified as deaf or hearing impaired. Students who are "deaf" by federal definition have a hearing loss which adversely affects educational performance and is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic (communication) information through hearing, with or without amplification (hearing aids). Students who are "hard of hearing" have a hearing loss, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects his/her educational performance but that allows the child access to some degree of communication with or without amplification.
The Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing program offers a full continuum of services to meet both academic and communication needs identified on a student's individual education plan (IEP). Eligibility for the program is based on both a documented hearing loss and educational need. Students, 3 through 21 years of age, receive services from our highly qualified Teachers of the Hearing Impaired. Students have access to instruction using their preferred mode of communication. Each student who is deaf or hard-of-hearing has the opportunity to develop language skills using any or all of the following:
- residual hearing;
- speech reading;
- manual communication systems;
- speech; and/or
- appropriate amplification (hearing aids, sound field FM systems, etc.)
In addition, interpreting services may be provided to students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing based on individual need. The IEP team considers the communication and language needs of each student including opportunities for direct communication with peers and professional personnel in the student’s language and communication mode.
Contact Information:
Dr. Elizabeth McBride, ESE Coordinator
(239) 377-0106
McbridEl@collierschools.com
| Information & Resources |
|---|
| Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing An international membership organization and resource center on hearing loss, spoken language approaches and related issues. |
| American Society for Deaf Children A national organization that provides support, encouragement and information to families raising children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. |
| Florida School for the Deaf and Blind (FSDB) - Eligibility for Programs |
| Hands and Voices Provides parents with resources and locations of Hands and Voices Chapters. |
| Interpreter Manual |
| John Tracy Clinic John Tracy Clinic is an educational resource on early childhood deafness for parents and professionals. |
| Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, formerly the National Information Center on Deafness, provides information on deafness, hearing loss, and services for individuals from birth to age 21. |
| National Association of the Deaf (NAD) NAD is a private non-profit organization safeguarding accessibility and civil rights of individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. This organization administers the Captioned Media Program. |
| National Cued Speech Association The National Cued Speech Association is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1982 to promote and support the effective use of Cued Speech. |
| National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) is one of the institutes that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Institute conducts and supports research and research training related to disease prevention and health promotion, addresses special biomedical and behavioral problems associated with people who have communication impairments or disorders, and supports efforts to create devices that substitute for lost and impaired sensory and communication function. |
| Raising Deaf Kids Information on raising a deaf or hard of hearing child. |
| Verbotonal Research Laboratory The Verbotonal Research Laboratory was established by Professor Carl W. Asp in 1967, in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. On the Web page, you will find a list of school districts in the United States currently using this method. |