Chapter 6

Types, Characteristics, and identification of Learners with Difficulty Seeing, Hearing, and
Communicating

Learners with difficulty seeing

Visual acuity refers to the ability to distinguish forms or discriminate among details. It is usually
measured by reading letters, numbers, or other symbols from the Snellen Eye Chart.

Legal blindness refers to having a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of
a corrective lens.

Partially sighted individuals are those whose visual acuity in the better after correction falls
between 20/70 and 20/200.

Tunnel vision is a condition of having a perception of viewing the world through a narrow tube.

Visual impairment, from educational perspective, that means having impairment in vision that,
even with correction, adversely affects a learner's educational performance.

• Total blindness refers to receiving no useful information through the sense of vision.

• Functional blindness means having so little vision that one learns primarily through the tactile
and auditory senses.

Characteristics of learners with difficulty seeing.

• Cognition and language. Learners with difficulty seeing usually perform more poorly
compared to those with normal vision in terms of cognitive tasks that require comprehension or
relating various kinds of information

• Motor development and mobility. Blindness may also result to delays and deficits in motor
development.

• Social adjustment and interaction. Children with visual impairment may engage in less play,
which could affect their social skills development.
Types and causes of visual impairment

Condition Definition and Cause Remarks and Implications

Reduction in loss of vision in Close work may result in eye
Amblyopia the weaker eye from lack of fatigue, loss of place, or poor
use; caused by strabismus, concentration; seating should
unequal refractive errors or the functional eye.
opacity of the lens or cornea

Astigmatism Distorted or blurred vision Loss of accommodation when

caused by irregularities in the objects are brought close to
cornea or other surfaces of the face; avoid long periods
the eye that produce images of reading or close tasks that
on retina not in equal focus. cause discomfort.

Cortical visual impairment Impaired vision caused by Visual functioning may

(CVI) damage to or malfunction of fluctuate depending on
the visual cortex or optic lighting conditions and
nerve (or both); causes attention; vision usually does
include anoxia, head injury, not deteriorate; improvement
and infections of the central sometimes occurs over a
nervous system period of time.

Condition Definition and Cause Remarks and Implications

Hyperopia Difficulty seeing near objects Loss of accommodation when
clearly but able to focus on objects are brought close to
distant objects; caused by a the face; avoid long periods
shorter than normal eye that of reading or close tasks that
prevents light rays from cause discomfort.
converging on the retina

Central are of retina gradually Tasks such as reading and

Muscular Degeneration deteriorates, causing loss of writing are difficult; prescribe
clear vision in the center of low-vision aid or close-circuit
the visual field TV; provide good
illumination

Distant objects are blurred or Encourage child to wear

Myopia not seen at all but near prescribed glasses or contact
objects are seen clearly; lens; for near tasks, child may
caused by an elongated eye be more comfortable working
that focuses images in front without glasses and bringing
of the retina. work close to face.

Rapid, involuntary, back-and- Close tasks for extended

Nystagmus forth movement of the eyes, period can lead to fatigue;
which makes it difficult to some children turn or tilt head
focus on objects; the weaker to obtain the best focus
eye can actually lose its
ability to see

Strabismus Inability to focus on the same Classroom seating should

object with both eyes because favor student’s stronger eye;
of an inward or out outward some students may use one
deviation of one or both eyes; eye for distant tasks and other
caused by muscle imbalance eye for near tasks.
Identifying Learners with Difficulty Seeing

Eye appearance Behavioral signs

• Turning one eye in and out of the time
• Reddening of eyes or lids • Losing place during reading
• Excessive tearing of eyes • Needing the use of finger or marker
• Having encrusted eyelids • Having short attention span in reading and copying
• Frequently developing eye and visual problems • Frequent omission of words
• Students complaining when doing desk work, • Writing in uphill or downhill direction on paper
specifically headaches, burning or itching of eyes • Reading or skipping lines without being aware of
after reading, feeling nauseous or dizzy, blurring it
vision

Identifying Learners with Difficulty Seeing

• The Snellen Chart

The Snellen Chart is used to test visual acuity. It consist of rows of letters with each row
corresponding to the distance that a normally sighted person could discriminate letters.

The Vision Services Severity Rating Scale (VSSRS)

• It was developed by the Michigan Department of education in order to assist the Teacher
Consultant for the Visually Impaired (TCVI) or Teacher Visually Impaired (TVI). The VSSRS is
intended for use with students in general educational settings and may be applicable for some
students with additional blind impairments.
Learners with Difficulty Hearing
The Decibel Scale

Deafness is defined as severe hearing loss in that the learner is impaired in processing linguistic
information through hearing, with or without amplification, and which negatively affects a
learner's educational performance.
Hearing loss pertains to loss in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that negatively affects
a learner's educational performance, other than those that qualify as deafness.
Residual hearing refers to some sounds perceived by most deaf people. However, those who are
deaf still use vision as their primary mode of learning and communication.
Some important terms related to sound. Decibels (dB) refer to the intensity or loudness of sound.
Zero hearing-threshold level is the smallest sound a person with normal hearing can perceive;
also called the audiometric zero. Hertz (Hz) pertain to the frequency, or pitch, of sound (Heward,
2017).

Characteristics of Learners with Difficulty Hearing

Literacy. Learners with hearing loss are at a great disadvantage of acquiring language skills.
Learners with difficulty hearing have smaller vocabularies compared to those with normal
hearing.
Speaking. It is common for children who are deaf or hard of hearing to have atypical speech.
Aside from having difficulty learning a language, they also could not hear their own speech,
which makes it difficult to assess and monitor it. There is a tendency for them to speak too loudly
or not loudly enough, or have problems in terms of having abnormally high pitch, or improper
stress or inflection.
Academic Achievement. Students with difficulty hearing usually perform poorly than their
peers with normal hearing. It is important to note that academic does not mean that one has less
cognitive abilities. Indeed, some students with difficulty hearing excel in their studies.
Social Functioning. Hearing loss may result to feelings of isolation, having no friends, and
unhappiness in school, as this limits socialization with peers.

Types and Causes of Hearing Loss

The following are the different types of hearing loss (Heward, 2017).

Conductive Hearing Impairment. It involves a problem with the conduction or transmission of

sound vibrations to the inner ear.
Sensory Hearing Impairment. This refers to the damage to the cochlea.
Neural Hearing Impairment. This refers to the abnormality of the auditory nerve pathway.
Mixed Hearing Impairment. This refers to any combination of conductive, sensory, and neural
hearing loss.

Unilateral Hearing Loss. This is hearing loss in one ear. Bilateral Hearing Loss. This is hearing
loss in both ears.
Congenital Hearing Loss. This is hearing loss present at birth.
Acquired Hearing Loss. This is hearing loss that develop after birth.
Prelingual Hearing Loss. This is hearing loss before the development of spoken language.
Postlingual Hearing Loss. This hearing loss happened after the development of spoken
language.

Congenital Acquired

Genetic Factors-e.g., Autosomal dominant Otitis media - A temporary, recurrent

hearing loss, when one parent passes on a infection of the middle ear.
dominant gene for hearing loss to a child;
Meningitis - A bacterial or viral infections of
autosomal recessive hearing loss, when both
the central nervous system and is the leading
parents have recessive genes for hearing loss; cause of postlingual hearing loss.
X-linked hearing loss, when the mother
carries the recessive trait for hearing loss on Meniere’s Disease – Sudden and
the sex chromosome and passes it to a male unpredictable attacks of vertigo, fluctuations
offspring but not to females. in hearing, and tinnitus (perception of sound
when no outside sound is present).
Maternal Rubella – When a pregnant
woman contracted rubella, which could cause Noise Exposure – Repeated exposure to loud
deafness in the developing child. sounds

Congenital Cytomegalovirus – When a

woman contracts cytomegalovirus, which
risks deafness in the developing child.
• Prematurity
Classification of Hearing Loss
The following table shows the classification of hearing loss according to severity.
Table 6.5: Classification of Hearing Loss

Degree of Hearing Loss Classification Impact on Speech and Language:

27 to 40 dB Slight • No difficulty understanding

speech in quiet settings, but noisy
environments pose problems to
learning
• May benefit from favorable
setting and sound field
amplification

41 to 55 dB Mild • Can understand face-to-face

conversation with little difficulty
• Misses much of classroom
discussion-particularly when the
speaker cannot be seen clearly or
several students are speaking at
once
• May have some classmates who
are unaware he/she has a hearing
loss
• Benefits from a hearing aid
56 to 70 dB Moderate • Without hearing aid can hear
conversational speech only if it is
near, loud, and clear
• Finds it extremely difficult to
follow group discussions
• Full-time amplification is
necessary
• Speech noticeably impaired but
intelligible
• Many benefit from time in a
special class where intensive
instruction in language and
communication can be provided

71 to 90 dB Severe • Can hear voices only if they are

very loud and 1 foot or less from
the ear
• Wears a hearing aid, but it is
unclear how much it helps
• Can hear loud sounds such as a
slamming door, vacuum cleaner,
and airplane flying overhead
• May distinguish most vowel
sounds but few if any consonants
• Communicates by speech and
sign
• May split school day between a
special class and a general
education classroom with an
educational interpreter

• Cannot hear conversational

speech
• Hearing aid enables awareness
of certain very loud sounds, such
as a bass drum
91 dB or more • Vision is primary modality for
Profound learnin
 • American Sign Language likely
to be first language and principal
means of communication
• Has not developed intelligible
speech
• Most require full-time special
education program for students
who are deaf

The loudness of sound is primarily measured in units called decibels (dB

Identifying Learners with Difficulty Hearing

Identifying learners with hearing problems may be challenging for parents and teachers. It
can be mistaken as another problem and may be misdiagnosed (e.g., attention deficit disorder
(ADD), especially if hearing loss is unilateral, or it can go undiagnosed, and thus, may
affect a student's learning. A number of indicators that may signify hearing difficulties,
which teachers and parents need to pay attention to, have been identified (People Hearing Better,
2014).

Signs that a child has Hearing Problems

Speech Problems. Some of the speech problems which can be due to hearing difficulty are
inability to say words correctly, delays in language learning and communication, and opting to
use non-verbal gestures over verbal communication.

Inattentiveness. When a child does not respond when being called, it could be a sign of hearing
difficulty.

Increasing Volume. If a child puts the volume on the television, radio, or computer too high, or
if he or she speaks louder than most children, these could also be indicative of hearing problems.

Not Following Directions. Children with hearing difficulty also have difficulty with language,
and thus, may be confused by directions, find it difficult to follow directions, or consistently ask
for instructions to be repeated.

Learning Difficulties. Another sign of hearing problem is when a student experiences learning
problems in school. For instance, a teacher may complain that the student does not pay attention,
does not listen, ignores or does not follow instructions, or does not respond or find it difficult to
keep up with conversations
Social Withdrawal. Individuals with hearing problems tend to avoid social situations, and thus,
may not participate in activities such as sports, parties, or even family gatherings.

Assessment of Hearing Loss

The following are the different ways hearing loss is assessed (Heward, 2017).

Age Expected Auditory Behavior

Birth to 3 months Startles to loud noises

Coos and makes pleasurable gurgling sounds
Turns to voices
Quiet downs or smiles when spoken to
Stirs or awakens from sleep to a loud sound
relatively close

Engages in vocal play when alone; gurgles

4 to 6 months
Babbles with speech-like sounds
Turns eyes toward direction of sounds
Notices toys that make sounds
Laughs and chuckles

7 months to Responds differently to a cheerful voice

one year versus an angry voice
Responds to music or singing
Vocalizes emotions
Babbling acquires inflection and contains
short and long groups of speech sounds ("tata,
upup, bibibi")
Tries to imitate the speech sounds of others
Turns head in the direction of the source of a
sound
Ceases activity when parent's voice is heard
Responds to own name and requests such as
"Want more’ or ‘Come here."
Uses a few words (e.g., mama or dada,
doggie) by first birthday

Pure Tone Audiometry. It is used to assess the hearing of older children and adults by
determining how loud sounds at various frequencies must be for one to hear them.

Speech Reception Test. It tests a person's detection and understanding of speech sounds.
Alternative Audiometric Techniques. It includes play audiometry, in which the child is taught
to perform simple but distinct activities whenever one hears the signal speech or pure tone;
operant conditioning audiometry.

LEARNERS WITH DIFFICULTY COMMUNICATING

Communication refers to all aspects which make up any exchange of meaning, including
speech, language, voice, fluency, and nonverbal and pragmatic communication behaviors. It is
the interactive exchange of information, ideas, feelings, needs, and desires
The elements of communication are:
(1) a message;
(2) a sender, or the one who expresses the message;
(3) a receiver, or the one who response to the message.
Language is a formalized code used by a group of people in order to communicate with one
another. It has five dimensions:
(1) phonology or the linguistic rules governing a language’s sound system;
(2) morphology or the language’s basic units of meaning and how these units are combined into
words;
(3) syntax or the system of rules that govern the meaningful arrangement of words; (4)
semantics or the meaning of words and combination of words; and (
5) pragmatics or the social use of language. Speech refers to the oral production of language
(Ferguson & Armstrong, 2009; Heward, 2017).
Communication disorder refers to impairment in the ability to receive, send, process, and
comprehend concepts or verbal, nonverbal, and graphic symbol systems.
Speech or language impairment refers to communication disorder, including stuttering,
impaired articulation, language impairment, or voice impairment that negatively affects one’s
educational performance.
Speech impairment pertains to deviations so far from the speech of other people that it calls
attention to itself; interferes with communication; or provokes distress in the speaker or listener.
Language disorder refers to impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written, and/or
other symbol systems.
The Receptive language disorder is the lack of ability to make sense of or identify es sounds and
words. It is also called auditory processing disorder.
Expressive language disorder is the difficulty in expressing language.
Fluency disorder refers to difficulty forming sounds hi words, and phrases because of
neurological reasons. This includes cluttering or stuttering.
Speech sound disorder pertains to difficulty in making specific sound even though there is no
physical reason for it.
Oral muscular disorders are physical disorders where in the muscles controlling speech are
impaired, injured, or developmentally abnormal.
Dysarthria refers to the lack of ability to execute movements involved in speech, which is a
motor planning disorder.
Apraxia is the inability to coordinate speech movement; also a motor planning disorder.
Mutism is the inability to produce speech wherein muscles are unable to move.
Delayed language pertains to the language of a child who is slow to develop language skills, in
the context of typical development of motor and other cognitive skills.
Specific language impairment pertains to the language of a child who is developing skills in a
different pattern, but typically in terms of motor and other cognitive skills.
Phonological disorder is the difficulty with phonological rules that govern the patterns of
speech production;
Developmental articulation disorder pertains to the difficulty with particular sounds
that may relate to structural differences, such as cleft palate, or learned movements, such as
lisp (Ferguson and Armstrong, 2009; Heward, 2017; Speech and Language Disorders, n.d.)

Characteristics of Learners with Difficulty Communicating

The following describe the characteristics of learners with difficulty communicating (Heward,
2017; Loncke, 2011).

Speech-sound Errors. This could include the following: distortions, when speech sounds like
the intended phoneme other than another speech sound but is conspicuously wrong;
substitutions, when one sound is used as substitute for another, omissions, when certain sounds
are omitted; and additions, when extra sounds are added.

Articulation Disorder. When one is not able to produce a given sound physically because that
sound is not in one's repertoire.

Phonological Disorder. When one has the ability to produce a given sound but does so
inconsistently.
Stuttering. When there is rapid-fire repetitions of consonants or vowel sounds, especially at the
beginning of words, prolongations, hesitations, interjections, and complete verbal blocks.

Cluttering. When there is excessive speech rate, repetitions, extra sounds, mispronounced
sounds, and poor or absent use of pauses.

Voice Disorders. It is characterized by having abnormal production and/or absences or voice

quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration that is inappropriate for one's age and/or sex.

Language Disorders. When there are problems with one or more of the five dimensions of
language (i.e., phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, or pragmatics).

Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics. Limitations in communication skills could have

an effect on other developmental domains including social, cognitive, and academic
development.

Types of Communication Disorders

Communication disorders include language disorder, speech sound
disorder, social (pragmatic) communication disorder, and childhood-onset fluency
disorder (stuttering) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Language Disorder. It refers to the persistent difficulties in the acquisition and use of language
across various modalities, including spoken, written, sign language, or others, as a result of
deficits in comprehending or producing language.

Speech Sound Disorder. This involves having persistent difficulty with

speech sound production that interferes with the understandability of speech
or prevents verbal communication of messages.

Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder (Stuttering). This involves

disturbances in normal fluency and time patterning of speech that are
inappropriate from what is expected of one's age and language skills, and
endures over time.

Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder. This refers to difficulties in

the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication.

These difficulties are manifested the following:

deficits in the use of communication for social purposes;
lack of ability to change communication to match context or the needs of the
listen
difficulties following rules for conversation and storytelling; and
difficult understanding what is not explicitly stated.
These cause limitations in the individual communicating effectively, participating in social
situations, having social relationship achieving academically, or performing well in one's job.

Unspecified Communication Disorder. This pertains to having symptoms that are characteristics
of communication disorder that cause significant distress to individual or impairment in social,
occupational, or other areas of functioning but not meet the full criteria of the abovementioned
disorders.

Causes of Communication Disorders

The following are the possible causes of communication disorders (Heward,
2017).

Aphasia. The loss of the ability to process and use speech.

Genetics. Phonological disorders and stuttering could be linked to genetic causes.
Environmental Factors. For instance, when children are punished for talking, gesturing, or
trying to communicate, or the lack of stimulation and motivation to participate in communication
or interact with others at home

Identifying Learners with Difficulty Communicating

The following areas can be looked into in order to identify learners with
difficulty communicating (Heward, 2017).

Case History and Physical Examination. The child's case history is documented. Biographical
information, as well as milestones of child's development is asked from parents, and the
specialist does a physical examination of the child's mouth in order to find whether there are any
irregularities in the tongue, lips, teeth, palate, or other structures that could affect speech
production.
Articulation. The specialist assesses speech errors and records sounds that are produced
incorrectly, types of mispronunciation, and number of errors.
Hearing. The child's hearing is evaluated in order to identify whether it is a child's hearing
problem that is causing the communication disorder.
Phonological Awareness and Processing. When children lack phonological awareness and
processing skills, they could have problems with receptive and expressive spoken language, as
well as difficulties in learning to read.
Overall Language Development and Vocabulary. Tests that measure a child's vocabulary (e.g.,
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (Dunn and Dunn, 2006) as an indicator of language
competence can be administered.
 Assessment of Language Function. This includes the identification of a learner's strengths and
weaknesses in various language functions, then comparing them to language and communication
skills of typically developing children.
Language Samples. Samples of child's expressive speech and language are taken and examined.
Observation in Natural Settings. Children's use of language are observed as they engage in
everyday activities

LEARNERS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Autism is a developmental disability that affects one's verbal and nonverbal communication and
social interaction. This is usually evident before a child turns three, and it negatively affects a
child's educational performance.

Autism spectrum disorder or AS refers to persistent deficits in social communication and

social interaction across various contexts. This is manifested through problems with
social-emotional reciprocity, lack of use and understanding of nonverbal communicative
behaviors, and difficulties in developing and maintaining relationships. Those with AD also have
restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, indicated by at least two of the
following: stereotyped or repetitive behavior; insistence on sameness; highly restricted, fixated
interests; and hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interests in sensory aspects of
the environment (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Heward,2017

Characteristics of Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The following are the characteristics of learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD (Pratt,
Hopf, and Larriba-Quest, 2017).

Domain Characteristics

Social Communication Impairments Social difficulties include:

Demonstrating appropriate play skills
Some may reject or ignore the social approaches of
others
Responding to and initiating joint attention for
social purposes
Using and interpreting body language
Staying on topic, turn-taking, asking related or
appropriate questions during conversations
Taking other people's perspective
 For those who are nonverbal:
Delay in, or lack of, spoken speech/language
Lack of an effective way to communicate
For those who are verbal:
Delayed or immediate echolalia
Stereotyped or repetitive use of non-echolalia
language routines
Speech/Language Use of idiosyncratic speech
Impairments Immature grammatical structure
Abnormal use of pitch, intonation, rhythm or stress
For both verbal and nonverbal:
Delayed vocabulary development.
Difficulty following directions
Difficulty understanding abstract concepts
Difficulty interpreting social language

Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements such

Restricted Repetitive as hand flapping or finger licking
and Stereotyped Excessive adherences to routines and sameness
Patterns of Behavior, Ritualized patterns of behavior
Interests an Activitie Highly restricted, fixated interests that are
abnormal in intensity or focus

Visual input sensitivities - stating at spinning

objects, being bothered by fluorescent lights
Auditory input sensitivities - covering ears during
loud noises,
preferring loud music or none at all in the car
Tactile input sensitivities - disliking getting hands
or feet messy, avoiding/preferring certain surfaces,
textures, or fabrics
Sensory Differences Taste/smell sensitivities - not eating certain foods,
licking or tasting non-food items
Proprioceptive input sensitivities- difficulties
interpreting sensations from muscles, joints,
ligaments, and tendons
Vestibular input sensitivities - over or under
sensitivities to balance and movement sensations
Executive Function Difficulty with executive functioning tasks such as
Impairments sequencing the order in which to dress oneself,
completing a homework assignment
Rigid, inflexible thinking
Executive functioning difficulties at basic levels
such as sustaining prolonged attention to an
activity, or dividing attention between two activities
at once.

Common Learning  Demonstrate exceptional rote memory skills

Characteristics Being better able to process information when
presented visually
Difficulty with unstructured time or extensive
waiting
Difficulty generalizing learned skill from one
setting to another
Difficulty with organization of materials and
activities
Highly achieving in some specific areas and doing
poorly in the rest.

Causes of Autism Spectrum Disorder

The following are the risk factors for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) according to American
Psychiatric Association (2013).
Environmental - Risk factors include the parental age, low birth weight, or fetal exposure to
substances such as valproate.
Genetic and Physiological - ASD is heritable to some extent, and having a family member with
ASD increases the risk of developing it. However, there are no clear medical or physiological
markers of autism. Most of the cases are idiopathic, that is, the cause is unknown (Heward,
2017).

Identifying Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The following are some of the instruments used in the assessment of ASD. Some are checklists
completed by parents or caregivers, while others are interviews administered by trained
examiners.
Social Communication Questionnaire (SOQ) (Rutter, Bailey & Lord, 2003) -a 40- item scale
accomplished by a parent or primary caregiver.
Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (AASQ) (Ehlers, Gillberg, & Wing, 1999) -a 27-
item scale accomplished by parents and teachers. It is used for screening high functioning ASDs
in children.
Autism Diagnostic Interview - (ADI) Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation
Schedule (ADOS) (Lord, Rutter, & Le Couteur, 1994) - ADI-R is a semi-structured interview of
the primary caregiver of the child or adult suspected of having autism administered by a trained
examiner. ADOS is a supplement to ADI-R wherein the child is prescribed with a set of
interactions designed to evoke behaviors that indicate autism (Lord et al., 2000).

CHAPTER 7

In the Philippines, learners with blindness and deafness traditionally attended specialized schools, but
inclusive education, promoted by DepEd Order 72, series of 2009, aims to integrate them into regular
classrooms. The debate on inclusion questions whether special schools are inherently non-inclusive and
emphasizes that inclusion is more about providing quality education than the physical location of learners.
The focus shifts from placement to fostering an inclusive attitude, as stated by Powers (1996), "Inclusion
is an attitude not a place".

Make a background check In the beginning of the school year, make sure to make a background check
of all your students, including their talents, skills, and medical conditions.
Establish Report Let your learners know that you can be trusted and that you will not harm them.

Adhere to the People First Policy Look at every learner with individual skills, talents, capacities and
limitations.

Treat them as you treat other regular students. This goes with assigning seats (except for low vision
and hard of hearing students that should be assigned in front seats), leadership responsibilities, classroom
activities and chores, school program participations and other school assignments.

EDUCATIONAL APPROACHES

LEARNERS WITH BLINDNESS

 Braille is a tactile reading and writing system and is the primary means of literacy for learners
who are blind.

 Braille Technological Aids These are materials that develop Braille system made readily
available to those learners with blindness.

 Tactile Aids and Manipulatives These are materials used to describe objects and the world
around us.There are different types of tactile books that foster development of literacy skills of
learners with blindness, and some of these are experience books, object books, routine books
and theme books.
 Expanded Core Curriculum Aside from learning braille and other assistive technology, other
skills are taught to learners with blindness through the expanded core curriculum. This
curriculum includes orientation and mobility, listening skills, social interaction skills,
independent living skills, recreation and leisure skills, and career education (Allman, Lewis &
Spungin, 2014).
 Listening Skills must be
developed since learners with blindness
obtain
information by
listening. A widely held misconception is that people who are blind
automatically develop a better sense of hearing to compensate for their
loss of sight (Heward, Alber-Morgan & Konrad, 2017) but they don't
have heightened sense of hearing compared to their sighted peers.
LEARNERS WITH LOW VISION

 Optical Aids These are the most famous aids used by learners with low vision where
professionals such as ophthalmologists and optometrists assess, treat and recommend these aids
based on the visual needs.
 Large Print Materials Books, handouts, most especially visual aids posted on the board should
be readable by all learners in the classroom. Large print materials are printed or handwritten with
bigger font size, legible font style, with wider spacing.
 Classroom Adaptations Classroom lighting is important for learners with low vision. Additional
lighting can better assist learners who find it difficult to read compared to their peers.

LEARNERS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT

 Hearing Aids This device was developed to improve hearing of those people with difficulty
hearing. Its volume and tone could be adjusted to fit in the needs of its user and can be worn in
either one or both ears.
 Assistive Listening Systems (ALS) ALS work as amplifiers directly connected through a radio
link from the teacher to the learners. It reduces the unnecessary noise or background sound for the
learners to stay focused only to the speaker.
 Cochlear Implants This is an electronic medical device surgically implanted to provide a sense
of sound to learners with severe to profound hearing loss. It however does not restore or create
normal hearing but can only give useful auditory understanding of the environment that can help
a person learn speech.
 Sign Language Filipino Sign Language or FSL is the national sign language of the Philippines, is
has its own grammar, syntax, and morphology that are based on manual hand signals
supplemented by body and facial gehology that is not the same as American Sign Language and
is neither based on Filipino or English.
 Oral/Aural Approaches This approach trains learners to produce and understand speech and
language with auditory, visual, and tactile methods of input.
 Auditory Training This is commonly given to young learners with residual hearing to get them
acquainted with sounds. The three levels of auditory training include detecting, discriminating,
and identifying sounds.
 Speechreading This process is done through retrieving spoken message by paying attention to
the speaker's lip movements, facial expressions, eye movements, and body gestures.

LEARNERS WITH COMMUNICATION DISORDER

 Discrimination Activities These activities are developed to help learners produce and
discriminate between similar sounds like pin and bin, cheap and jeep, cheese and she's.
 Vocabulary Building Specialists as well as classroom teachers use variety of techniques
in building learners' vocabulary.
 Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) AAC includes different ways
of sharing thoughts and emotions to the receiver without talking.
LEARNERS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD)
  Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a therapy based on the science of learning and behavior
with the goal of increasing positive behaviors and decreasing harmful ones that negatively affect
learning.
 The Picture Exchange Communication System The PECS (Bondy & Frost, 1994) aims to
help learners to request things or activities from others with the use of pictures.
 Social Stories This is a form of visual support to learners with ASD as social stories explain
concepts, social situations and expected behaviors of people in a format that matches their level
of comprehension.
 Jigsawing This approach provides opportunities to learners with ASD to work collaboratively
with their peers as everyone in the class completes one particular task.

Chapter 8
TRENDS AND ISSUES IN TEACHING LEARNERS WITH DIFFICULTY SEEING,
HEARING, AND COMMUNICATING

Communication as defined by Oxford dictionary is the imparting or exchanging of information

by speaking, writing, or using some other medium.

It could be in a form of verbal, non-verbal, written, and visualization. The problem however with
learners with communication disorders is the inability to detect, comprehend, and produce
language and speech to engage in the discourse effectively.
Helping Children with Communication Disorders in Developing Social Communication
and Reducing Challenging Behaviors

A study by Gregg (2017) investigated strategies for children with communication disorders and
how they can develop social communication and reduce challenging behaviors.

The strategies include:

1) considerations for collaboration of parents, teachers, and service providers in initial planning;
2) communication modifications;
3) peer support. As children move from toddler years to preschool years, they become better at
regulating their emotions and frustrations because of the developmental changes in their
cognitive functioning and use of language; but for those with communication difficulties, this
process can be more difficult, especially when it comes to regulating their emotions.

Social Cognitive Strategies in Helping Children with Social Communication Disorders

Moreno-Manso, Garcia-Baamonde, Blazquez-Alonso, Pasueco-Romero, Godoy- Mereno, (2016)

conducted a research among children in a residential care who have social communication
disorder. They evaluate their social competence (pragmatics) through the use of language in
concrete communicative and social interaction situations, considering various functions or uses,
including the following: greetings and goodbyes; attracting attention; requesting/giving or
refusing permission; asking for specific information; asking for confirmation or denial;
who/what (which, whose, what, with); where/when; whom (for/ to whom); why/how; making
comments, showing approval and disapproval; asking for instructions directly; asking for
instructions indirectly; and protesting.

Findings of the said study:

Social communication disorder should be aimed at developing functional skills that would
enable them to have effective social communication (conversational language, requests,
narrative skills, and abstract and figurative language), skills for relating to adults, and for
solving interpersonal problems.

It is important to teach these children social norms in concrete situations and the focus should be
in the use of communicative resources in natural settings. Furthermore, there should be a focus
on the stimulation, reorganization, and restructuring of their social communication, and in
boosting their strategies for problem solving (Moreno-Manso et al., 2016).

The studies by Gregg (2017) and Moreno-Manso et al. (2016), which both focused
on strategies in helping children with communication difficulties, highlight the importance of
considering the skills to be taught on a functional level and the importance of
understanding the learners’ own perspectives.

Teachers’ Experience of Remedial Teaching for Students with Language Disorders

Cruz-Santos, Costa, Fernandes, And Sapage (2019) conducted a study regarding

how students with language disorders receive remedial teaching in inclusive settings in Portugal.
They developed an instrument in order to address this. Among the questions asked were
teachers’ demographic information and items about teachers’ operationalization of concepts;
strategies, method, and organization of educational support; and evaluation and planning.

Findings revealed:
Most teachers are aware about the concept of language disorders and recognize that this
knowledge is crucial when supporting students with language disorders. However, it was only
found that more then half of the teachers who participated in the survey did not have formal
training or sufficient information about the acquisition and development of language. The
teachers also reported that they do not have enough knowledge to assist with the identification of
students with language disorders.

Challenges for Children, Parents and Teachers in Teaching Children with Speech
Sound Disorders

In a study by Daniel and McLeod (2017), they interviewed children, parents, siblings,
friends, teachers and other significant adults in the life of children with speech sound disorders in
order to find out the challenges they face in meeting these children’s developmental and
educational needs in school. They argued that this information is necessary in order to inform the
development of classroom teaching practices that promote a positive learning environment and
provide learning experiences that enable inclusion of children with these special educational
needs.

Among the challenges for children:

lack of self-confidence in the school context in general as well as in particular activities within
the classroom.

Teachers noted that this reduced children’s participation in classroom activities that required
verbal response and student discussion and parents noted that these activities make it
uncomfortable for children with speech limitations.

Moreover, they also found challenges in terms of learning outcomes. The children, parents, and
teachers mentioned aspects of literacy when they were asked about what they found difficult in
school, and some of them associated directly to the children’s speech difficulty.

The parents also experienced challenges.

These include the lack of targeted specialist support. Parents found it difficult to maintain and
support the children’s speech and language development.

Moreover, the school lacks embedded speech language pathology services so that parents have
to get the services elsewhere. This means additional burden for the parents as they have to allot
additional time and finance to be able to access this much needed support. In addition, even
looking for this service outside of school seemed to be challenging due to the limited number of
available specialist in their community. Aside from the lack of speech-language pathology
services in school, additional resources to support learning of children with speech difficulties
were also limited, which leads to frustration and difficulty among parents.

As regards teachers, their challenges include:

Maintaining awareness of the children in the classroom environment. They said that due to the
children’s quietness and withdrawal, these children could easily be overlooked in the teaching
context and the teacher might not be able to provide them much needed attention.

Teachers also experience challenges in terms of the curriculum and pedagogy:

Children with delays in speech development also experience other related challenges, such as in
reading and other areas of learning. These delays may post difficulties for the teachers in
supporting learning for children with speech sound disorders when language-based constructivist
pedagogies are used.

In addition, teachers also find it difficult when parents rely solely on their expertise in identifying
the necessity for intervention