Hearing aids in a classroom

Olioxenfree
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We are moving, so my kids are starting a new school next month. My eight year old son wears a hearing aid in one ear. In his old school, he had known all of the kids for most of his life, it was a smaller town, so except for one incident, it was never a big deal.

His teacher emailed me today and said that she would like to have a little lesson on hearing aids with the class, so they will understand more about it since there are no other kids in the grade who have one. She wants to have the school counselor come in to talk about it, read a story, and then have my son answer any questions about it. I completely understand where she is coming from, this is a common way to handle differing abilities in classrooms. She is trying to make sure that kids don't start rumors.

Thing is, my son hates talking about his hearing aid, the last thing he would want is during the first week of school, having attention placed on it and have to answer questions from the class. He does not like answering questions about it period, except for from close friends. We've worked with him on this, but this is where he is right now.

I completely understand that kids are curious and it is normal and okay to have questions, but I also believe that it is his choice if he wants to answer things about his body and he does not have to be an ambassador of hearing loss if he does not want to be.

My husband has a meeting with the teacher tomorrow to go over some other things and he is going to discuss it more then, but right now we would like to propose instead having a lesson on differing abilities in general, including information on hearing loss, and telling the kids that if they have any questions about these things to talk to a teacher, talk to their parent, but please do not ask the individual unless they say they are okay answering questions about it. We would also be happy to send home resources to the parents of students so they will know what to say if their child asks them questions. If my son was in your child's class, would you be open to this?
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MonarchMom
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No, I would prefer a much simpler approach. At that age they should have seen plenty of people with differing abilities in life and on TV, and it doesn't need to be a big deal. I would respect your son's wishes.

The teacher could introduce him as and mention three things, including the hearing aid.

"Class, this is John, a new student. John's family moved here this summer. You may notice John has a device that helps him hear on the left side. John's old school had a reading club and John read the most books last year. Please say hello to John."
Anonymous 1

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I'm not disabled but I have friends who are. Ds has a friend with autism. He himself has speech apraxia. I tend to discuss their disabilities openly with them but they are adults and teens. I agree your child shouldn't be singled out if he doesn't wish it or forced to do what he doesn't wish to do. But eventually he will be asked. It would be best if he could answer honest questions. It will make adults and children feel more at ease. I don't have a problem with what you propose otherwise.

Thinking it over I do like what the above poster said. Kiss. Keep it simple, stupid.
californiagirl83
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I had major surgery when I was 12, and my grade had a mass meeting to discuss this while I was in the hospital. I've always been a private person, so I didn't much appreciate all the attention. If your son is the same way (and it sounds like he is), I'd keep it as a minor footnote when he is introduced in school.
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To answer your question at the end, I would be fine with whatever you and the teacher think is appropriate.

But here's a compromise I thought of. How about the teacher still focus the lesson on hearing aids and hearing loss, since there is a kid in the class with it, but as part of the lesson the teacher tells them something like "Let's not bombard Johnny with a ton of questions, at the end of the lesson if you have questions ask me." And then she can do a Q & A session at the end where students raise their hand and ask their questions to the teacher and she answers them. This way the students get their questions answered but it doesn't have to put the spotlight on your son.

The other thought is to try to convince your son "hey, if you just muster through this this one day then their curiosity will be satisfied and you won't have to field questions day after day after day".


My oldest was the focus of a very similar lesson. He first got glasses in Kindergarten and he was the first in his class to get them. All the kids had questions so the teacher did a lesson and the kids got to ask their questions. They asked my son directly but my son didn't mind answering. But none of it was cruel or anything. It was all honest kid questions such as "Are you blind without them?" to which my son just explained that no, he's not blind, stuff just looks a bit fuzzy. It was all very positive for my son and the rest of the class.
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MrsDavidB
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So he hates attention about his hearing aid so you brought it to the attention of the school. Why? My son was born with hearing loss and has aids and not once have we ever had to notify anyone. It's not a big deal. But of course with you it is and you have to make a spectacle.
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MrsDavidB wrote: Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:58 pm So he hates attention about his hearing aid so you brought it to the attention of the school. Why? My son was born with hearing loss and has aids and not once have we ever had to notify anyone. It's not a big deal. But of course with you it is and you have to make a spectacle.
Because it's medical information that his teacher needs to know. He has an IEP for where he sits in assemblies, what side of the classroom he can sit (so he can use his higher functioning ear), and what to do if his hearing aid acts up or needs batteries. Kids will notice it, whether I tell the teacher or not.
Olioxenfree
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Traci_Momof2 wrote: Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:56 pm To answer your question at the end, I would be fine with whatever you and the teacher think is appropriate.

But here's a compromise I thought of. How about the teacher still focus the lesson on hearing aids and hearing loss, since there is a kid in the class with it, but as part of the lesson the teacher tells them something like "Let's not bombard Johnny with a ton of questions, at the end of the lesson if you have questions ask me." And then she can do a Q & A session at the end where students raise their hand and ask their questions to the teacher and she answers them. This way the students get their questions answered but it doesn't have to put the spotlight on your son.

The other thought is to try to convince your son "hey, if you just muster through this this one day then their curiosity will be satisfied and you won't have to field questions day after day after day".


My oldest was the focus of a very similar lesson. He first got glasses in Kindergarten and he was the first in his class to get them. All the kids had questions so the teacher did a lesson and the kids got to ask their questions. They asked my son directly but my son didn't mind answering. But none of it was cruel or anything. It was all honest kid questions such as "Are you blind without them?" to which my son just explained that no, he's not blind, stuff just looks a bit fuzzy. It was all very positive for my son and the rest of the class.
Even if he wasn't the one answering questions, he would be extremely uncomfortable if it was focused on hearing aids and they asked questions to the teacher in front of him. In his words "the other kids don't have to have lessons to the class about everything that makes them different, why should I?"
Anonymous 2

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I think her intentions are good; but your idea of how to handle this brings up a good point about the etiquette of this.

I hope you don't mind me saying this: I think it's understandable that the kids might have questions. But I don't know that I'm OK with a teacher instructing children to approach an impaired individual and ask them questions about their impairment.

Again...I think she has really good intentions. But I see nothing wrong with how you'd like to handle this. And I think it's great that she broached the topic beforehand so that it allowed for the possibility of an alternate approach.
Olioxenfree wrote: Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:27 pm We are moving, so my kids are starting a new school next month. My eight year old son wears a hearing aid in one ear. In his old school, he had known all of the kids for most of his life, it was a smaller town, so except for one incident, it was never a big deal.

His teacher emailed me today and said that she would like to have a little lesson on hearing aids with the class, so they will understand more about it since there are no other kids in the grade who have one. She wants to have the school counselor come in to talk about it, read a story, and then have my son answer any questions about it. I completely understand where she is coming from, this is a common way to handle differing abilities in classrooms. She is trying to make sure that kids don't start rumors.

Thing is, my son hates talking about his hearing aid, the last thing he would want is during the first week of school, having attention placed on it and have to answer questions from the class. He does not like answering questions about it period, except for from close friends. We've worked with him on this, but this is where he is right now.

I completely understand that kids are curious and it is normal and okay to have questions, but I also believe that it is his choice if he wants to answer things about his body and he does not have to be an ambassador of hearing loss if he does not want to be.

My husband has a meeting with the teacher tomorrow to go over some other things and he is going to discuss it more then, but right now we would like to propose instead having a lesson on differing abilities in general, including information on hearing loss, and telling the kids that if they have any questions about these things to talk to a teacher, talk to their parent, but please do not ask the individual unless they say they are okay answering questions about it. We would also be happy to send home resources to the parents of students so they will know what to say if their child asks them questions. If my son was in your child's class, would you be open to this?
Anonymous 3

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My kid is talkative and friendly. She wouldn’t think anything was wrong with asking the new kid about his hearing aids. A general lesson about differing abilities would likely go right over her head, and she wouldn’t realize they were talking about her new friend. A more blunt approach will keep her questions to me or the teacher.
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