Carol Flexer

Children With Developmental DisabilitiesThe Effect of Sound Field Amplification on Word Identification

Because teachers manage and instruct students through verbal communication, it would seem logical that improvement of pupils abilities to detect and attend to the teachers speech could improve pu...

Otological and habilitative management of children with down syndrome

It has been well‐established that children with Down syndrome experience a high incidence of persistent conductive hearing loss because of their predisposition to stenosis of the external auditory canal (EAC), cerumen impaction, serous otitis media (SOM), and cholesteatoma. Because this hearing problem may be a primary cause of the spoken communication skills in these children being far below their cognitive ability, assertive management is required. The authors present an aggressive multi‐discipline treatment model that is instituted during the first year of life in an infant with Down syndrome. Reconstruction of the EAC, amplification technology, and speech/language intervention that emphasizes auditory‐verbal (A/V) therapy are discussed. In a pilot study, we compared the language development of six infants with Down syndrome who received aggressive treatment during their first year of life (group A) to six infants who did not (group B). The results showed age‐appropriate oral language development for the infants in group A.

Preferential Seating is NOT Enough: Issues in Classroom Management of Hearing-Impaired Students.

Hearing-impaired students are the largest single population of children requiring special services in schools, and the majority of these children are being mainstreamed into regular classrooms. Bec...

Strategies for Teaching Writing Skills to Hearing-Impaired Students.

The purpose of this article is to explore a vital component of a language program for hearing-impaired adolescents—the development of writing literacy. A discussion of the writing process precedes ...

Sound-Field Amplification: Preliminary Information Regarding Special Education Referrals.

In this clinical exchange, the authors discuss acoustic accessibility and sound-field amplification in general education classrooms. They bridge theory to practice by presenting preliminary information from two different school systems demonstrating how an improved signal-to-noise ratio can have a positive impact on special education referrals.

Use of a Mild Gain Amplifier With Preschoolers With Language Delay

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (1991) has urged collaborative research among speech-language pathologists and audiologists in order to investigate the efficacy of using assistive ...

Low Cost Assistive Listening Device

This paper describes the use of a low cost, portable, hardwire, assistive listening device. The unit is battery-operated with flexible features. It enabled students to monitor their own verbal prod...