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The
SHHH Californian - SUMMER
2003 / Pages 1 & 2
TEACHERS LEARN THE
LATEST
AUDITORY-ORAL METHODS OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
by T. Jordon Goulder, Ph.D., National University,
Center for Hard of Hearing or Deaf Persons
We are at the Crossroads of Education for Hard of Hearing or
Deaf Children. Parents and teachers of Hard of Hearing or Deaf
children only dreamed of the day when their children would be
able to actually participate in the world of sound and read
at grade level. For so many years hearing loss separated children
from their parents, other children and from the normal process
of learning language. This situation is changing due
to three remarkable elements, 1) the success of Cochlear Implants,
2) the early identification and screening of infants and 3)
revised auditory-oral methods of teaching language to Deaf children.
These three elements have converged on the world of Deafness
and their impact will change forever how we educate Hard of
Hearing or Deaf children. In the next 10 years it is
estimated that 85 percent of children who are born with severe
to profound hearing loss will receive cochlear implants.
Others with mild to moderate loss will benefit from improved
hearing aids and revised methods of teaching language. It is
predicted that in this decade all children who are born in the
U.S. will be tested in the first weeks of birth for hearing
loss. If diagnosed with a hearing loss a team of specialists
will work with the family and child in the process of early
language development. While these are remarkable factors, the
one area which is lagging behind is in the field of hearing
loss is teacher training.
Lack of teachers trained in the Auditory-Oral methods of teaching
language is a growing problem in California education. Teachers
who were trained to teach Hard of Hearing or Deaf students from
the mid 1970's to the present have generally not been exposed
to revised Auditory-Oral methods of language development and
new methods of teaching language to children with cochlear implants.
There is a growing awareness among experienced teachers
that the students now entering school have different resources
and need revised language approaches.
To address this need for teacher and professional retraining
National University, a private University with
more than 12,000 students in teacher training programs is developing
a unique program. The first step in this process will be a one
week seminar, Introduction to the Principles and
Practices of Auditory-Oral Education, July 7-11,
2003. This Seminar is open to all teachers and allied professionals
who want to begin to understand current approaches to language
development for Hard of Hearing and Deaf students. The
seminar is being jointly sponsored by the Oberkotter Foundation
and the National University Center for Hard of Hearing or Deaf
Persons.
To register for this program, please contact National University,
Continuing Education, by phone 619-563-7265 by Fax 619-563-7298
or go to www.nu.edu/conted
click on Professional Development, scroll down in Current Professional
Development Courses to the course name. The seminar will be
held at 11255 North Torrey Pines Road, Suite 123, La Jolla,
CA. The faculty includes outstanding national speakers, Carol
Flexer, Susan Allen and Gwen Suennen.
To meet the specific needs of teaching Cochlear Implanted and
Hard of Hearing Children, National University through
the Center for Hard of Hearing or Deaf Persons is in the process
of planning a 15 hour Certificate Program in Auditory-Oral Education.
Under the new California infant hearing screening law, about
1,200 newborns a year will be identified as having hearing loss.
Ninety percent of hard of hearing or deaf babies are born to
hearing parents. These hearing parents want teachers prepared
to teach oral language options such as auditory-oral and Auditory-Verbal.
It is important for educators to prepare themselves to teach
according to the needs of their students.
In the story of Alice in Wonderland, Alice was lost and desperate
to find her way home. She came to a place which had two paths
and was labeled The Crossroads. She
was perplexed as to which path to take in order to find her
way. Suddenly she looked up and there sitting in a tree was
the Cheshire cat. Alice, in desperation asked the cat, "Mr.
Cheshire Cat, which road shall I take?" The Cheshire cat
smiled broadly, and replied, "It all depends on where you
want to be". Educators, parents and those with hearing
loss are at the crossroads of history. Our decisions now, will
take us to where we want to be!
Which road will we take? Today parents have a choice.
Choosing teachers well trained in Auditory-Oral methods, is
one more step toward helping our Hard of Hearing or Deaf children
participate in the hearing world.
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES
CENTER FOR HARD OF HEARING OR DEAF PERSONS
In California, credentialing of teachers of the hard
of hearing or deaf requires NO coursework on how to teach hard
of hearing or cochlear implanted students. Opening
of this Center is important because it is committed to training
teachers in Auditory-Oral methods of language acquisition and
will begin to fill this need.
National University (NU) is a member of the California Commission
on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) and recommends more individuals
for teaching credentials than any other university in the state.
Having teachers well trained in Auditory-Oral methods,
is one more step toward helping our hard of hearing or deaf
children participate in the hearing world.
National University System Chancellor Dr. Jerry C.
Lee has announced that the U.S. Department of Education
has appropriated $500,000 to launch the NU Center for Hard of
Hearing or Deaf Persons. NU will match the $500,000 in federal
funding for a total of $1 million in seed money.
The Center will serve the research, higher education and technical
assistance needs of working age adults who are hard of hearing
or late-deafened. It will also support related projects for
children who are hard of hearing or have cochlear implants.
"Many teacher education programs prepare teachers to instruct
deaf children, but few programs currently focus on children
who are hard of hearing," said Dr. Lee, who was formerly
President of Gallaudet University, an institution that serves
the higher education needs of students who are hard of hearing
or deaf.
NU’s Center for Hard of Hearing or Deaf Persons has also
identified other critical needs for research, including study
of the physiological and psychological stress experienced at
work and in everyday life by persons who are hard of hearing
or late deafened. The Center will pay particular attention to
persons of Latino/Hispanic and/or Native American background.
The University was founded in San Diego in 1971 and is California's
second largest private nonprofit university, with more than
17,250 full time equivalent students enrolled across the state,
in 29 regional centers in 11 major metropolitan areas.
National University is an independent institution, accredited
by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). It
is a recognized leader in online and distance learning, utilizing
the Internet and videoconferencing to expand access to higher
education domestically and throughout the world.
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