TechACCESSORY   Spring, 1997

A Publication of TechACCESS of Rhode Island
TechACCESS is the Central Information, Referral and Demonstration site 
for the Rhode Island Assistive Technology Access Partnership.

TechACCESS is an affiliate of the Alliance for Technology Access (ATA).

TechACCESSORY

Designer/Editor:
Sharon L. Silverman
TechACCESS Staff
Center Director: Paula G. Olivieri
Projects Director: Judi Hammerlind Carlson
Information & Technology Coordinator: Melissa Cragin
Assistive Technology Trainer: Gloria B. Stuart
Assistive Technology Consultant: Joanne Heffernan
Office Managers: Ann Isherwood and Fran Dixon
ADRC Technician: Fran Dixon

TechACCESS Board of Directors
Elizabeth Dalton, Chair
Beth Perry, Vice Chair
Sharon Charette, Secretary
Lawrence S. Hershoff, Financial Officer
Jeanne Cola
Diane Dabkowski
Aleatha Dickerson
Robert Geller
John Getz
James R. Langevin, Secretary of State
Kate McCarthy-Barnett
Mary McGann
Edward Schroeder
Cynthia Thompson
John Andrew Thompson
Bernard Selby, Board Emeritus


Technology for Hearing Impaired Children:  
A Key to Independence and Community Integration
by James E. Healey, Au.D.
	Independence and community integration are important considerations for all children, and perhaps more relevant for children with hearing loss.  By its very nature, hearing loss can foster dependency on parents and other family members for hearing loss and communication management, hearing aid care and maintenance, and for numerous listening functions. On behalf of their child,  parents assume responsibility for proper hearing aid care and maintenance and for troubleshooting the hearing aid when it inevitably malfunctions.  Children rely on their parents to make sure that the classroom acoustic environment is appropriate for learning and that the teacher is aware of  specialized instructional techniques.  In the school as well as in the home, it is the parents who must keep abreast of technology that allows their child to more efficiently and effectively communicate with the world around them.  
	Dependence on parents and other family members is, of course, necessary at an early age; however, for children to grow into independent functional adults, it is essential that they learn about and receive the training to manage their hearing loss.  If the child does not have a good working knowledge of their hearing loss, they cannot be expected to represent it to their peers.  If they do not take full responsibility for the operation of their hearing aids, they will not develop the respect for the hearing aids' capabilities, as well as an understanding of its limitations.  If children do not understand the barriers to communication (i.e. noise, distance, visibility) it is unlikely that they will be aware of the many non-technological options (strategies, environmental modifications) and the numerous  applications of technology that can dramatically expand their mainstream opportunities (e.g. FM devices, TV/video closed captioning, vibrating pagers, amplified and text telephones).  In short, if children are