373). There are two main categories of a hearing impairment: deafness and hard of hearing. In our textbook, they define deafness, according to Northern & Downs, as a loss of hearing “so severe that a child experiences difficulty in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification” (pg. 373). In a classroom, much of the class is taught through oral communication. If a student cannot process the information, then they will not know what is going on unless they are instructed through using one of their senses other than hearing. The other type of hearing impairment is hearing loss, which the textbook defines as “less severe than deafness and usually permits the understanding of spoken language with the use of hearing aids” (pg. 373). With a hearing loss, the student can still understand spoken language if they have an aid to assist in their hearing. However, this aid costs money and might be hard or inconvenient for the student to have. Also, prior to the student getting a hearing aid, there is the same issue that comes with children who are deaf, it is difficult for the student and teacher to communicate because the student cannot process what the teacher is saying if the teacher is giving oral …show more content…
Under the federal IDEA, students with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate education. There are a number of ways to give the student an appropriate education, but one of the included directions to schools through the IDEA is that the student can have a choice of an “education in regular classes, education in regular classes with the use of related aids and services, or special education and related services in separate classrooms for all or portions of the school day” (US Department of Education 2010). The student and their parents ultimately have the choice of what kind of education works best for their child, while teachers and other faculty assess the student to try to find what least restrictive but still beneficial environment works best for the child. Washington State also provides a lot of services to the deaf and hard of hearing community. They provide telecommunication relay services, which gives deaf people the opportunity to use the phone. The state also provides sign language interpreters for people with this disability. Finally, though there are many other services they provide, the state offers information and referral for those who are deaf or hard of hearing or their families (Washington State Department of Social and Health Services). All of these services are put in place by the