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FAQs

Here are some answers to some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about CID programs and listening and spoken language deaf education.

General Questions

What education do you need to become a teacher of the deaf?

Most CID teachers have a master’s degree in deaf education. A few have an undergraduate degree in deaf education with master’s degree/s in related areas. All CID classroom teachers also maintain certification from the Council on Education of the Deaf, a national organization.

CID is financially separate from but closely affiliated with the Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences (PACS) at Washington University School of Medicine, which trains audiologists, scientists and teachers of the deaf. Some of our teachers and audiologists serve as faculty members, and we provide practicum experiences for students in this program.

Does CID offer hearing testing for adults?

No. CID provides world-class on-site pediatric audiology for newly diagnosed infants, the children in our school and alumni up to age 18. However, Washington University School of Medicine continues to offer hearing testing, hearing aid fitting and cochlear implant mapping for adults at the Spencer T. Olin Hearing Clinic on the CID campus and at two additional locations. Arrange an appointment.

I need an interpreter in Missouri. Where can I find one?

CID is a school for children who are deaf and hard of hearing, not an interpreter service. Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing offers a listing of interpreter services in Missouri.

I want to become an interpreter, does CID teach courses?

No. St. Louis Community College has an interpreter training program.

Do you know where I can take sign language classes?

CID does not teach sign language to children or adults. We teach children who are deaf and hard of hearing how to listen and talk. You can find sign language classes at St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley or other sources listed on the website of Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Why do people choose to help children who are deaf and hard of hearing to learn to talk?

Today’s hearing technologies, early intervention and targeted, individualized teaching methods make it possible for most children who are deaf and hard of hearing to listen, talk, read and participate socially and academically in their own local general education classrooms. Learning spoken language gives children an advantage in learning to read and write. Acquiring listening and spoken language skills can expand an individual’s choices, foster independence and broaden opportunities in life.

Children whose hearing loss is identified within the first year of life often graduate from CID able to participate socially and academically in kindergarten or first grade.*

 

*This may not hold true for children with additional learning and other disabilities. Progress can also be slowed by factors such as lack of hearing device use at home during a child’s early months and years.

If you teach a child who is deaf to speak, won’t he or she miss out on sign language and Deaf culture?

CID’s role is to ensure children have access to a listening and spoken language education at a young age. Some of our students decide to also learn sign language after they leave CID so they can interact with peers who identify within a Deaf culture.

We take pride in our graduates’ ability to successfully integrate into the hearing world and to have peers in both communities if they choose.

Questions for Parents

Where can I learn about legal rights and advocacy for my child?

The following CID blog posts are useful to begin to understand parents’ roles in the education of and advocacy for a child with hearing loss:

The Importance of Understanding Parental Rights for a Child’s First IEP

Helping Parents Understand Their Role in Each Step of the IEP Process

Becoming an Organized Advocate for a Child with Hearing Loss

If your child attends or is a candidate for attending CID, our family support specialist will help connect you with additional resources related to child advocacy/parent rights as well as to other parents with similar experiences.

My child has a cochlear implant or we are considering one. In addition to my child’s audiologist and doctor, what are good resources?

All of the cochlear implant manufacturers offer excellent information about their devices.

If your child attends or is a candidate for attending CID, our family support specialist will help connect you with other relevant resources as well as with other parents who have children with cochlear implants.

My child’s teacher or school administrator has no experience with students with hearing loss. What can I do?

Your child’s teacher may want to pursue continuing education at a CID workshop, online course or other resources available through our Emerson Center for Professional Development, which also offers in-services, guided observations and consulting.

Your child’s teacher, school administrator or school district may want to contact program director Abby Zoia for more information about professional development opportunities. Your local public school district or OPTION Schools program may also offer resources for general education teachers with a child who is deaf or hard of hearing in their classroom.

 

 

I don’t think my child is getting what he or she needs in school. What should I do?

You can re-convene an Individualized Educational Plan (bring the IEP team together to reassess the plan for your child). It’s sometimes wise to bring someone with you, such as a friend who can be a second set of ears or an advocate who knows the law. Public schools are mandated to provide an appropriate education for your child. Contact CID principal Lynda Berkowitz to learn what CID offers.

Is there an agency that can help pay for hearing aids?

If your child is a CID student, our audiology staff can help your family explore the options. Missouri and Illinois both have early intervention systems that will help with all assistive technology needed for a child to achieve outcomes. Some insurance companies have paid for a portion of hearing aid costs, with the remainder billed through state early intervention programs. Many of the Medicaid programs provide appropriate hearing aids, and several other agencies also may help. CID audiologists and Joanne Parrish Knight Family Center staff can answer other questions about that first pair of hearing aids. If your child needs a second set of hearing aids, you can contact the HIKE Fund and your local Variety Club.

Insurance companies should always be encouraged to pay for hearing aids. Many states have issued mandates but practice varies from state to state.

Sometimes my child seems to hear without hearing aids. Do you really think he needs them?

Children who are deaf or hard of hearing sometimes may detect sounds without their hearing aids because they have what’s called “residual” hearing. It’s important to remember that these children have access to more sounds with their hearing aids on than they do with them off. They need to hear all of the sounds that make up speech in order to include them in their spoken language. Access to all sounds, at every possible waking moment, will give your child the best opportunity to develop speech and spoken language without omitting certain sounds they cannot hear without their hearing aids.

Do you provide transportation for your students?

CID does not provide transportation to and from school. If your child receives services through a public school contract, the school district may transport her or reimburse you for travel expenses. If your child comes to CID through early intervention, Missouri or Illinois will reimburse mileage, but they do not provide transportation. Parents must apply and gain approval from the early intervention system before any reimbursement can be obtained.

If my child were a candidate for the CID school, how much would it cost for him to attend?

Tuition is free. Parents don’t spend a penny for their child to attend CID. Generous annual support from the community combined with state early intervention agency and school district funding, as appropriate, make it possible for the CID school to accept all eligible school candidates so parents are free to focus on the possibilities, not the costs.

How long would my child attend CID?
Every child develops skills at his or her own rate. Our goal is to help children return to or begin at their local schools (also known as mainstreaming) as soon as possible. For some children, a good time to mainstream is when their language level is equal to that of peers with whom they will work in the same classroom. For older children, we also look at reading skills. We prefer their reading skills be at the same level as those of their classmates. We work closely with families to ensure they know our recommendations and that any placement is a team decision. If needed, support is available for children when they enter the public school system.

Does CID offer any subjects besides speech, language and academics?

CID students participate in physical education, art and music and movement classes to help develop and strengthen their skills and talents in these areas. Special activities include field trips, science and literacy fairs, cooperative STEM projects, performances and after school tennis and pickle ball.

How do you give children with hearing loss the skills they need to succeed in school with their hearing peers?

CID teachers use specialized tools to determine and target a variety of goals. At the preschool level, activities are play-based and theme-related. Daily individualized goals target emerging literacy skills, typical childhood development and pragmatic social skills in addition to speech, language and listening.

After age 5, academics come into play. We pay special attention to teaching the language involved in understanding math, science and social studies as we continue to attend to our kindergarteners’ speech and social skills.

At all levels, we have a strong focus on developing reading skills, which is especially difficult for many children who are deaf or hard of hearing. We use a phonics curriculum called SPIRE to build phonemic awareness and decoding skills for children starting at age 3. We model enthusiasm for reading and, guided by Missouri Learning Standards, teach reading comprehension using a variety of children’s literature, student favorites and commercial texts.

Finally, we offer a variety of field trips, extracurricular and special activities, and teach art, drama, music and physical education, to fully prepare the children to participate and succeed in their neighborhood schools.

What kinds of information do you provide to families in early intervention?

  • the child’s diagnosis
  • emotional and social supports
  • hearing and hearing loss
  • hearing tests
  • hearing devices (hearing aids, bone conduction aids, cochlear implants, FM systems)
  • early communication
  • listening and spoken language development
  • tips to encourage listening and spoken language development within daily routines
  • typical development in all areas
  • benefits of play, music and early literacy
  • early intervention services, rights, laws and IFSPs
  • transitioning to educational programs for preschoolers and IEPs

CID parent educators and families use a variety of resources, including Small Talk, written by CID staff. This book breaks down the important things today’s parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing need to know and do including the topics listed above. Small Talk also fills an important need as a textbook for university deaf education and early intervention programs. CID’s Early Listening at Home curriculum encourages coaching the whole family and is an important tool for parent educators.

In addition to CID parent educators, CID offers the support of a dedicated parent support specialist who provides opportunities to connect with other families, emotional support and resources.

 

What services do you provide for families of infants and toddlers?

CID services include family and caregiver coaching at CID, in the home and community settings. We have a class for toddlers that combines group instruction and individual therapy. Services begin when our intake coordinator contacts a family to help them navigate the process of enrolling in early intervention services. Once enrolled, each family is assigned a parent educator to guide them throughout their journey. One of the first steps is partnering with pediatric audiologists to ensure the child has optimal access to sound. For families living outside of our parent educators’ travel area, we offer support via remote coaching sessions or at CID when they visit for audiology appointments.

CID also offers the support of a dedicated parent support specialist who provides opportunities to connect with other families, emotional support and resources.

How do you teach children to read if you can’t use phonics?

We do use phonics — and phonological awareness. Our pediatric audiologists ensure the students have optimal access to auditory information from their hearing aids and/or cochlear implants. We teach our children to read using all of the same methods, strategies and curricula used to teach hearing children to read.

Like all children, children with hearing loss require explicit instruction to learn to confidently decode the letters representing the speech sounds. This method of instruction is commonly referred to as phonics — that is, matching the sounds of speech with combinations of written letters. Eventually, children begin to combine their spoken language knowledge with new phonics skills and are on a path to becoming fluent decoders and readers.

Success in phonics, comprehension and writing — shown critical to achieving fluency — are the goals of CID’s literacy program. All of our teachers use the phonics-based SPIRE curriculum to help each student build the phonemic awareness and decoding skills foundational to a higher level of learning. Guided by Missouri Learning Standards, we teach reading comprehension through a variety of commercial texts, student favorites and classroom classics.

How do you teach children who are deaf and hard of hearing to talk?

Unlike most schools for the deaf, CID teaches children how to listen and talk without using sign language. Instruction takes place in small classes of 2 to 5 children grouped for their ability in speech and language. Constant interaction and activities give the students practice listening and talking.

They receive direct instruction in listening, language and speech that provides repeated practice opportunities. Then they participate in lessons that enable them to integrate new skills and practice them through conversational activities. During every activity, the teacher monitors each child’s listening, speech, language and comprehension skills. Evaluation takes place during and after every lesson to assess how each student is progressing toward his or her goals, which change at the rate at which that child experiences success.

Why is it important for a child who is deaf to learn to talk?

Today’s hearing technologies, early intervention and targeted, individualized teaching methods make it possible for most children who are deaf and hard of hearing to listen, talk, read and participate socially and academically in regular education classrooms.

Learning spoken language is important to learning to read and forms the basis for academic success.

My child was just diagnosed with a hearing loss. How can I find resources available to me and my baby?

Publicly provided services are mandated by law to help your baby and your family. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires each state to provide early intervention services. How and what each state provides varies.

An overview of the law, IDEA Part C, and links to resources to help you find services for you and your baby are available through the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. See also http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ei.index.htm

State early intervention programs offer guidance and resources for families. If your child is under age 3 and was diagnosed in Missouri or Illinois, contact Missouri First Steps or Illinois Child and Family Connections. You can never start too early. Feel free to call Claire Soete at CID for help navigating the system.

We encourage those in other states to find assistance in one of the OPTION Schools programs.

Questions for Teachers

Do you have free resources for teachers, SLPs and other professionals?

Yes, we do. We offer a range of free, downloadable teaching tools and half-hour self-paced online courses, quick tips and a professional blog. Please visit our CID Emerson Center for Professional Development.

I have a question about a CID product or online course. Where can I get information?

Please visit our CID Emerson Center for Professional Development FAQ page or contact Kim Paten for answers to your questions about CID resources, trainings and curricula.

What standardized tests does CID use in the primary school?

Our goal is to transition students to their local schools as soon as possible. The vocabulary, language, speech, literacy and content tests we use are standardized on children with typical hearing, so results for our students who are deaf and hard of hearing can be compared to results achieved by children with typical hearing the same age. This comparison gives us a clear picture of each student’s capabilities. Some examples are:

  • Receptive Vocabulary Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-5)
  • Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT-3)
  • Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-5) 
  • Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation (GFTA-3)
  • Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests (WRMT-III)

What functional curricula does CID use in the primary school?

The primary CID school has three main goals: (1) continue the development of listening, speech and language skills, (2) teach content that aligns with general education programs and (3) teach self-advocacy and social skills to help prepare students for transition into their home schools. We use a series of functional assessments for data collection and progress monitoring for each of the expected areas of delay for a child with hearing loss learning to listen and talk: 

What tests does CID use for 3 to 4 1/2-year-olds?

Our goal is to prepare our students to work and socialize alongside their peers with typical hearing in their local schools as soon as possible. The vocabulary, language, speech and early literacy tests we use are standardized on children with typical hearing, so results for our students who are deaf and hard of hearing can be compared to results achieved by children with typical hearing the same age. This comparison gives us a clear picture of each student’s capabilities. Some examples are:

  • Receptive Vocabulary Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-5)
  • Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT-3)
  • Preschool Language Scale-IV (PLS-5)
  • Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool (CELF-P3)
  • Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation (GFTA-3)
  • Test of Preschool Early Literacy (TOPEL)

What curricula does CID use in the early childhood center?

Our pre-k program has a dual focus: (1) listening, language and speech curricula and (2) a whole-child developmental curriculum, including strong emphases on play-based learning and early literacy. We use a series of functional assessments collecting data and monitoring progress for each of the expected areas of delay for a child with hearing loss learning to listen and talk, including:

In addition to the developmental areas of expected delay as a result of hearing loss, we monitor all developmental areas when considering the whole child. Our curriculum is based on the CID Preschool Developmental Rating Forms  (for children ages 3, 4 and 5)which allow for collecting data and monitoring progress in six non-communicative domains: fine motor, gross motor, cognition, social and emotional, pre-academic and early literacy. The skills listed are pulled from a variety of sources — all based on the developmentally appropriate practices set out by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

What happens when a child approaches age two?

When a child approaches 18 months, the family and their parent educator discuss candidacy for attending toddler class at CID. The decision is based on each child’s goals and needs. Our toddler classes supplement home visits and/or remote sessions. These classes provide a combination of individual, direct speech-language therapy and group learning opportunities. The goal is to maximize each child’s potential for developing age-appropriate skills through remediation and enrichment in all childhood domains, including listening and spoken language.

What services do you provide for babies with hearing loss?

Services begin when our intake coordinator contacts a family to help them navigate the process of enrolling in the early intervention program. One of the first steps is partnering parents with audiologists to ensure the child has optimal access to sound. Experienced CID parent educators provide caregiver coaching sessions in the home and other community settings and through remote coaching, or teleintervention, sessions.

Among other resources, CID parent educators use the CID Early Listening at Home curriculum to guide families on their child’s journey in developing their auditory system. We also use various assessment and intervention tools, including LENA technology, to help families understand their child’s present hearing levels and employ strategies to promote listening and spoken language skills.

We have a toddler class for group instruction and individual therapy. Upon request, we provide onsite support at CID for families living outside of our parent educators’ travel area when they visit CID for audiology appointments.