Advocating for Optimal Listening in the Classroom

Abstract

Hearing professionals need to be prepared for today's students as the ultimate arbiters regarding acceptable hearing assistive technology (HAT). Current educational laws and acts along with best practice standards are in place for assistive technology teams to implement collaborative goals and objectives to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap for students with hearing loss. Although the benefits of HAT are documented, historically its use declines for older students and those mainstreaming to their home school with normally hearing peers. Not wanting to be different and/or not receiving acceptable benefit are issues of the past. Now, being different is the norm, and students can be more like their peers through the use of technology. HAT allows student access and connectivity to home, school, and community. In this article, guidelines are discussed as they pertain to the role of the audiologist on the school assistive technology team. It is the responsibility of the audiologist to bring new HAT developments to the assistive technology team and advocate for optimal listening in the classroom. Audiologists need to step up and embrace new technology trends and keep options attractive to students. Professionals can arm themselves for this challenge with the supportive documentation presented in this article.