● Studies repeatedly demonstrate that children identified and receiving intervention before 6 months of age perform significantly better on measures of vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, and expressive language than those who begin later. PubMed+2PubMed+2
● Cochlear implantation before age one is associated with substantially better language outcomes—both receptive (understanding) and expressive (speaking)—compared to implantation later. Wiley Online Library+2PubMed+2

Social well‑being encompasses self‑esteem, peer relationships, experiences of inclusion,
psychological well‑being, and participation in activities. Multiple studies show that children
with HI can achieve social outcomes close to those of their hearing peers, especially when early
intervention is in place. BioMed Central+1
● For example, children identified early via newborn hearing screening, with early auditory access (via technology and therapy), report rates of bullying, victimization, social difficulties, and self‑reported distress that are similar to hearing peers. PubMed

November Article 2025

The post Key Factors in Language, Social, and Developmental Outcomes for Children with Hearing Differences first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

4. Teaching Self-Regulation Skills
– Implement metacognitive strategies like self-monitoring checklists and mindfulness exercises to enhance inhibitory control and emotional regulation.

The post Supporting Executive Function in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

Bullying has been a topic of concern and research for years, so we know a lot more about the who, what, when, where and why’s of bullying…but we just can’t seem to stop it from happening, especially for students with hearing loss and other disabilities. Learn how you can identify and educate yourself about bullying in schools.

Did You Know?

Statistical research reported on the United States, stopbullying.gov website, indicates that 20% of students ages 12-18 have reported having experienced some form bullying.  Additionally, 19% of students in grades 9-12 report being bullied on school property, within the year of the survey.  A 2018 study found that adolescents with hearing loss endured significantly higher incidence of bullying versus the general population (50.0% vs. 28.0%), particularly for exclusion (26.3% vs. 4.7%) and coercion (17.5% vs. 3.6%). Children younger than 12 years with hearing loss reported a rate of 38.7% bullying.   

Bullying occurs most often in the hallways or stairwells, classroom, cafeteria, outside on school grounds, via social media/online, in the bathroom or locker room and in other various locations within school boundaries. Most often, victims of bullying are at the center of rumors or lies (13.4%) and being made fun of, called names, or insulted (13%).  Students are pushed, tripped, or even spit on!  Leaving students out or excluding targeted students from activities and events, and even threatening harm have been reported. 

Cyberbullying occurs most often between the ages of 12-18 (15%), likely because that is the age most students have personal cell phones.  A popular teen-favorite-social media platform called, Snapchat, allows teens to take pictures and send messages, and the application deletes the evidence of the texts and pictures after they are opened.  This makes bullying on this app much easier than on regular texts because the picture and message can’t be stored. 

Who is Being Bullied?

Bullying happens in all schools, in all towns/cities, to all genders and ethnic backgrounds.  However, we DO know that some groups seem to be targeted more often than others.  Students who appear “different” than their peers tend to have a higher incidence of reported bullying situations.  Students who are overweight, underweight, wear glasses or hearing aids, dress differently, or are unable to afford the “cool” clothes are bullied more frequently.  Those who are perceived as weak and unable to stand up for themselves, depressed or have mental health issues, are less popular, or perceived to be annoying or provoking for attention, can also be victimized.  This puts special needs students and those with hearing loss in the higher risk category for being bullied. 

We know that the students who are bullying others tend to fall into two categories. The socially powerful, popularity seeking, dominant or in charge students, as well as the more isolated, low self-esteem, mental health sufferers who are easily pressured by peers and have little empathy towards others.  Students with aggressive traits, who have less parental involvement, have difficulty following rules and generally gravitate towards aggressive and violent behaviors, can be perpetrators of bullying. 

Signs and Symptoms of Abuse, What Should you Look For?

According to studies, children who are being abused might:

• Experience unexplainable injuries
• Frequent lose or have destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry
• Suffer frequent headaches or stomach aches (even fake symptoms of illnesses)
• Exhibit changes in eating habits, like suddenly skipping meals or binge eating.
• Come home from school hungry because they did not eat lunch.
• Have difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares
• Have declining grades, loss of interest in schoolwork, or not wanting to go to school
• Seem to have a sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations
• Report feelings of helplessness or decreased self esteem
• Partake in self-destructive behaviors such as running away from home, harming themselves, or talking about suicide

Per the 2018 Indicators of School Crime and Safety, kids don’t report being bullied because they feel helpless, want to try and handle the situation on their own, fear backlash, or fear being seen as a tattle tale.  Being bullied is humiliating so they may not tell adults that they are being bullied because they are embarrassed that the adult might judge them or actually believe the lies and rumors.  Kids want to fit in and are fearful of being isolated or rejected by others.

So, What Do You DO if Your Child/Student is a Victim of Bullying?

Teachers can ask for and attend trainings on bullying.  Teachers can create and use activities to teach students about bullying.  Activities such as presentations, discussions, writing prompts, class meetings, and role playing can be beneficial in helping to reduce bullying situations.  Take a stand on bullying and have a zero-tolerance rule in your classroom and school. Positive reinforcement for students who stick up for others, treat others with kindness, and create a buddy system for the students who are targeted. Schools can focus on providing staff to monitor the areas of the school that have been reported to have the highest incidence of bullying. Environments, such as hallways, stairwells, cafeterias, playgrounds and on buses. Using evidence-based curriculum for prevention of bullying in the younger grades can help address issues of bullying. Create incentives for students and teachers who are invested and engaged in anti-bullying programs.

Resources for Teachers and Parents

• https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying
• http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/teaching-students-to-prevent-bullying
• https://stompoutbullying.org/get-help/about-bullying-and-cyberbullying
• https://www.lebonheur.org/blogs/practical-parenting/keeping-up-with-your-child-online
• https://www.pacer.org/bullying/classroom/planet-fitness/
• https://youth.gov/feature-article/national-bullying-prevention-month
• Kraizer, S. (2007). 10 Days to a Bully-Proof Child. Marlowe & Co., New York. 
  https://www.amazon.com/10-Days-Bully-Proof-Child-Confidence/dp/1569242534

References

• Warner-Czyz, A. D., et. al. (2018) Effect of hearing loss on peer victimization in school-age children. Exceptional Children. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-children-loss-bullying.html. Download from: https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Children-with-hearing-loss-face-more-bullying-2018.pdf

• Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2019 – National Center for … https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2020/2020063.pdf.
• “Facts About Bullying.” Facts about Bullying, https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/facts#_Definition_of_Bullying.
• Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss | Bullying / Teasing Happens! 7 Oct. 2019, https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/bullying-teasing-happens/. Accessed 5 Oct. 2022.>



• Anderson, Karen. “Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss | Bullying and Students with Hearing Loss.” https://Successforkidswithhearingloss.com/Bullying-And-Students-With-Hearing-Loss-2/, 29 Oct. 2019, https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/bullying-and-students-with-hearing-loss-2/ . Accessed 5 Oct. 2022.

Author: Michelle Andros

Click here to download this article

The post BE AWARE of the Facts About Bullying first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

Since 19 out of 20 children born with hearing loss are raised in families without members who are deaf or have hearing loss, it is likely that most children who are deaf/hard of hearing are the only ones in their family using hearing devices. Older brother has brown hair, sister has freckles, and the youngest child has hearing aids – hearing loss/deafness is just part of the aspects that make up the family. Most families adapt to the child’s needs by communicating within close proximity, carrying extra batteries, and checking that the child heard/understood directions, etcetera.

About the age of 4 years children begin to care about being liked by other children. Children with hearing devices entering preschool or kindergarten are very likely surrounded by peers who have never seen a hearing aid, BAHA, cochlear implant, or any kind of hearing assistance technology. Curiosity and questions are very normal.

HOW the student reacts to these questions can set the tone, along with how the classroom teacher shares information with the large group about ‘different = okay’.  If there is no preparation of the child for this situation, and no help by the teacher, then the student is at high risk for feeling it is not okay, or even bad, to be using hearing devices.

Wanting to be accepted by a group is typical throughout primary school. Our sense of self is influenced by the groups we belong to. Who we compare ourselves to can affect how we feel about ourselves, for better or worse. If the child does not encounter any other children in the group with hearing issues, then there is a subconscious message that to be able to belong, they shouldn’t use their hearing devices. This can be tough to counteract!

IDEA 1 – Read books with characters where the child can identify ‘he’s just like me!’.  These books can be read at home, long before the child starts school. SEE HERE FOR A LIST OF BOOKS. The characters may have dealt with teasing, or fitting in, or making friends. Books can introduce these concepts and open the door to discussions at home and at school. There are chapter books and young adult books that have characters with hearing loss too! Reading together, discussing ideas, and making the connection that other kids deal with being hard of hearing or deaf too, will strengthen the child or youth’s feelings that they are not alone, and that they are OKAY being a kid with hearing loss. A teacher reading a book that features a character with hearing loss to the whole class is a great way to start the early school years (suggestions: 1, 2, 3).

 
IDEA 2 – Prepare for questions or teasing. Whether the child is 4, in 4^th grade, or age 14, chances are that someone will make a comment about hearing issues or devices. Count on it. Prepare for it. Humor, sarcasm, and yes – teasing, are all a part of language development and word play. Some children are raised in families where teasing happens and are likely to tease others – in a light-hearted manner, or not. Teasing can happen when someone feels threatened or upset, and they lash out at others.

Finally teasing/bullying can occur as a way for a child to feel more powerful due to their own low self-esteem. The key is to not ‘feed’ the bully by tears, embarrassment, anger or any other negative reaction. Ignore the bully, or respond as matter of fact, i.e., ‘I know’, ‘You told me that yesterday’, ‘Yeah I wear hearing aids.’ Role playing to practice responses is vital. For preschoolers and kindergarten students, practice ways they can respond to questions like, “What are those things?” “Why do you wear that thing?”. Kids are curious and the child needs to be prepared to provide simple answers!

IDEA 3 – Connect kids with other kids who use hearing devices and/or sign.

The most POWERFUL tool we have to increase self-concept, create a strong and healthy identity that it is ‘okay to be a kid with hearing loss’ is to foster the feeling that the child is part of a group of ‘cool kids with hearing aids’ or other devices, and/or ‘cool kids who sign’.

Play dates or Zoom chats arranged by the family are fabulous! Working on self-advocacy skill development in school where students from a number of buildings can join in virtually to learn strategies, discuss issues, and realize they are not alone – terrific!  Both family and school connections – AWESOME!

Starting with ages 4-5 and going all the way through high school, opportunities to connect, complain, strategize, and celebrate cannot be underestimated in their overall effect on self-concept, less rejection of using hearing devices, greater motivation to self-advocate, and more!

Want to learn more?  Check out Building Self-Confidence & Resilience to Maximize Acceptance of Hearing Devices available inexpensively in print from Supporting Success or digitally from Teacher Tools Takeout.

Author: Karen Anderson

Click here to download this article

The post Go-to Ideas for Supporting a Student’s Self-Concept first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month.

Gallaudet researchers found that 812 deaf and hard of hearing students in eleven U.S. schools reported instances of bullying at rates 2-3 times higher than reported by hearing students.  It is obvious that bullying is a serious problem.  What is not always so clear is how parents, teachers, and deaf/hard of hearing students can work together to resolve it.

The Problem:

The incidence of bullying in the deaf or hard of hearing student population is a significant, even startling, reality. A 2018 study¹ found that adolescents with hearing loss endured significantly higher incidence of bullying versus the general population (50.0% vs. 28.0%), particularly for exclusion (26.3% vs. 4.7%) and coercion (17.5% vs. 3.6%). Children younger than 12 years with hearing loss reported lower rates of bullying (38.7%) than adolescents with HL, but rates did not differ significantly.

“I thought more children and adolescents with hearing loss would report getting picked on, but I did not expect the rates to be twice as high as the general population,” said Dr. Andrea Warner-Czyz, study author.

In 2016², the story of a deaf high school student in Nebraska was reported on television news.  Students had taken his backpack during a lunch period and dumped it in a toilet.  Contained inside were his tablet, school supplies, homework, debit card, and his cochlear implant.  The student, Alexis Hernandez, reported: “Those students think it’s ok to bully a deaf student, but it’s not.  It’s not OK to bully someone who is disabled, deaf, or hard of hearing.  Or anyone for that matter.”

Another study³ found that students who had lower language abilities were more vulnerable to victimization if they lacked understanding of their own emotions and levels of anger, sadness, and fear. As students with hearing loss have a greater risk for difficulty in being able to identify and describe emotional states⁴, recognizing that these challenges may contribute to victimization has important implications for intervention.

Bullying can be⁵:

• verbal: name-calling, insulting, teasing, ridiculing
• emotional/indirect: ignoring or deliberately excluding, spreading rumors or nasty stories, turning friends against the child, laughing at them or talking about them behind their back, taking, hiding or damaging their personal belongings, drawing unkind pictures of the child, using a feature of the child’s disability to bully them, e.g. deliberately making loud noises near a deaf child who is known to find loud noises unpleasant, creeping up on them from behind to scare them, deliberately making a noise when the teacher is giving instructions.
• physical: any physical contact which would hurt such as hitting, kicking, pinching, pushing, shoving, tripping up, pulling out hearing aids.
• manipulation/controlling behavior: using the child’s vulnerability as a way of controlling them or making them do something the bully wants them to do.
• cyberbullying: using electronic media (internet, mobile phones) to bully someone. This includes bullying through text messages, instant messaging, email, chat forums, online games and social networking websites.

Solutions:

Once we recognize what forms the behavior takes, what possible solutions are available for our students who are vulnerable?

Incorporate routine screening for bullying via direct questions⁶:

1. Ask the child about friends. A response of “none” or “few friends” deserves additional prompting (Why do you think that is?).
2. Inquire if the child avoids going to school and request more information on the assistance the child has accessed.
3. Ask the child directly if he or she has experienced bullying. If the child answers “yes,” ask follow-up questions and refer the child to school and community resources.

Address developing skills to reduce victimization in the student IEP⁶:

Issues related to peer victimization can also be included on individualized education plans or 504 plans. For example, educational plans can specify informing teachers and classmates about hearing loss. Plans can also include a safe environment statement designating a “home base” where a student can go when feeling unsafe and/or a “safe person” with whom a student can discuss difficult situations. Additionally, education plans could include strategies to reduce vulnerability and improve response to bullying by targeting social pragmatic skills (e.g., taking turns and asking questions; reading facial expressions and body language) via one-on-one instruction, role playing, or social stories. Organizing a social skills group can help children develop social competencies in a supportive environment. Clinicians can also help patients address assertiveness and/or self-advocacy, with specific training to identify and report bullying, say “no” to stop the situation, and request assistance from a trusted source.

For teachers:  provide ongoing education to keep students aware that the bullying they may be experiencing – or doing to others – is unacceptable.  Give your students a safe and open communication pathway for reporting incidents of bullying.  Recognize that bullying will most often happen when you are not watching – In the lunchroom, the bathrooms, the playground, the hallways.  Just because you did not see it does not mean it did not happen!
Be a listener. Be supportive.   Report incidents to your school administration as promptly as possible.

For parents:  talk to your child about feelings – openly and often.  They need to know that when things go wrong, you will be there to support them.  Stay closely involved with school administrators and teachers.  Does the staff understand about hearing loss?  Really understand?

About cyberbullying:  This form of bullying may be the most insidious and dangerous of all. While our deaf and hard of hearing students find invaluable and positive connections online, the potential for negative interactions has increased disproportionately.

How can we be proactive about cyberbullying?  By being fully aware of what websites are being used.  If we as adults continue to make excuses about our lack of skill or disdain for social media, we are inadvertently providing limitless opportunities for our children to be vulnerable to cyberbullying.

Recognize, React, and Raise Awareness

October month is dedicated to Bullying Prevention but teachers and parents of deaf and hard of hearing children are fully aware that the need to protect vulnerable students is ongoing. Find a wealth of resources to stop bullying in your family or classroom or school in the following websites.

Resources for Teachers and Parents

• https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/get-help-now
• http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/teaching-students-to-prevent-bullying
• https://stompoutbullying.org/get-help/about-bullying-and-cyberbullying
• https://www.lebonheur.org/blogs/practical-parenting/keeping-up-with-your-child-online
• https://www.pacer.org/bullying/classroom/planet-fitness/
• Kraizer, S. (2007). 10 Days to a Bully-Proof Child. Marlowe & Co., New York. https://www.amazon.com/10-Days-Bully-Proof-Child-Confidence/dp/1569242534

References

1. Warner-Czyz, A. D., et. al. (2018) Effect of hearing loss on peer victimization in school-age children. Exceptional Children. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-children-loss-bullying.html . Download from: https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Children-with-hearing-loss-face-more-bullying-2018.pdf
2. 2016 news: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/national/burke-high-school-investigating-bullying-incident-after-it-goes-viral
3. Van den Bedem, N.P., et al, (2018). Victimization, bullying, and emotional competence: Longitudinal associations in (Pre)Adolescents with and without developmental language disorder, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 61, 2028-2044.
4. Goberis, D., Beams, D., Daples, M., Abrisch, A., Baca, R. & Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2012). The Missing Link in Language Development of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: Pragmatic language development. Seminars in Speech and Language, (2012), 33:4, 297-309.
5. Bullying Advice for Parents of Deaf Children. National Deaf Children Society in the UK. Download from: https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Bullying-Advice-for-Parents-of-Deaf-Children-NDCS-UK.pdf
6. Warner-Czyz, A. D. (2018). Peer victimization of children with hearing loss. The Hearing Journal, October. Download from: https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Peer_Victimization_of_Children_with_Hearing_Loss.4.pdf

Author: Karen L. Anderson, PhD
Click here to download this article

The post We Need to Tame Teasing/Bullying! first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

Are my clothes ‘cool’ enough? Will any boy like me? Will girls think I’m a dweeb? Worries like these are common for almost all teens as they enter middle school and/or high school. They want to both assert their independence to be seen as who they are, and to hide in the crowd so they won’t be seen as too different. It is a confusing time.

From approximately age 12-19 years children develop a strong affiliation and devotion to ideals, causes, and friends. They are concerned with how they appear to others. They establish this new sense of self by using past experiences to guide their anticipation of the future (i.e., successful integration with hearing peers vs. frequent teasing due to hearing differences). In their desire to ‘be more like the person my group expects me to become’ adolescents with hearing loss who have no other DHH peers, or successful DHH role models often feel that to be part of the group, they need to pass as normal hearing. We often see this result as ‘forgetting’, breaking, or refusing to use hearing devices. It may be refusal to use HAT in the classroom, or not wearing one or both hearing aids.

At this stage students are working on how they integrate into society as a whole as an independent person, separate from family and established supports (like long time DHH support services). There are additional challenges to developing an identity when a person is a minority in a group – in this case having a hearing loss when peers are typically hearing. A higher rate of anxiety and depression as compared to hearing peers was revealed in a 2021 study¹ that asked 104 individuals ages 12-18 attending otology clinic appointments to complete a survey to look at the association between mental health and hearing loss.

Results of this study found that 25% of adolescents scored above the clinical cut-off for significant issues for anxiety or depression and 9% were found significant for both. More importantly, 30% scored in the at-risk range for depression and 21% scored in the at-risk range for anxiety.

Children with depression and/or anxiety are 7 times more likely to have accrued more than 2 weeks of school absences and are 3 times more likely to be non-compliant with recommendations like refusing use of hearing devices, which, as a result will negatively affect communication abilities, quality of life, speech understanding, and social interactions.

If we know that students with hearing loss are at much higher risk for anxiety and depression, what can we do?²

Four types of integration in this case must be considered and facilitated:

a) Coming to feel like I belong to my peer group and immediate community
b) Coming to feel like I am an integrated part of the community of persons with hearing loss
c) Internally integrating how much I am like my peer group along with my differences
d) Coming out – or feeling okay with how I present myself as a person with hearing loss (disclosure)

Focus on all four of these components is necessary for the person to feel empowered and integrated into the hearing community as a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, along with integrating into the DHH community itself.

Early Skill Building Is Not Enough.  Building resilience to teasing, skills at making friends, and developing perseverance in challenging communication situations will go far in helping ANY student to weather the travails of adolescence. Even with attention to these skills, the drive to ‘fit in’ is often so strong that the student with hearing loss feels he must reconcile who he knows he is (a student who has a hearing loss) with what he perceives his peer group wants him to be (someone who does not use hearing devices).

The greatest impact in this situation occurs when the student to comes to realize
1) he is not alone in having a hearing loss and facing these challenges, and
2) there are plenty of examples of successful people who have gone through what he is going through now.

Secondary schools pool student bodies from a number of elementary or middle schools. If a student was a ‘one and only’ in elementary, there may be a small number of DHH peers attending the same secondary school. For the sake of student mental health, continued device use, and resulting academic performance, it should become a high priority to get together secondary students. If this cannot be accomplished at the same building, then it should be pursued in an online format.

Suggestions for what to share in a group or discuss with individual teens:
Teacher Tools Takeout Subscribers have access to Kool Kidz Vidz to show, share, and discuss with one or more teens. Play A Wizard’s Challenge Game to get at what it feels like to be a ‘wizard’ in a world of ‘muggles’. Talk about How to Be Cool with the group. Teachers can read more about self-concept, strategies and assessment. Other items from Teacher Tools Takeout – search for Self-Concept or 0366, 0374, 0658.

1. https://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/Fulltext/2021/04000/Understanding_Depression_and_Anxiety_in.5.aspx
2. Building Self-Confidence & Resilience to Maximize Acceptance of Hearing Devices (book) https://teachertoolstakeout.com/0637-interpretation-assessment

Author: Karen L. Anderson, PhD
Click here to download this article

The post Teens and the Price to Pass as ‘Normal’ first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

Social skills are typically learned by children with little effort starting at a young age. These skills are shaped by children watching others and having other people react to their behavior. How we learn social skills is based on very subtle cues, such as facial expression, body posture and quiet auditory cues. Because of their smaller “listening bubbles” children with hearing loss do not pick up language and the subtle aspects of interactions going on around them as fully as their peers with typical hearing.

Research indicates  that pragmatic information – or that language that supports social communication – is learned more slowly by children with hearing loss. Most 7-year-olds do not have the same skills as 4-year-olds with typical hearing. The table to the right is a list of the skills that are considered to be “building blocks” of social communication that are often areas of weakness for children with hearing loss to perform or to do as appropriately as other children their age without hearing loss.

These are all skills that families can demonstrate for children, have them repeat, and slowly shape appropriate use of this language.

Teaching language about emotions; calling attention to how others may feel

Here you can create the content that will be used within the module.

The post Social Issues and Your Child first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month.

Gallaudet researchers found that 812 deaf and hard of hearing students in eleven U.S. schools reported instances of bullying at rates 2-3 times higher than reported by hearing students.  It is obvious that bullying is a serious problem.  What is not always so clear is how parents, teachers, and deaf/hard of hearing students can work together to resolve it.

The Problem:

The incidence of bullying in the deaf or hard of hearing student population is a significant, even startling, reality. A 2018 study¹ found that adolescents with hearing loss endured significantly higher incidence of bullying versus the general population (50.0% vs. 28.0%), particularly for exclusion (26.3% vs. 4.7%) and coercion (17.5% vs. 3.6%). Children younger than 12 years with hearing loss reported lower rates of bullying (38.7%) than adolescents with HL, but rates did not differ significantly.

“I thought more children and adolescents with hearing loss would report getting picked on, but I did not expect the rates to be twice as high as the general population,” said Dr. Andrea Warner-Czyz, study author.

In 2016², the story of a deaf high school student in Nebraska was reported on television news.  Students had taken his backpack during a lunch period and dumped it in a toilet.  Contained inside were his tablet, school supplies, homework, debit card, and his cochlear implant.  The student, Alexis Hernandez, reported: “Those students think it’s ok to bully a deaf student, but it’s not.  It’s not OK to bully someone who is disabled, deaf, or hard of hearing.  Or anyone for that matter.”

Another study³ found that students who had lower language abilities were more vulnerable to victimization if they lacked understanding of their own emotions and levels of anger, sadness, and fear. As students with hearing loss have a greater risk for difficulty in being able to identify and describe emotional states⁴, recognizing that these challenges may contribute to victimization has important implications for intervention.

Bullying can be⁵:

• verbal: name-calling, insulting, teasing, ridiculing
• emotional/indirect: ignoring or deliberately excluding, spreading rumors or nasty stories, turning friends against the child, laughing at them or talking about them behind their back, taking, hiding or damaging their personal belongings, drawing unkind pictures of the child, using a feature of the child’s disability to bully them, e.g. deliberately making loud noises near a deaf child who is known to find loud noises unpleasant, creeping up on them from behind to scare them, deliberately making a noise when the teacher is giving instructions.
• physical: any physical contact which would hurt such as hitting, kicking, pinching, pushing, shoving, tripping up, pulling out hearing aids.
• manipulation/controlling behavior: using the child’s vulnerability as a way of controlling them or making them do something the bully wants them to do.
• cyberbullying: using electronic media (internet, mobile phones) to bully someone. This includes bullying through text messages, instant messaging, email, chat forums, online games and social networking websites.

Solutions:

Once we recognize what forms the behavior takes, what possible solutions are available for our students who are vulnerable?

Incorporate routine screening for bullying via direct questions⁶:

1. 1. Ask the child about friends. A response of “none” or “few friends” deserves additional prompting (Why do you think that is?).
2. 2. Inquire if the child avoids going to school and request more information on the assistance the child has accessed.
3. 3. Ask the child directly if he or she has experienced bullying. If the child answers “yes,” ask follow-up questions and refer the child to school and community resources.

Address developing skills to reduce victimization in the student IEP⁶:

Issues related to peer victimization can also be included on individualized education plans or 504 plans. For example, educational plans can specify informing teachers and classmates about hearing loss. Plans can also include a safe environment statement designating a “home base” where a student can go when feeling unsafe and/or a “safe person” with whom a student can discuss difficult situations. Additionally, education plans could include strategies to reduce vulnerability and improve response to bullying by targeting social pragmatic skills (e.g., taking turns and asking questions; reading facial expressions and body language) via one-on-one instruction, role playing, or social stories. Organizing a social skills group can help children develop social competencies in a supportive environment. Clinicians can also help patients address assertiveness and/or self-advocacy, with specific training to identify and report bullying, say “no” to stop the situation, and request assistance from a trusted source.

For teachers:  provide ongoing education to keep students aware that the bullying they may be experiencing – or doing to others – is unacceptable.  Give your students a safe and open communication pathway for reporting incidents of bullying.  Recognize that bullying will most often happen when you are not watching – In the lunchroom, the bathrooms, the playground, the hallways.  Just because you did not see it does not mean it did not happen!

Be a listener. Be supportive.   Report incidents to your school administration as promptly as possible.

For parents:  talk to your child about feelings – openly and often.  They need to know that when things go wrong, you will be there to support them.  Stay closely involved with

school administrators and teachers.  Does the staff understand about hearing loss?  Really understand?

About cyberbullying:  This form of bullying may be the most insidious and dangerous of all. While our deaf and hard of hearing students find invaluable and positive connections online, the potential for negative interactions has increased disproportionately.

How can we be proactive about cyberbullying?  By being fully aware of what websites are being used.  If we as adults continue to make excuses about our lack of skill or disdain for social media, we are inadvertently providing limitless opportunities for our children to be vulnerable to cyberbullying.

Recognize, React, and Raise Awareness

October month is dedicated to Bullying Prevention but teachers and parents of deaf and hard of hearing children are fully aware that the need to protect vulnerable students is ongoing. Find a wealth of resources to stop bullying in your family or classroom or school in the following websites.

Resources for Teachers and Parents

• http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/teaching-students-to-prevent-bullying
• https://stompoutbullying.org/get-help/about-bullying-and-cyberbullying
• https://www.lebonheur.org/blogs/practical-parenting/keeping-up-with-your-child-online
• https://www.pacer.org/bullying/classroom/planet-fitness/
• Kraizer, S. (2007). 10 Days to a Bully-Proof Child. Marlowe & Co., New York. https://www.amazon.com/10-Days-Bully-Proof-Child-Confidence/dp/1569242534

References

1. 1. Warner-Czyz, A. D., et. al. (2018) Effect of hearing loss on peer victimization in school-age children. Exceptional Children. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-children-loss-bullying.html . Download from: https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Children-with-hearing-loss-face-more-bullying-2018.pdf
2. 2. 2016 news: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/national/burke-high-school-investigating-bullying-incident-after-it-goes-viral
3. 3. Van den Bedem, N.P., et al, (2018). Victimization, bullying, and emotional competence: Longitudinal associations in (Pre)Adolescents with and without developmental language disorder, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 61, 2028-2044.
4. 4. Goberis, D., Beams, D., Daples, M., Abrisch, A., Baca, R. & Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2012). The Missing Link in Language Development of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: Pragmatic language development. Seminars in Speech and Language, (2012), 33:4, 297-309.
5. 5. Bullying Advice for Parents of Deaf Children. National Deaf Children Society in the UK. Download from: https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Bullying-Advice-for-Parents-of-Deaf-Children-NDCS-UK.pdf
6. 6. Warner-Czyz, A. D. (2018). Peer victimization of children with hearing loss. The Hearing Journal, October. Download from: https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Peer_Victimization_of_Children_with_Hearing_Loss.4.pdf

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In most classrooms, new information is presented in a lecture format supplemented by reading material, until students build surface knowledge of the topic. Interaction activities such as classroom discussion, small group work, and partner problem-solving are used to solidify surface knowledge and to move students to a deeper level of understanding¹. Therefore, how well students are able to converse in the classroom setting truly impacts their move toward deeper understanding and learning at the expected pace.

On the way to deeper understanding: For students with hearing loss, keeping pace in moving to a deeper level of understanding can be very challenging. Background, or world knowledge is necessary to build surface level understanding of a specific topic. Prior knowledge is an excellent predictor of performance. Our students tend to have ‘Swiss cheese language’ with unpredictable knowledge gaps in vocabulary and concepts. They also are often limited in the number of language attributes they use to describe objects or concepts, further contributing to their gaps and limited world knowledge. Imagine learning about the conquistadors if you lacked knowledge of geography, discoveries of early explorers, and that there are different countries and they may desire different things.

Filling the gaps. Due to prior knowledge deficits we can expect that surface learning will take longer for students with hearing loss than their typically hearing peers. Students who have a less complete understanding of surface level information are not going to benefit to the same degree, or at the same rate, during interactive peer activities that are meant to move them to deeper understanding. “Closing the language gaps” is not something that is a nice extra touch to provide to our students if there is a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing available – it is a necessary accommodation for equal access to learning.

Added to typical knowledge deficits is the reality that reduced precision listening ability caused by hearing loss very often delays literacy skill development and slows reading fluency. Teaching vocabulary, when the student does not have sufficient phonological awareness skills, will not develop the reading fluency needed for comprehension, especially in the secondary grades.

Conversational inequalities. Research² has indicated that during one-on-one conversations in a quiet setting, students with hearing loss have conversational skills equivalent to their hearing peers. This includes skills for initiating a conversation, maintaining a dialogue over several turns, shifting the topic, and terminating the conversation. In a typical mainstream classroom, there are many choices for communication partners along with background noise, reverberation, and listening at distances beyond 3 feet. These conditions all interfere with speech perception of students who are hard of hearing.

Students with hearing loss make 25% fewer overall communication attempts than their hearing peers. They also often seem unaware that their peers had tried to initiate conversation and do not attempt to maintain a conversation. When they attempt to maintain a conversation, they generally use one-to-two-word phrases to maintain communication and do not add new information.

Students with hearing loss frequently try to maintain the conversation by bringing up a topic that is unrelated to the conversation. In other words, they are not aware enough of the content of the conversation to contribute information, so they bring up a new topic. Thus, when classroom activities move to peer interaction as a way to facilitate deeper understanding it is often very challenging for students with hearing loss to participate successfully. As can be inferred by the research, in quiet settings performance in conversation equal peers. Therefore, it is the unequal acoustic access in the classroom that results in conversational challenges for students who are hard of hearing. This provides a powerful argument for the use of hearing assistance technology that will improve perception of peer voices in 1:1 or group settings.

Challenges repairing communication breakdowns. Another aspect of conversation relates to what a person does when they do not fully understand what another person has said. One study³ found that persons with hearing loss have difficulty when a shift in topic is made during conversation. The more predictable the conversation, the fewer the likelihood of communication breakdowns. If a student is sitting with a group of peers who maintain their focus on the problem-solving task, the level of understanding is likely much higher than if the student was in a group who wandered off topic repeatedly. The teacher needs to be aware of this issue when pairing our students with different partners or groups.

Keeping up in the classroom is a challenge for children with hearing loss due to access issues that interfere with understanding conversational communication and the gaps in knowledge resulting from decreased  auditory access since infancy (or sign communication with limited language models since infancy). Filling the gaps of vocabulary and phonological awareness is necessary for students to keep up with class expectations for developing surface learning. Access to classroom discussion and for all group activities is necessary for

deep learning to occur. Providing the appropriate access technology is a necessity if we are to allow deeper learning to occur within the classroom. Selecting appropriate group partners and honing communication repair skills is also critical to achieving at the same rate and to the same level as peers.

References:

1. 1. Fisher, Frey, Hattie (2016) Visible Learning for Literacy Grades K12: Implementing the Practices that Work Best to Accelerate Student Learning. Corwin/SAGE, Thousand Oaks, California
2. 2. Duncan (2001). Conversational skills of children with hearing loss and children with normal hearing in an integrated setting. The Volta Review, 101(4), 193211.
3. 3. Caissie (2002). Conversational topic shifting and its effect on communication breakdowns for individuals with hearing loss. TheVolta Review, 102(2), 4556

Some products to check out related to this topic:

• Cracking the Grammar Code (download the free assessment guide!)
• Evidence-Based Practice in Educating Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students
• Latin and Greek Roots
• Phonological Awareness Chipper Chat
• SCRIPT – Student Communication Repair Inventory & Practical Training 2^nd Ed
• Promoting Language & Literacy in Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• Language Strategies for Little Ones

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Peer Victimization and Hearing Loss

More than ¼ of school-aged children experience bullying or peer-victimization. The risk of this negative treatment increases for children who have lower social competence, presence of special needs, or overall seem “different” from their peer group.

In general, adolescents who do not “fit in” experience twice the rate of peer victimization than the general population. Adolescents with special needs are most frequently teased, gossiped about, and socially excluded.

Children with hearing loss have a higher risk of peer victimization due to the visibility of their hearing devices, poorer speech perception, articulation/ pronunciation differences, delays in language skills, social difficulties, and difficulty making and maintaining peer relationships. A 2012 study reported the incidence of peer victimization for children with hearing loss ranging from 17-67% dependent upon the degree of difference perceived by typical peers.

A recent study¹ was conducted on peer victimization of children with hearing loss who wore hearing devices, communicated orally, and were educated in the mainstream classroom. The study included 56 children ages 12-18 years. Their mean age for hearing device fitting was 3.3 years and they averaged 10.8 years of experience using their hearing devices. These participants completed a series of questionnaires exploring their communication competence, social competence, temperament, and level and type of peer victimization.

The results of this study found that adolescents who used hearing devices reported significantly higher rates of victimization than those in the general population (50% versus 28%). Compared to the general adolescent population, adolescents with hearing loss reported the following prevalence: teasing (25.8% versus 18.8%), rumors (21.1% versus 16.5%), and social exclusion (26.3% versus 4.7%), and coercion (17.5% versus 3.6%). Males and females experienced victimization at similar rates, but the type of victimization varied with males having higher rates of coercion and females having higher rates of social exclusion.

The bullied and non-bulled groups of students with hearing loss did not differ on measures of communication competence, social competence, temperament, or behavior. Children from families with lower socioeconomic states and parenting styles characterized by abuse or overprotection have higher victimization rates, whereas those who have supportive family relationships are more protected against the impact of bullying.

Peer victimization demands attention from both parents and professionals.

Stigma and Hearing Loss

Among adults not pursuing hearing care, 21% described hearing aids as “too embarrassing”, 15% described them as “unattractive”, and 14% claimed hearing aids were “too noticeable”. These all represent the perceived stigma of having a hearing loss. Stigma can be divided into two types:

External or environmental stigma – messages that people with hearing loss receive from other people, such as impatience, embarrassment, discomfort, or anger related to increased communication difficulty with the person who has the hearing loss. Examples of environmental stigma for children could include a teacher looking annoyed when a child drops of the HAT microphone, being ignored by classmates during group work, or any type of teasing or other peer-victimization. Home examples could include being excluded from family conversations, being discouraged to use hearing devices in public “so people don’t know,” or being yelled at for not following a parent’s instructions because the direction was not heard.

Internal stigma – negative messages that people with hearing loss tell themselves that are triggered by the embarrassment, vulnerability, shame, and/or fear they feel as they anticipate or experience increased communication challenges. Examples of internal stigma for children could include eating lunch alone because it is too hard to understand what peers are saying in the noisy environment, not wanting to participate in class discussions because of experiences providing an answer to a question different than the one asked, or not requesting clarification or repetition of information missed auditorily because they don’t want to “stick out.”  A home example includes the child isolating himself from family activities or acting out behaviorally because he cannot readily understand what is being said and has received impatient or angry responses when asking for clarification.

Strategies to Reduce the Impact of Stigma and Peer-Victimization

Dealing with stigma and teasing or bullying can have far-reaching effects on school performance and self-concept.  Students who expect that negative consequences will occur when they self-advocate or use their hearing devices are much more likely to reject use of their devices and not fully participate in the general education curriculum. There are some strategies in common, and some different when helping children develop resilience in dealing with these issues.

Addressing Victimization and Stigma

1. Issues related to stigma and peer victimization can be included on IEPs or 504 plans, for example:

a. Specify the need to inform teachers and classmates about hearing loss to reduce negative responses to the student and/or hearing devices.
b. Provide a safe environment statement designing a “home base” where a student can go when feeling unsafe or a “safe person” with whom a student can discuss difficult situations.
c. IEPs can include strategies to reduce vulnerability and improve response to bullying by targeting response to bully and social pragmatic skills, via 1:1 instruction, role playing, or social stories.
d. IEPs can target self-advocacy and communication repair skill development, including addressing assertiveness. Work on changing “I can’t” statements to “I can” to improve resilience when negative situations occur.
e. IEPs can target the student’s knowledge of their hearing loss and hearing devices, including understanding their most challenging listening situations, what they or others can do to improve their communication effectiveness. Students should learn and practice how to describe their hearing loss, including how to respond to questions about their hearing loss and hearing devices.

2. Identify if the student is one of the approximately 50% of students with hearing loss who are victimized. Ask the child directly if they have experienced bullying and if so, what kind (coercion, social exclusion, physical harm, gossip, teased). When is the victimization happening? In the classroom? Hall? Bus stop? How pervasive is this treatment? Help them understand that many, if not most, students experience some type of peer victimization at some point during their school years. They are not alone.

Resilience on Orange Puzzle on White Background.

3. Education about WHY students become bullies, what they get out of bullying someone, and what keeps a bully coming back for further bad treatment will help the student understand that they are not the only victims. This also goes for groups who exclude or coerce students, not only teasing situations. In the IEP include a goal to teach the specifics of what NOT to do in each of these situations, along with appropriate responses.

4. 4. Use the Kool Kidz Vidz available to members on Teacher Tools Takeout to expose ‘one and only’ students who use hearing devices in their schools to other students with hearing loss who have had the same experiences with stigma from hearing loss. The discussion points provided with each Kool Kidz Vid make these easy ‘go to’ materials with a potential for high impact.

5. Connecting students who use hearing devices with one another may have the most powerful effect on reducing the impact of stigma and bullying by strengthening self-concept, self-confidence to self-advocate, while reducing feelings of isolation. IEP goals for self-advocacy can be met via group work (face-to-face or virtually) with DHH peers using devices. Students who come into contact with DHH peers are less likely to reject use of their hearing devices. As a group:

a. Discuss all types of peer victimization with a pair of DHH peers or a larger group of DHH peers. Encourage discussion of which types of negative treatment have been experienced.
b. Discuss both external and internal stigma along with individuals having the power to overcome negative messages as part of their journey figuring out who they are and who they want to become (goals for after high school).
c. Talk about the perception of “different” and how this increases the risk for victimization. Help students work through the concept that it is the hearing loss that makes them different and this cannot be changed. Hearing devices help them behave more normally (less “different”) because they can hear, comprehend, and respond in social situations better than if they were not using hearing devices.

Resources used for this article:

Peer Victimization of Children with Hearing Loss, A. D. Warner-Czyz, Hearing Journal, Oct, 2018.

Incorporating Stigma Counseling into Audiology Practice, H. Cohen & N. M. Williams, Hearing Journal, Sept, 2018.

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