Week 1 - Vision & Hearing Impairment

Question 1

What are the 2 main types of vision impairment?

Answer 1

1. Low Vision

2. Blindness

Question 2

What are some common types of visual impairments?

Answer 2

Myopia, Astigmatism, Hyperopia, Cataracts, Macular Degeneration

Question 3

What are the causes of visual impairment?

Answer 3

• Hereditary
• Viral infections
• Infectious diseases
• Malnutrition
• Vitamin A deficiency
• Accidents/injuries

Question 4

What are some signs we can use to identify visual impairment?

Answer 4

• Rubbing eyes
• Watery eyes
• Redness
• Clumsiness
• Dizziness
• Trouble taking in information from a computer/board
• Poor hand-eye coordination
• Hold objects closer than normal to face

Question 5

What are some inclusive practices/strategies we can use to assist students with visual impairment?

Answer 5

• Place student at desk close to the teacher, door or board
• Allow the child to relocate when needed
• Open or close doors fully
• Provide enlarged print resources
• Provide braille handouts
• Audio tape lectures
• Stick to a routine/schedule
• Repeat information orally

Question 6

What are the 2 main types of hearing impairment?

Answer 6

1. Deafness
   - Major difficulty processing linguistic information with or without a hearing aid
2. Hard of hearing
   - Has residual hearing sufficient enough to process linguistic information with use of a hearing aid

Question 7

What are some causes of hearing impairment?

Answer 7

BEFORE BIRTH

• Hereditary
• Infectious diseases
• Drugs
• Malnutrition

DURING BIRTH

• Use of forceps
• Lack of oxygen
• Premature delivery
• Anaesthetic

AFTER BIRTH

• Measles, Mumps, Whooping Cough, Typhoid, Meningitis
• Infections in nasal cavities
• Middle ear infection

Question 8

What are some signs we can use to identify hearing impairment?

Answer 8

• Frequent earaches
• Difficulty understanding what is being said/hearing sounds
• Observing lip movement
• Poor speech and sentence construction
• Limited vocabulary
• Inability to stay on task
• Appearing stressed or tense
• Tendency to daydream
• Deficits in academics

Question 9

What are some inclusive practices/strategies we can use to assist students with hearing impairment?

Answer 9

• Speak clearly and loudly
• Repeat instructions
• Use sign language
• Use handouts
• Ask questions to check learning/comprehension
• Use appropriate hand gestures
• Use a variety of technologies (e.g. computer, tv with closed captioning)