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Diverse Learning Needs

Faculty Guide for Hearing Loss

College Support

Students with hearing loss and disabilities can request accommodations through the Disability Services Office, under Briana Juneau on the Accommodations and Disability Services page. Please see the "Hearing Loss" Guide for a list of possible accommodations a student may request for your class, and reflect on how those accommodations might be in use in your class environment. Some solutions are on-site and/or off-campus but this is not a finalized list of options, and students may request something not on the list. 

Briana Juneau will contact you in regards to the request from the student and discuss options for accommodations. Supplementary aids and services are not just for the student. Professionals and other staff members can also be provided assistance on behalf of the student, such as specialized training on a device used by a student or specific strategies and techniques needed to support a student. Some options may require additional support from the Academic Support team, such as the Testing Center for scheduling testing/time accommodations, or the Library for obtaining materials or equipment. Here are the contacts in each department: 

The Center for Teaching Excellence's primary goal is to support faculty--both full-time and adjunct--in creating enriching, engaging, and effective learning experiences for all students. The Center can help you structure your course around increasing accessibility for all students by helping introduce faculty to audio aids, video software, and course design. Here are the contacts for the CTE:

Accessible Environment Concepts for Courses

  • Ensure lectures include a visual element that covers all content presented audibly.
  • Enunciate speech clearly and naturally, and position yourself in a well-lit area for visibility.
  • For students with an interpreter, look at and speak directly to the student.
  • Secure student's attention prior to speaking and allow time for student to identify new speaker in open conversations.
  • Offering breaks between sections of content to clarify points and allow students time to keep up with what is being said.
  • Preferential seating is important to students with hearing loss, it is recommended to arrange seating the first day of class, but offer flexible seating for different activities.
  • Have copies of overhead materials (Powerpoints, videos, etc) available for the student to view later.
  • *More concepts may arise through accommodations requested by your student. Please also refer to those requests when making adjustments.

Web Accessible Design Concepts for Courses

  • Provide alternative text for all images, charts and tables. Refer to the Cooper Hewitt Guidelines for Image Description (webpage)
  •  Ensure videos have accurate captions or have transcripts for audio, and lectures cover all content on Powerpoint slides presented.
  • Make PDFs of content and lectures available (**Scanned PDF's are not accessible by screen readers. Please try to convert the original Word document into a PDF when possible**)
  • Do not only rely on color to convey meaning or importance of text.
  • Structure content to be clear and easy to read, utilizing Styles in Word documents to generate a table of contents as opposed to relying on bold, underline, italicize, or text size difference.
  • *For more about web accessible design, review the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WGAC ) 2.0 (webpage)

Community Resources

Louisiana Commission for the Deaf

The Louisiana Commission for the Deaf (LCD) serves as the principal agency of the state for engaging, empowering, and enriching the lives and opportunities of Louisiana d/Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing individuals. The organization provides services and programs to support communication access, advocate for the needs and rights of people who are d/Deaf, and establishing standards for the state's American Sign Language Interpreter workforce with training and professional development.

 

Louisiana Assistive Technology Access Network

The Louisiana Assistive Technology Access Network (LATAN) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to help people of all ages with functional limitations or disabilities to gain greater independence at work, home, or school through the use of assistive technology. Programs include assistive technology lending, demonstrations of assistive technology, and a vendor list to acquire assistive technology.

 

National Resources

National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes

The National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes is a technical assistance and dissemination center funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The organization share information, networks, and strategies to improve continuing education and training for deaf people.

National Center on Accessible Educational Materials

The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning at CAST provided technical assistance, coaching, and resources to increase the availability and use of accessible educational materials and technologies for learners with disabilities across the lifespan.

National Association of the Deaf

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is the nation’s premier civil rights organization of, by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America. The organization's advocacy extends in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more – improving the lives of millions of deaf and hard of hearing Americans. 

Library Resources

These are a selection of books available from the library in both print and electronic formats. More are available when you search the catalog.
 
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