Educational Audiology is a “Related Service” under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Many children with hearing loss attend public schools. These are children who wear hearing aids, cochlear implants, may only be deaf in one ear, or have an auditory processing disorder. Hearing loss is a “low incidence” disability, so there aren’t many of these students in each school. Most regular and special education teachers have never had training in hearing loss.
If your child has a hearing loss and is on an IEP, they should have access to an EdAud.
To make sure this service happens, write educational audiology into your child’s IEP, just as any other related service.
What about a Section 504 Plan? Yes! A 504 indicates that your child needs accommodations to access the curriculum. Accommodations for a student with hearing loss can include:
- how the teacher presents information
- how they speak to the class so your child can understand them
- repeating the other students’ comments
- addressing classroom acoustics
- closed captioning on videos
- and, very likely, a HAT
This article, Children with Hearing Loss Need an Educational Audiologist on their Education Team by Kym Meyer, will answer questions like these.
What is an educational audiologist? What does an EdAud do?
Who should select and fit Hearing Assistance Technology (HAT)?
Does a child on a 504 plan access educational audiology?
What are the differences between an educational audiologist & teacher of the deaf?
My school says no – what can I do?
Educational Audiology Association Resources
Educational Audiology Services Under IDEA: Pertinent Regulations
School Based Audiology Services
School Based Audiological Assessments
Auditory Processing Assessment
Hello, I am 15 and have a hearing loss. I attend a public school and am wondering if there is a difference in testing with a 504 versus IEP. I have had between a 3.8 and 4.0 GPA my entire academic career. However, they still want to place me in separate testing, and additional testing to evaluate my growth. I feel I want this more tailored to my needs because I don’t have a learning disability, so maybe instead of academic testing, I could go through another hearing test. Or kids with writing disabilities could go through a writing program to strengthen what they need help on. I don’t need to take an additional math test, when I have a 98% in there, same goes for ELA. Thank you.
The answers may depend on your state rules. I suggest contacting the state parent training & information center. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center