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Services for Students with Cochlear Implants
Kendall School and MSSD
The Cochlear Implant Education Center at The Laurent Clerc National Deaf
Education Center works collaboratively with teachers and staff to provide a range of on-site educational and support services
to students enrolled in our Demonstration Schools (Kendall Demonstration
Elementary School and Model Secondary School for the Deaf). Services are
determined based on the individual needs of each student, guided by the
IFSP/IEP process. These services are one component of the larger national
goals of the Cochlear Implant Education Center to investigate the use
of cochlear implant technology in the education and lives of children
who also use sign language.
Services to all Enrolled Students and Families
- Family education and counseling—Specialists are available
to help families obtain information to understand the technology of
a cochlear implant and make decisions regarding whether or not a cochlear
implant is an appropriate choice for their child.
- Auditory and Speech Skill Training—Based on each child's
IFSP/IEP, individualized auditory and speech development support services
are provided using a systematic building of listening and speech skills
to support students in integrating increasingly complex and challenging
spoken language into their educational program and their lives outside
of school.
- Assistive Technology in the Classroom—Computer, audiotape,
and videotape technology are used in the classroom to facilitate the
development and use of auditory and speech skills.
- Student Counseling—Direct counseling services are provided
for students before, during, and after the implant process.
- Collaboration with Implant Centers—Collaboration with
hospital implant centers is available to coordinate therapy approaches
and support carryover of therapy techniques from the clinic, to the
school and the home.
- Device monitoring—Basic troubleshooting services are
provided by Clerc Center Audiologists. Additional replacement parts
are maintained at school. On-site mapping services are available to
make necessary adjustments to a speech processor or to reprogram a speech
processor. Any mapping decisions/changes are made in collaboration with
each child's hospital implant center.
- Student Workshops and Support Groups: Workshops
are offered to support students going through the process of receiving
a cochlear implant to prepare the student and his/her classmates.
For those students with cochlear implants, workshops are offered throughout
the school year related to care and maintenance of the technology and
strategies for optimal use. Student support groups offer students
with cochlear implants an opportunity to share experiences and to problem
solve.
Kendall School Services
COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST/SPOKEN LANGUAGE
 Services
provided include:
For students in the candidacy process:
- Direct habilitation services in conjunction with team Communication
Specialist/Speech. These sessions provide opportunities to prepare students
for the training protocol that will follow implantation.
- Coordination with family, school counselors, school audiologists,
and surgical implant center representatives to develop a plan and provide
services to promote student understanding of the various components
of the implant process (candidacy procedures, surgery, mapping, equipment,
expectations with the implant, habilitation, etc…)
For students with implants:
- Assessment of language and communication functioning in both spoken
language and sign language. On-going documentation of communication
development includes videotape documentation of changes in spoken language
and changes in sign language. These videotaped records are shared with parents and members of the student's educational team in providing input
for IEP and IFSP decisions.
- Participation in the IFSP/IEP process to document an individualized
language development plan for each student.
- Provision of resource support to teachers and other professionals
to facilitate integration of spoken language into each child's classroom.
- Direct auditory and speech therapy for students with implants in
conjunction with Communication Specialists/Speech on each academic team.
- Family education and support to promote carryover of skills into
the home.
- Collaboration with hospital implant center auditory and speech habilitation
specialists to promote consistency of training activities from the hospital
center to the school
CLASSROOM SERVICES
Parent- Infant Programs
 Services
for students with implants and for families considering implants are provided
on a case-by-case basis. The child's teacher, in conjunction with other
Support Service Team members (Cochlear Implant Center Coordinator, Speech-Language
Pathologists, Audiologists) provide support related to helping families
understand the possible role a cochlear implant may have for their child,
helping families through the implantation process should they decide to
pursue an implant, and providing direct habilitation services to children
with implants.
 Nursery
Program
Children with cochlear implants are integrated into classrooms having
students with a range of hearing levels, amplification use, and language/communication
competence. Professionals working with the children provide proficient
language models for both American Sign Language and Spoken English. The
primary objective is to facilitate language development and effective
communication with a range of students in an environment that is aware
of and responsive to the individual communication/language needs of each
student and effective practices in the education of young deaf children.
For group activities that are inclusive of all students, ASL is
the language of instruction. For one-to-one activities, teachers
and staff adjust communication use based on individual student functioning
levels and goals, as well as the context and goal of the activity.
Students with cochlear implants and other specified students with auditory access (based on
IFSP) participate in daily small group time. During this
time, specific activities/strategies are faciltated using spoken English only.
Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade
 Individualized
classroom and support services are determined through the IFSP/IEP
process. A plan is developed that designates times for auditory and speech
training, as well as recommendations to incorporate activities and strategies
to support spoken language development and use in the classroom environment.
Each child's plan is unique and depends on their individualized academic
and communication development needs.
Model Secondary School for the Deaf
 Students
with cochlear implants are integrated into existing MSSD classrooms. Service
and additional supports for students related to cochlear implants are
monitored by the MSSD audiologist. The audiologist works collaboratively
with other Support Service Specialists and teachers on each educational
team to integrate a student's implant needs into his/her educational program.
Some of the services provided to MSSD students related to cochlear implants
include:
- Completion of a "Needs Assessment" on each student with
an implant to determine supports necessary in the areas of adjustment
and monitoring of the implant device, provision of counseling services,
development of support groups, provision of auditory and speech training.
- Direct auditory and speech training provided by the MSSD audiologist
and/or a Speech Language Pathologist based on goals documented through
the IEP process.
- Audiological services, including complete audiologic evaluation, mapping
of implant devices, troubleshooting of implant equipment, and counseling
regarding assistive devices to use with implants.
- Workshops for students who do not have implants, but are interested
in learning more about this technology.
- Support groups and individual counseling services available as needed
for students with implants.
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