Our Audiology Unit
For students with hearing loss to succeed, they need good access to classroom information. The child’s devices and classroom acoustics need to be monitored, teachers must know how hearing loss affects learning and how to accommodate the student in the class. Canossian School is the only school with an onsite audiology unit to support and advocate for our students with hearing loss. The unit consists of a senior manager, two audiologists, an audiological technician, and an administrative executive to provide audiological support for our students (and staff). It also conducts workshops, produces multimedia resources, and supports partnerships and collaborations with other organisations.
Audiological Support
Our students rely on properly functioning devices to learn and participate actively in lessons. Our staff conduct daily device checks to ensure their devices are working correctly. Our upper primary students are even able to check their devices themselves and with each other!
When devices break down, students benefit most when the issues are addressed quickly. Our audiologists and audiological technician can resolve issues on site or send devices directly to the manufacturers for repairs. In the case of longer repair times, loaner devices and accessories may be provided, and they are also available for purchase.
Our audiologists monitor students’ hearing through annual audio assessments, including pure tone audiometry (PTA) and speech perception tests (SPT) in our audiology lab. These allow us to advise parents if devices remain suitable or require programming or mapping. When the child’s devices no longer serve their needs, we also counsel parents on the various options, such as upgrading their devices to newer models, or cochlear implant surgery (switching from hearing aids to cochlear implants).
The test results and reports are also used by teachers to understand the students’ hearing, speech, and language development, and by other allied health professionals working with the students, such as speech therapists.
Hearing aids require good ear moulds to work well. A good ear mould is as comfortable as possible, and form-fitting so the sound from the hearing aids don’t leak out and cause feedback. However, ear moulds eventually wear out and need replacement. Our experienced audiological technician produces high quality ear moulds for our students in our ear mould laboratory.
Supporting our Students - Compensatory Skills Curriculum
Our audiologists teach a component of Compensatory Skills, where students learn about the ear, the mechanism of hearing, different types of hearing loss, and the various hearing devices. Crucially, they also learn about themselves – their specific type of hearing loss, and their own devices.
It is not all technical knowledge, though. Students learn useful skills such as how to take care of their own hearing devices, and how to get help from staff if they have any issues. These concepts were presented in a simple manner and vocabulary that their age group would be able to understand They learn how to advocate for themselves through knowing their own needs and learning how to get what they need. These lessons allow our students to understand and communicate their needs to others confidently. What they learn in these lessons help them cope and excel in the society even after they leave the school.
Workshops for Staff
Canossian School and Canossian Village staff need to understand and interact with our students with hearing loss. For all new staff, the audio unit runs a regular induction program to teach basic information about hearing loss. It also runs regular workshops for staff who interact with the students more frequently to train them in a variety of topics such as troubleshooting and maintenance of devices, classroom strategies, and more.
Workshops for Parents
The audio unit firmly believes in empowering parents as empowered parents are able to better manage their children. The unit conducts workshops on a regular basis, covering a range of topics including new devices and strategies to manage hearing loss. The unit also works closely with manufacturers to bring up-to-date and relevant information to parents.
Multimedia Resources
The unit regularly writes articles for Reach, the school’s monthly school letter. These articles empower parents in a variety of topics, including how to take care of their children’s devices and make them last longer, and how to maximise the use of their child’s devices at home, including with the digital resources common with today’s Home Based Learning. The unit has also produced a variety of videos showing how parents can check their children’s devices and do basic troubleshooting. These videos have also proved useful during extended periods of Home-Based Learning.
