PEEP This! Show & Tell

When describing your child's hearing loss to their school or childcare provider, having a copy of an audiogram such as this or the one found here (click link for another example) , may help them to visually see what your child can and cannot hear. A copy of their personal audiogram from the audiologist (if you can provide one) paired with one displaying where speech sounds fall like this chart, may help provide a better understanding of your child's hearing loss. Keep in mind, classrooms and daycares are much noisier than the sound proof booths that the audiologists use for testing so remind them that background noises can certainly lesson what they may see on paper as the amount of hearing your child has with his or her hearing device(s).

PEEP This! Fast Fact on Letter Writing

According to ADAP on letter writing (click here, see page 85)...
Contacting your school is best done through letter writing. Although emails also leave paper trails, they can get lost or overlooked or get filed under spam mail. Phone calls should always be documented and beginning on page 85 of link above, they give you examples of not only letter writing, but of how to document phone calls as well. They recommend letter writing because you can write it, set it aside for a day, reread it and have others read and make recommendations before you send it to the school. If you are unsure who to direct your concerns with, ADAP recommends sending letter to the principal so he/she can send to the appropriate party. I highly recommend you look at these examples so you can give clear messages, and get clear responses. Always date your letters, even notes to your teacher, remembering they sometimes have substitute teachers on days you may send a letter with your child. Also recommended is stating concerns in fact, rather than emotion. I prefer to use statements such as "He needs ....." rather than "We feel like he...." for example. More Fast Facts to come. Check out ADAP's website for more info.