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Including Deaf Children At Preschool – Part One
By admin | February 15, 2010
This spring, the Irish government rolls out its free preschool year for all children born between February 2, 2005 to June 30, 2006 (with exemptions for children with special needs). The Early Child Care & Education (ECCE) initiative, which is open to all preschools in Ireland, is profiled on IDK.
IDK will this week share tips from a mum and creche manager who collaborated to include a deaf child in the facility’s daily activities.
For children with deafness, preschool is a pivotal stage in their language development, when the foundations for their future learning are being laid.
Teamwork by parents and staff at creches or preschools is the key to meeting a child’s specific needs and maximising their learning potential. Depending on the child’s deafness, this learning may centre on
(1) early intervention and (2) language development.
Early Intervention
At its simplest, early intervention has two main goals:
- To teach the child to communicate, and to interact socially
- For the child to learn how to participate fully in family life
Preschool staff working with deaf children can support this communication development by giving the child one-on-time to consolidate recent learning. Advice is available from DeafHear and the HSE’s Early Intervention team.
Here are some links to this effect:
- Educational Supports for Deaf Children in Ireland
- New Simply Signing Initiative For Parents & Teachers
- Parent Question: How Early To Teach Lip-reading
- Communication Development: Linking Items To Words
- Visual Learning In The Preschool & Primary Years (pdf file)
- Communication Options chart (for reference only)
Language Development
Severely deaf children don’t automatically absorb language in their daily environment, so their early words need to be taught by visual means & gestures. Some children learn signs, with others relying on lip-reading.
Some useful links:
- Early Language Teaching At Home
- Baby Books & Flash Cards For Language Teaching
- Digital Photos For New Words & Concepts
- IBM’s KidSmart PC Supports Language Learning
Reading is an essential skill for the children to develop as a visual way of accessing information. Here is some advice on reading with deaf children.
Above all – enjoy the learning process!
Further Reading:
The Early Childhood Care & Education Scheme explained
ISL and Lamh – Key Differences
Teaching Lamh or ISL To Childrens’ Classmates
The IDK Forum (Communications Area)
Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | 8 Comments »
February 25th, 2010 at 10:24 am
[...] Including Deaf Children At Preschool – Part Two [...]
March 16th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
[...] Including Deaf Children At Preschool – Part One [...]
April 27th, 2010 at 11:17 am
[...] Including Deaf Children At Preschool – Part One (plus links) [...]
May 16th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
[...] Including Deaf Children At Preschool – Part One (plus links) [...]
May 18th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
[...] Including Deaf Children At Preschool: Part One [...]
June 6th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
[...] Including Deaf Children At Preschool: Part One [...]
August 5th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
[...] Part One – Tips From A Mum And Creche Manager [...]
August 17th, 2010 at 8:36 am
[...] Including Deaf Children At Preschool: Part One [...]