Employment First Fremont County

March 18, 2015

Objectives for today Learn about hearing loss

Transitioning to the workplace

Learn about workplace challenges for HI employees/employers

What is effective communication? What resources are available

Hearing vs. Understanding

Guiding Documents→ Accessibility Civil Rights Act of 1964-

discrmination

Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Americans with Disabilities Act (& Amendments) Specifically Title II

Identification of HL In Wyoming 98% of newborns

screened-HA 6 months/CI 1 y.o

CDC screen

Schools screen

Hearing loss is as unique as each person.

FAMILIAR SOUNDS AUDIOGRAM

Frequency; Pitch; Hertz (Hz)

Low frequency-vowels

High frequency-consonants

‘Power’ vs. understanding

500-4000 Hz most critical for understanding speech

Poor S/N Good S/N

Signal Power to Noise Power +15 to +20 decibel S/N is ideal

Increase

accessibility

of signal

Decrease

competition

from BG noise

Brain- Reading Brain-Hearing

Words Have Multiple Meanings She is running to the store.

My nose is running.

The refrigerator is running.

Did you leave the computer program running?

Amber is running four miles today.

I keep running into you!

The child that begins kindergarten with 5,000

words should finish high school knowing

90,000-100,000 words

500,000 Words in the English Language

English Language

Learning to Read

vs

Reading to Learn

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

“Number your paper from 1 to 10.”

10

0

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

AUDIOGRAM OF FAMILIAR SOUNDS FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND (HZ)

125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000

z v p h g ch sh l

r o a j md

b n

n

g e

i u

HE

AR

ING

LE

VE

L (

dB

HL

)

20

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Click on Speaker to Present Spelling word.

Spelling Words through Simulated

Hearing Loss above 1000 Hz

10

AUDIOGRAM OF FAMILIAR SOUNDS FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND (HZ)

0

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

z v

p h g ch sh

l

r o a

s f th

j mdb n

ng e i u

125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000

HE

AR

ING

LE

VE

L (

dB

HL

)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Shoe

Tree

Math

Desk

Snack

Miss

Test

Thumb

Fish

Spill

Click on Speaker to Present Spelling word.

Signal Power to Noise Power +15 to +20 decibel S/N is ideal

Increase

accessibility

of signal

Decrease

competition

from BG noise

Expectations are everything

Type of HL

Age of identification

Age at intervention

Language supports i.e. AV, ASL etc.

Effective Communication Dependent on the history of the

person

Dependent on primary mode of communication

Is as variable as each individual person-HI individual is the expert

Transitioning Indicator 13

Mandatory IEP participation at age 16

Student can start earlier

Invited agencies e.g. DVR invited

Transition workshops with DHH/WDE-have them write their post-sec goals, DVR forms

From interview to hire Not required to disclose HL

If accommodations are needed should disclose in their best interest

Person should know what is needed

Clear job description

Employment Why is it in their best interest to disclos HL??????

HL can make the person appear aloof, offputting etc.

Need to be held accountable for job performance including communication

Mismatch in the workplace Realistic performance

Liability for employer-e.g. dispatcher

Spoken language

Co-workers

Effectiveness of HI employee

Safety of employee and others

My Wish List Realistic discussion of job performance

Access to technology i.e. HA’s, CI’s and BAT

Advocacy taught early in life-IEP goals

Employers that understand hearing loss

All people with disabilities find successful employment not just HI

Miscellaneous Wyoming Relay Handout

Funding for devices

Employers can inquire about the ability of the applicant to perform essential functions

15 or more employees-known disability-reasonable accommodations unless undue hardship(difficulty or expense)

Tax credit may be available to offset cost of compliance

Job Accommodation Network reports that 50% of accommodations cost employers nothing

Thanks for being good listeners!