| The
Impact of Hearing Loss
In the United States there are an estimated 28 million persons
with hearing
loss across the lifespan (ASHA, 2000). While more than
30% of people over 65
have some type of hearing loss, 14% of those between 45
and 64 have hearing loss. Nearly 8 million people between
the ages of 18 and 44 and 7 million children have hearing
loss (Better Hearing Institute, 2001). Research has shown
that between 11.3% and 14.9% of school-age children have a
hearing loss that affects their learning and development (Bess,
Dodd-Murphy & Parker, 1998; Niskar et al, 1998). Carney
& Moeller (1998) reported that the impact of early-onset
sensorineural hearing loss has a multitude of consequences
on a child's development.
For instance, hearing
loss alters the child's ability to extract linguistic
clues from auditory language models. In the presence of hearing
loss, limited opportunities are available to "overhear"
information, which is how most persons with normal hearing
learn the nuances of the English language. This deprivation
leads to impoverished experiences with negative consequences
for language rule formation, word knowledge, and vocabulary
development. Subsequently, delays in vocabulary development,
acquisition of grammatical skills, concept attainment, appropriate
social conversational skills, and literacy development skills
characterize many persons with hearing loss.
Classrooms are auditory-verbal
environments. However, a large number of America's 88,000
schools do not provide students
with hearing loss the acoustic accessibility that is needed
to fully comprehend messages. Noise, reverberation, and distance
from the speaker compromise the student's speech perception
abilities, even when the student is using advanced signal
processing personal amplification. In these instances, the
students need appropriate access to the spoken word. Listening
is a critical and challenging experience for everyone, but
even more so for the person with hearing loss who does not
have a rich linguistic background to allow them to "fill
in the gaps" during lectures, directions, and conversations.
Adults spend 45% of their day involved in the listening process,
but for children, it is estimated that 60% to 75% of their
day is spent listening (Butler, 1975; Dahlquist, 1997). These
communication challenges often signify communication barriers
to listening and learning.
The Impact of Literacy Deprivation
Concern about the literacy levels of many persons who are
deaf and hard of hearing was the inspiration for developing
of the iCommunicator™ program as a communication access
technology. Very often students who are deaf
or hard of hearing do not realize the same rate of progress
as their normal hearing peers, and achieve only one-third
of a grade equivalent advancement during an academic year
(Wolk & Allen, 1984). The cumulative effect of this underachievement
is evidenced by many students who are deaf or hard of hearing
who graduate from high school with a fourth grade reading
comprehension level (Holt Traxler, & Allen, 1997). These
lower literacy levels often present barriers to post-secondary
education opportunities. While 53.7% of high school graduates
attend college, only 33.4% of students who are deaf pursue
post-secondary education (Fairweather & Shaver, 1991).
Other Persons with Special Communication
Needs
While the iCommunicator™
program was initially developed to provide persons who
are deaf or hard of hearing with opportunities to achieve
communication independence, this technology has applications
for other persons who face unique communication challenges.
Access to Sign Language
In the United States, there is a critical shortage of sign
language interpreters. It is estimated that there are
approximately 40,000 interpreters nationally and that less
than 25% hold certification. The iCommunicator™ program
is not intended to replace sign language interpreters, but
to serve as an alternative access technology for some persons
who communicate in sign language. To enhance literacy development,
the iCommunicator™
was designed to deliver American
Sign Language (ASL) signs in English word order. Using
this manually coded English system, end users are offered
the opportunity to improve the association between spoken,
written, and signed words and improve literacy skills. The
video sign language library currently consists of more than
9,200 individual video clips.
Systematic Evaluation and Recommendation
ISI supports the systematic evaluation of potential end user
characteristics and skills to determine the appropriateness
of this communication access technology. To ensure positive
outcomes, evaluation and planning teams must ascertain if
the iCommunicator™
is the right technology for the right application for the
right end user and implemented in the right way. Various federal
regulations specify entitlements to assistive
technology and the state and local interpretations of
these regulations should guide evaluation and planning teams
in the assistive technology evaluation and recommendation
process. Similarly, in the workplace environment or public
access venues, a supervisor, disability office manager, and/or
the human resource department manager would be involved in
the decision-making process.
Please
Assist me in Acquiring an iCommunicator™
Click
here to fill out request
form.
Section 508 Compatibility
Interactive Solutions, Inc. is committed to helping the government,
as well as private and public sector businesses, provide improved
accessibility of information and technology through its products,
information, services, and programs. As such, the iCommunicator™
website and software application meet Section
508 requirements for electronic and information technology
accessibility.
Want to
Learn More?
Call 1.800.245.2133 to learn more about how you,
your school, organization, club, governmental agency or company
can benefit from this exciting technology. On Site demonstrations
are available throughout most of the United States. email
us now.
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