Guest guest Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 I sent this a few days ago and just had it returned to me? ... Angel- The reason that a soundfield system or FM system is needed for young children is BECAUSE they are constantly moving and at various distances from the speaker(s). I am suprised that the Audiologists are recommending against such an accomidation. The issue here is the signal to noise ratio. A child with a hearing loss needs a S/N ratio of at least +20 dB to understand speech maximally (Bess & Humes, 2003). The average classroom's S/N ratio is +6 dB (Bess & Humes, 2003). Has the school Audiologist evaluated the S/N ratio in the classroom prior to making this recommendation? That would be an appropriate request on your part. It should be evaluated at various times during the day while they are doing different activities, and the S/N ratio should be measured where your child is during these times. The fact that the teacher is making eye contact is not good enough - chances are your 2 year old is not returning that same attention, nor should be expected to. According to the inverse square law, sound pressure decreases in amplitude as the distance it travels increases. " Specifically, as the distance from the sound source is doubled, the sound pressure is halved " (Bess & Humes, 2003). It actually gets worse, because this applies to a perfect acoustical environment. Because of interference and absorption, sound actually is decreased even more before it reaches our ears. In short, If your child is always 3 feet away from the teacher, a soundfield or FM may not be needed. However, when your child is 6 feet away, the sound is at least cut in half. At 12 feet is is cut in half again, etc etc. Then you factor in the S/N ratio, background noise, other kids talking, breathing, sneezing, even moving, and the sound quality is diminished even further. I would do some research into the benefits of a soundfield or FM and take some notes, including citing the sources you get it from. Write a letter and talk to the Audiologists about your findings. You should be able to find some info out there about what a difference a soundfield or FM can make. Once you have documentation and evidence that what you are asking for is appropriate, it will be harder for them to convince you otherwise. Colin _________________________________________________________________ Get reliable access on MSN 9 Dial-up. 3 months for the price of 1! (Limited-time offer) http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup & pgmarket=en-us & ST=1/go/onm00200361ave/dire\ ct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 Angel- One comment I should make regarding getting an FM " early " ... The only reason it is considered early is because so many kids are getting them late, with " professionals " claiming that kids don't need them when they are young. I'm afriad this is a bunch of B.S. The earlier you get the FM, the better. Kids with hearing loss already have a difficult time in school as it is - why not offer them the highest quality acoustical signal as possible as soon as possible? The fact is that even with the most expensive hearing aids/CI's and FM systems, the speech signal our kids are getting is nowhere near the quality of sound that others w/o hearing loss is. It's almost as if people think because they are young, they don't need expensive equipment. The truth is that the more they are taken care of young (good therapy, equipment, education) the less they will cost in the long run - and unfortunantly it often comes down to the money even though it shouldn't. I dont know how far I would go to get the FM for 1 1/2 hours of school a week, however I would start making preparations to have one set to go for the beginning of next school year (I assume she will go to school more). If you start now, you have time to have the IEP team meet a few times to discuss the FM, make the recommendation, and then order the equipment at the end of the year or over the summer to have next year. I would not wait until next school year. Marissa's program received approval for personal FM's for all the students enrolled last December...The equipment came in last month and I am still waiting for them to work out a contract with Children's Hospital so I can have it set up and programmed. So 4 months have passed SINCE it was approved, and she still cannot use it. These are things you will need to consider since your daughter has a CI - who will program it? Who will pay? Who will order replacement equipment (wires, etc)? The school should cover all these costs - but you may need to let them know that. FAPE should help - the education is supposed to be FREE. There are also sections of IDEA that cover assistive technology. Hope this helps, Colin _________________________________________________________________ Find a broadband plan that fits. Great local deals on high-speed Internet access. https://broadband.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us/go/onm00200360ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 Angel- One comment I should make regarding getting an FM " early " ... The only reason it is considered early is because so many kids are getting them late, with " professionals " claiming that kids don't need them when they are young. I'm afriad this is a bunch of B.S. The earlier you get the FM, the better. Kids with hearing loss already have a difficult time in school as it is - why not offer them the highest quality acoustical signal as possible as soon as possible? The fact is that even with the most expensive hearing aids/CI's and FM systems, the speech signal our kids are getting is nowhere near the quality of sound that others w/o hearing loss is. It's almost as if people think because they are young, they don't need expensive equipment. The truth is that the more they are taken care of young (good therapy, equipment, education) the less they will cost in the long run - and unfortunantly it often comes down to the money even though it shouldn't. I dont know how far I would go to get the FM for 1 1/2 hours of school a week, however I would start making preparations to have one set to go for the beginning of next school year (I assume she will go to school more). If you start now, you have time to have the IEP team meet a few times to discuss the FM, make the recommendation, and then order the equipment at the end of the year or over the summer to have next year. I would not wait until next school year. Marissa's program received approval for personal FM's for all the students enrolled last December...The equipment came in last month and I am still waiting for them to work out a contract with Children's Hospital so I can have it set up and programmed. So 4 months have passed SINCE it was approved, and she still cannot use it. These are things you will need to consider since your daughter has a CI - who will program it? Who will pay? Who will order replacement equipment (wires, etc)? The school should cover all these costs - but you may need to let them know that. FAPE should help - the education is supposed to be FREE. There are also sections of IDEA that cover assistive technology. Hope this helps, Colin _________________________________________________________________ Find a broadband plan that fits. Great local deals on high-speed Internet access. https://broadband.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us/go/onm00200360ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 Angel- One comment I should make regarding getting an FM " early " ... The only reason it is considered early is because so many kids are getting them late, with " professionals " claiming that kids don't need them when they are young. I'm afriad this is a bunch of B.S. The earlier you get the FM, the better. Kids with hearing loss already have a difficult time in school as it is - why not offer them the highest quality acoustical signal as possible as soon as possible? The fact is that even with the most expensive hearing aids/CI's and FM systems, the speech signal our kids are getting is nowhere near the quality of sound that others w/o hearing loss is. It's almost as if people think because they are young, they don't need expensive equipment. The truth is that the more they are taken care of young (good therapy, equipment, education) the less they will cost in the long run - and unfortunantly it often comes down to the money even though it shouldn't. I dont know how far I would go to get the FM for 1 1/2 hours of school a week, however I would start making preparations to have one set to go for the beginning of next school year (I assume she will go to school more). If you start now, you have time to have the IEP team meet a few times to discuss the FM, make the recommendation, and then order the equipment at the end of the year or over the summer to have next year. I would not wait until next school year. Marissa's program received approval for personal FM's for all the students enrolled last December...The equipment came in last month and I am still waiting for them to work out a contract with Children's Hospital so I can have it set up and programmed. So 4 months have passed SINCE it was approved, and she still cannot use it. These are things you will need to consider since your daughter has a CI - who will program it? Who will pay? Who will order replacement equipment (wires, etc)? The school should cover all these costs - but you may need to let them know that. FAPE should help - the education is supposed to be FREE. There are also sections of IDEA that cover assistive technology. Hope this helps, Colin _________________________________________________________________ Find a broadband plan that fits. Great local deals on high-speed Internet access. https://broadband.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us/go/onm00200360ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.