Nyack Middle School

Listening and learning with a hearing loss comes with challenges and as a result, children with hearing loss may face both educational and social-emotional barriers. Teachers plan for and educate children who are deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) with varying backgrounds, abilities, and characteristics. A Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TOD) is uniquely qualified to provide services, which will develop communicative competence and improve learning for children who are D/HH. A TOD supports improvement in student performance, using knowledge specific to the learning needs of students with hearing loss. The TOD provides insight based on their knowledge of how hearing loss impacts development and learning. Some tasks performed by a TOD include adapting instructional methods and materials, troubleshooting problems with hearing aids and FM systems, coordinating team meetings, training mainstream teachers, communicating with parents, traveling among schools, developing educational plans, conducting assessments, and providing academic support to students with hearing loss.