Becoming deaf friendly takes time, but it will result in an inclusive nursery that enables everyone to reach their potential, says Sarah Brown
Being 'deaf friendly' means having a positive attitude towards deafness and a desire to encourage deaf children to reach their full potential.
All nursery staff should take time to understand the needs of deaf children in their care and to find out where to access further information and advice. You also need to ensure the design and layout of the nursery is suitable and that all activities are fully accessible.
To be truly deaf friendly, your nursery needs to review all its policies, including those on child protection, equal opportunities and health and safety, to make sure they take into account the needs of deaf children. Staff training and professional development programmes should include deaf awareness and working with deaf children. The nursery should also take care to keep parents informed about their child's development and to encourage parents to share knowledge about their children.
Two-way process
Communication with a deaf child can involve signing, speaking or both. Before a deaf child starts at your setting, it is important to find out as much as possible about the communication methods used at home, and to check with parents about how they would like you to communicate with their child.
If the child uses sign language, it is important that this can be supported in the nursery. This means staff need to use sign language so they can communicate with the child and support their language development. It is also important that the hearing children in the nursery can learn some sign language to communicate with their deaf classmate, otherwise there is a risk the child will become isolated.
Practical tips
When communicating with a deaf child you should:
- Always get down to child's eye level.
- Try not to overload the child with too much information, because listening and lip reading are very tiring.
- Be aware that your voice is not the only sound the child will hear. Other sounds are also amplified through hearing aids.
- Give visual clues when talking. For example, bring the appropriate object or toy close to your face, so the child can make a connection.
- Make it clear when you are changing the topic of conversation.
- Arrange the seating so all the children can see you and each other.
- Make sure the lighting is good, and that you are not in shadow when speaking.
- Keep a distance of one to two metres between you and the child, so they are better able to lip read.
- Remember it is easy to misread words when lip reading, as many look similar on the mouth to other words, even though they may sound different, for example 'bat', 'mat' and 'pat'.
Nursery design
The layout of a nursery can mean the difference between a deaf child being included or excluded. It can be hard for deaf children to concentrate if their environment is noisy. Sudden loud noises, such as the screeching of a chair being dragged across the floor, can also be frightening.
Listening conditions in the nursery can be improved by some simple methods, such as using wall displays to cover large flat surfaces, or by closing the window or door when there is noise outside. Fitting blinds, curtains and carpets can also be of benefit.
Inclusive learning
- Registration. Teach nursery children to finger spell their name or their initial letter. Place a finger spelling poster on the wall, available from The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) - see further information. Then, when taking a register or in circle time, you can ask all children to finger spell or sign their names. Alternatively, ask children to stand up, so that a deaf child will quickly get to know who their classmates are.
- Visual clues and toys. Photographs of adults with their names underneath can help children remember who is who. Diaries that are displayed on the wall and have signs with text and a picture help children learn routines. For example, a picture of a mixing bowl on Monday, with the word 'cooking' beneath, will act as a reminder.
- Reading books. When reading a book with a deaf child, it is important to sit face-to-face or slightly sideways, so they can see what is being said. You should also sit near enough to touch them, so you can gain their attention when necessary.
- Music time. A vibration box can be good fun, as it allows children to 'feel' sound. A teacher of the deaf should know where you can obtain one of these, or contact the NDCS.
- Singing action songs can enable everyone to join in, although a deaf child might need visual clues to know when to start and stop.
- Preparing for an outing. It is important to start telling a deaf child about an outing in advance, so they can experience the excitement and anticipation along with the other children. You can do this by using objects related to the visit, books explaining the topic and spending time one-to-one with the deaf child to explain.
- Group time. This can be a difficult time for deaf children. It is best to get all the children to sit in a circle, so everyone can see each other. When asking questions, make sure a deaf child is aware of who is speaking. Even though it can be tricky, try to make sure each child takes it in turns to talk, so a deaf child can try to lip read what is being said.
