Download Hearing Impairment Team

Gloucestershire Advisory Teaching Service
Hearing Impairment Team
The Hearing Impairment Team is part of the Advisory Teaching Service which is a
countywide Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) advisory support service.
Support is available for children and young people with a diagnosed hearing loss at all
stages of the Gloucestershire Pathway. The team consists of qualified specialist advisory
teachers of the deaf and multi-sensory impairment, deaf communications tutor, specialist
speech and language therapists.
What’s important to us:
We enable all children and young people to participate and achieve in all aspects of life
 By developing their skills and those of their families, schools and settings
 Through collaborative working in which the voice of the child or young person is
paramount
We do this by being:
 Positive: believing in the potential of all people and in our skills as a Service
 Pro-active: developing the capacity of families, schools, settings and systems to meet
the needs of all children and young people
 Collaborative: engaging with others as partners
 Professional: consistently providing a high standard of support as individuals and a
Service and promoting equality of opportunity
 Accountable: demonstrating that the Service makes a difference
 Innovative: continually looking to improve the way things are done and finding new
ways to do them
What we do:
 Provide support for children and young people from the confirmation of a permanent
hearing impairment until they leave school or further education college (0-25yrs)
 We work closely with families of pre-school children, helping them to understand the
diagnosis, and then offering advice and support to develop communication strategies
and language skills
 Support, advise and empower children and young people (CYP), to understand their
hearing impairment and audiological equipment
 We work closely with families, school staff, speech therapists and medical
professionals enabling us to offer tailored and targeted support and advice aimed at
helping children and young people achieve their full potential
 Provide monthly early years (0-5yrs) support group for parents/carers of children
with a hearing impairment and children
 Provide developmental and educational advice in relation to the CYP’s hearing
impairment
 Ensure that the views, wishes, perspectives and experiences of the CYP are fully
considered in their provision
 Support CYP to develop a positive understanding of their hearing impairment and
identity.
 Provide, monitor and evaluate use of specialist audiological equipment e.g. radio aids
 We offer and provide a range of training from individual training around a CYP’s
needs to whole school and area based specialist courses to support continuing
professional development in relation hearing impairment
Who we offer this service to:
We work with CYP who have:
 A diagnosed permanent hearing loss
 An ongoing temporary hearing loss that is likely to impact on a CYP’s education
How and when we do it:
 We work in homes, early years settings, schools and other educational settings. This
is available during term time
 A referral service is provided to cover the school holiday periods for any newly
diagnosed babies under the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme
 The level of support offered to each child and young person and family is based on
the CYP’s needs in relation to their hearing loss, their stage of development and the
knowledge and support that they have around them.
Who we work with:
 We work collaboratively with other agencies involved with the CYP:
 Audiologists
 Ear, Nose and Throat Consultants
 Paediatricians
 Cochlear Implant Teams
 Speech and Language Therapists
 Portage Workers
 Health Visitors
 Educational Psychologists
 Early Help Advisors
 Deaf CAMHS
 Newborn Hearing Screening Team
 We liaise with a range of other agencies and voluntary organisations:
 National Deaf Children’s Society
 Gloucestershire Deaf Association
 Active Gloucestershire
 Action on Hearing Loss
 Auditory Verbal Therapy
How to contact us:
Advisory Teaching Service
Battledown Centre
Harp Hill, Cheltenham, Glos. GL52 6PZ
 01242 525456
 01242 239309
[email protected]
Advisory Teaching Service
Matson Lane, Matson,
Gloucester, GL4 6DX
 01452 426955
 01452 426842
[email protected]
Advisory Teaching Service
Dockham Road
Cinderford, Glos. GL14 2DB
 01594 823102
 01594 826186
[email protected]
Advisory Teaching Service
Redwood House, Room F01,
First Floor, Beeches Green,
Stroud, Glos. GL5 4AE
 01452 583728
[email protected]
Who can refer and how:
 Health Services at the time of diagnosis, signed referral form
 Schools, through the Advisory Teaching Service Referral Form
If you have concerns regarding your child’s hearing your first port of call should be the GP. If
necessary your GP will refer your child to specialist audiology services within your area who
will refer to our team as appropriate. As a parent/carer you will be asked for consent for
health services to contact a Teacher of the Deaf. The teacher offering support in your area
will then contact you directly.
Key words
Hearing Impaired
Hearing Loss
Deaf
Deafness
Sensori-Neural
Conductive
Glue Ear
Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder
Teacher of the Deaf
Deaf Communications Tutor
Sign Language
Signed Supported English
Total Communication
Speech and Language Therapist
Hearing Aid(s)
Cochlear Implant(s)
Bone Conduction
Bone Anchored Hearing Aid(s)
Radio Aids
FM Systems
Soundfield Systems
Hearing Test
ABR (Auditory Brain Response)
Audiology
Inclusion
Gloucestershire Graduated Pathway
My Plan
My Plan+
Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
Disability
National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS)
Gloucestershire Deaf Association (GDA)
Cirencester Deaf Children’s Club
Children Hearing Services Working Group