• New Zealand Federation for Deaf Children Inc
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  • New Zealand Federation for Deaf Children Inc

Preschool

Participating in early childhood education is a key component to educational success for all children and particularly important for your child to learn key social skills and routines for school life. 

Children with a hearing loss have particular needs that are different from hearing children, but a few basic strategies can make a world of difference both for students and teachers.

Early childhood teachers and other staff working in early years settings (kohanga reo, creche etc) might need help supporting your deaf child to achieve their potential.

Recommended resources

For teachers

There are some resources for primary teachers that will be useful for early childhood teachers, such as the Hints and tips for teachers with deaf students. 

Resources from the Deaf Education Centres

Kelston and van Asch Deaf Education Centres both have catalogues listing various literacy and language resources such as DVDs, CD-rom, books etc. 

Unilateral hearing loss

Unilateral Hearing Loss is the loss of hearing in one ear – can be mild to profound (deaf).

Preschool tips for parents

  • Talk to the teacher or person in charge and let them know what is happening for your child; each session if necessary.
  • Tell the child’s friends and their parents so they understand to get the child’s attention before speaking.
  • Ask to be informed if they have a head knock – as they only have one hearing ear we want to protect it.
  • If your child is confident enough they may want to talk about their hearing with the children in the session and show their hearing aid or how their ears work. Don’t be afraid to talk about their hearing as your child will take the lead from you. Their confidence with their hearing loss mirrors yours.

The Cochlear Kids: Liam the Superhero

Liam the Superhero panel of imagesLiam the Superhero is the first in The Cochlear Kids series of books from author Heidi Dredge. Heidi is passionate about creating entertaining and informative narratives that help children (and adults!) understand hearing loss and cochlear implants. Go to www.vividpublishing.com.au/liam for more information or to order a copy of this book.