This book provides a practical and insightful resource for both parents and educators who are looking to bring music into the lives of children with hearing loss, both in the classroom and at home. Progressing through seven chapters, the author explores how and why we might hope to better engage children with hearing loss in the music classroom.
Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive overview of hearing loss and the lives of children with a hearing impairment. Discussion of the impact of hearing loss on music perception is succinct and provides substantial rationale for the book. Perhaps most useful to newcomers to the field, the author offers a brief discussion on using and applying terminology. It is apparent that there remains a distinct lack of consensus on how to use and apply terms relating to hearing loss, but the author provides a valuable and eloquent justification for her own use of ‘person first language’, which is contextualised alongside cultural arguments of the Deaf community for a ‘Deaf-first language’ approach.
The second chapter, dedicated to parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, is grounded in the author's strong belief in parents as the primary advocates for their children. The author provides a non-biased consideration of the various options open to parents of children with hearing loss when faced with difficult decisions regarding hearing interventions, communication, schools, support services and socialisation. The application of some of this information to a UK context is, at times, limited (the author is US-based) but the author does an excellent job of highlighting the key challenges and decisions faced by all parents of children with hearing impairments. The chapter provides excellent practical suggestions for incorporating musical activities in the home and at school. Ideas for using music both as a means of accompanying and enhancing other activities, and as a central task to develop sound detection and musical communication, are suggested. The underlying theme throughout this chapter is the importance of collaborative efforts between parents, educators and specialists to meet the child's speech, language, and communication needs; a theme which resonates throughout the book.
Aimed at music teachers, Chapter 3 outlines initial preparations, recommendations for delivery, and multimodal strategies that may be useful when teaching students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The importance of fact-finding and preparation is emphasised but the author is careful to consider the experience from the teacher's perspective, noting the possible unforeseen challenges that they may face. Practical guidance on simple modifications to lessons for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing is given. The chapter describes how reinforcement of musical concepts through multimodal perspectives, including visual, tactile and kinaesthetic approaches, may be useful. A series of lesson ideas, derived from existing literature and student experiences, provide a step-by-step guide to implementing these multimodal teaching practises in music lessons.
In Chapter 4, the author challenges what many believe a child with hearing loss is capable of achieving musically. The chapter explores the various ways that students who are deaf or hard of hearing can engage in listening, instrumental and choral programs. The author provides recommendations for teachers in these areas. Overall, the chapter offers a balanced view of the possibilities and limitations for students with hearing loss but the reader is left encouraged and empowered to include these students in their lessons and ensembles.
Chapter 5, written with the music education student in mind, offers insight into planning and running lessons which are accessible to children who have a hearing impairment. The author begins with a focus on special education and disability rights laws and goes on to tackle a number of potentially intimidating and complex issues, not least the music teacher's involvement in Individualised Education Programs, and the concepts of ‘Mainstreaming’ and ‘Inclusion’. If the music education student is looking for a brief and practical introduction to teaching students with hearing loss, they would benefit greatly from the case study example given at the end of the chapter, which describes a project carried out by the author and a group of her undergraduate students. This section includes considerations of the importance of lesson planning, participant reflections, music education students’ reflections, and the lesson plans for the sessions carried out during this project.
Chapters 6 and 7 address the vast topics of hearing aids, assistive listening devices (ALD), cochlear implants, and other sensory devices. As a general overview for interested parties, the chapter is ideal, although for parents of children with a hearing impairment, discussion with an audiologist will provide information which is individualised and perhaps more easily processed. Both chapters, although less focused on music education, raise important considerations regarding the experience of music and music lessons for children who have a hearing impairment and use a hearing aid, ALDs or a cochlear implant. In chapter 7, the case study of ‘C’ is particularly enlightening, and demonstrates the positive role that a cochlear implant may play in improving access to musical experiences. Whatever your attitude towards the place of cochlear implants in the lives of children and the wider Deaf community, technological advancements mean that considerations of the impact of these devices on musical experiences in the classroom is required. The section entitled Deaf community and hearing parents: Different perspectives offers insight into various reasons both for and against implanting children.
This book recognises both the joys and challenges of involving and engaging children with hearing impairments in musical activities. The author remains positive and forward thinking throughout, but also realistic of the various limitations to reaching this goal. Perhaps most importantly, the author addresses the socially constructed limitations imposed on educational and social participation for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (a brief section on Misconceptions addresses some of these). In so doing, the book successfully challenges general assumptions about the abilities of children with a hearing impairment and their involvement in music, supporting the author's belief that ‘The music classroom can be the great equalizer, the space where students who are deaf or hard of hearing engage in many musical experiences along with their hearing peers’.
