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Interacting with Deaf Children
As a daycare provider you may not be sure how to interact with a hard-of-hearing child.
The following questions can help you understand how to do this.
We have a hard time getting a deaf child's attention.
What can we do to get a deaf child's attention without embarrassing him or making him feel singled out?
- Try not to forget that she cannot hear. Don't yell at her.
- Communicate directly. Try not to ask another child to communicate for you. The deaf child
may feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.
- Write instructions and announcements on the board.
- Flash the lights on and off and wave your hands to get everyone's attention.
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How can we best take care of deaf babies or toddlers?
- Watch while the baby plays and wait for her to look up.
- To get her attention, move your hands and sign near the object that she is looking at.
Then bring your hands to your face.
- Move your hands slowly and with as much rhythm as possible as you change her attention
from a toy to a milk bottle.
- Use bright facial expressions.
- Move objects in front of the deaf baby's face to get her attention. Then bring objects
near your face to bring her attention to your face.
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How can we play with deaf children? What kind of games do
deaf children like?
- Play games and activities that do not need the use of hearing.
- Games like Simon Says or Marco Polo would be very hard for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
- Twister and tag would be better. Twister is easy to see and understand.
- For the game tag, you can add a bright hat to the game. Say that whoever is It has to wear
the bright hat. This helps deaf and hard-of-hearing children to see who's It and who's not.
- You must explain the rules for all activities or games. Every time you teach a game or
activity, explain things step by step to the child.
- Musical chairs can also be played by turning the lights on and off instead of
turning the music on and off.
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Next: Taking Care of Hearing Devices
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