Review of DETA Criteria

for Hearing Impairment

education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Key issues for the Review in HI

Aligning DETA definitions and criteria with national and
international standards
Examining the links between the hearing impairment and
the activity limitations/ participation restrictions for
different degrees of hearing loss
Evaluating the effectiveness of the verification form
introduced in July 2006
Identifying when a review of verification is appropriate
Investigating ways to better identify and support students
in schools with high incidence of Otitis Media
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education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Definitions of HI:
International and National Criteria
The range of normal hearing is 0-20dB
(WHO, AH)
Research - effects of mild hearing loss
Research effects of classroom
acoustics

education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

New Criteria (from November 12

2007)
Criterion 1
Evidence of a hearing loss greater than 20dB at any
one frequency in either ear
Audiogram and written report from an audiologist or
otolaryngologist
The most current audiogram accepted for
permanent Hearing Loss
Fluctuating conductive (temporary) hearing loss
audiogram within previous 12 months and history of
persistent hearing loss
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education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

New Criteria (from November 12 2007)

Criterion 2
The hearing loss must be shown to manifest
itself in activity limitation and participation
restriction in the school context

Hearing Impairment Activity Limitation / Participation

Restriction in the school context

education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

ICF Activity (Limitation) and Participation

(Restriction) Domains:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Learning and applying knowledge

General tasks and demands
Communication
Mobility
Self care
Domestic life
Interpersonal interactions and relationships
Major life areas
Community, social and civic life
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education
adjustment
program Department
Department of Education, Training and the Arts
education
adjustment
program
of Education, Training and the Arts
Possible Activity Limitation and Participation
Restriction due to HI: Some ICF Examples
Difficulty with:
Learning through listening (d115)
Receiving spoken messages (d310)
Engaging effectively in conversation (d350)
With one person (d3503)
With many people(d3504)

Engaging in discussion (d355)

Remunerative employment (d850)
Engaging in some forms of recreation and leisure
(d920)
GREAT INDIVIDUAL VARIATION: hearing
impairment, environmental and personal 8

education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Hearing Impairment, Activity Limitation and

Participation Restriction: Classroom examples
Difficulty with:
Attending/ tuning in to what is going on
Accessing spoken information - teachers & other
students
Taking part in discussions
Accessing audio, TV, videos etc
Listening for long periods fatigue factors
Learning information incidentally
Responding quickly to questions or commands
Making sense of new information
Learning new vocabulary and using words appropriately
National Deaf Childrens Society Deaf Friendly Classrooms Project

education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Hearing Impairment, Activity Limitation and

Participation Restriction: Social examples
Difficulty with:
Learning social behaviour incidentally
Communicating effectively with others
Initiating conversations
Using appropriate language when interacting with
others
Being fully included in large groups
Expressing feelings and emotions verbally
Developing confidence and a positive self image
National Deaf Childrens Society Deaf Friendly Classrooms Project
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education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Activity Limitation and Participation

Restriction:
Degrees of Hearing Impairment

The review focused on current evidence relating to:

Mild hearing loss, including CHL due to otitis media
Unilateral hearing loss
Variable impact of mild and unilateral hearing loss:
physical environment (eg noise, distance, reverberation,
lighting)
communication factors (eg size of group, demands of the
activity)
personal factors (eg coping strategies, fatigue levels)
Inside a classroom a mild hearing loss can be disabling
Outside school context mild or moderate hearing loss may be
an impairment but not a disability
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The Verification Form:

Hearing Impairment

education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Verification Form:
The HI verification form trialled in July
2006 has been accepted with only a few
modifications
Scaffolds best practice
Encourages communication between
schools and the AVT: HI
Enhances links between the impairment,
effects and appropriate educational
adjustments
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education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Information about the hearing

impairment
Specialist teacher report:

Degree and type of hearing loss

Age of onset pre or post-lingual
Age of diagnosis and history
Associated medical conditions
Other impairments
Consistent use of amplification or cochlear implant
Auditory skills
Communication mode and competence

Speech and language development

completed by a teacher with recognised qualifications in the area of
hearing impairment
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education adjustment program

education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Reporting on activity limitation and

participation restriction for HI verification
Describe how the students hearing impairment affects their
ability to access, participate and demonstrate what they know
and can do to achieve positive outcomes

Focus areas of the EAP are used:

Curriculum (including disability specific curriculum)
Communication
Social participation/ emotional well being (including
behaviour)
Health and personal care
Safety
Learning access and the environment
The school team comments on the activity limitations and participation
restrictions resulting from the hearing loss
using information obtained from discussions with
the parent and teacher of the deaf
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education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Reporting on activity limitation

and participation restriction

Consider the primary impairment:

Direct impact of hearing impairment participation in

classroom activities, access to the spoken language and
the curriculum, communication restrictions

Consider any secondary impairment:

Speech and language impairment occurring as a result of
hearing impairment
Associated learning and other difficulties
Social or emotional difficulties

Impairments may result in other impairments' - ICF

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education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Hearing in the classroom

Detection
Discrimination
Identification
Comprehension

Attention

sounds
syllables
words
phrases
messages

*Noise and
Reverberation

Effort/ fatigue
Speaker variables

Technology, media

*Distance
*Direction
*Group size

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education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

The (hearing impaired) student may not

know that s/he has not heard or misheard:
may not be able to hear enough to make sense of
what is said
may think they have understood fully and not realise
that they have missed out on important information
may misunderstand what is said or written
You dont always know what you dont know
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education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

It is not always possible to observe when a

student
19
has not heard or has misheard in the

Verification Reviews and

Removal from Category

education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Review of HI Verification
No mandatory review for permanent hearing
losses
Review required for:
mild hearing loss
fluctuating conductive hearing loss
permanent conductive hearing loss where
medical intervention occurs
Review and date of review determined by the
verifier

Removal from HI category

21

Identification of students with

hearing impairment in school
communities with a high
incidence of CHL: OM

education
education adjustment
adjustment program
program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Identification and Support for students

Click to
edit
Master
title of
style
in schools
with
High
Incidence
Otitis
Media

Current external verification process not appropriate

Click
to edit Master text styles
for identifying high incidences of CHL:OM in

Second level
indigenous
populations

Problems
Third levelcollecting information to fit verification
criteria
Fourth level
Under-
reporti
of CHL:OM through verification process compared
Fifth ng
level
with prevalence (1.46% of indigenous students verified HI)

Verification is suited to low incidence disability

Resource intensive
Match identification and support: The Whole School
Approach
23
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education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Verification Review Recommendations:

Conductive Hearing Loss: Otitis Media

Students in school communities with a high incidence of CHL:

OM:
That DETA investigate methods of identification for whole schools with high
incidences of CHL: OM, rather than individually identifying and supporting
students through the EAP process. This process would be developed in
consultation with local communities with the aim of becoming an
integrated identification and service delivery model, to be implemented
within a cost-neutral framework.
Students with CHL: OM experiencing educational impact requiring individual
support and intervention greater than the general school population to
be submitted for verification on an individual basis.
Students with a hearing impairment not identified as CHL: OM to be
submitted to verification on an individual basis even though they are
attending an identified school with a high incidence of CHL: OM24

education adjustment program

Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Contact Details
Joy.MacDougall@deta.qld.gov.au
For HI specific verification questions
Ph: 3240 9312 (Monday, Tuesday, Friday)

For general verification questions

Ph: 3240 9348 (Jeannie Grace)
Fax: 3240 9300

EAP Verification Team

141 Merton Rd
WOOLLOONGABBA Q 4102