What Is Meant by “Additional Learning Problems” in the Deaf Or Hard of Hearing Population?
Hearing loss has far-reaching, critical effects on childhood development of cognitive (thinking) and linguistic (language) skills. The occurrence of other disabilities in combination with diminished hearing creates “additional learning problems” which significantly add to the complexity of educating the student who is deaf or hard of hearing. The prevalence of other disabilities in addition to hearing loss is approximately three times as large (30.2%) in the deaf or hard of hearing population as in the general school population. Some of this may be explained by the varying causes of hearing loss. Some of the current documented etiologies of childhood deafness include maternal rubella (2%), prematurity (5%), cytomegalovirus (1%), and meningitis (9%)(Moores, 1987). It is logical to assume that the population demonstrating a hearing loss is at a high risk for additional disabilities since the previously mentioned etiologies are also known to be associated with neurological involvements. T