Sensory Impairments
When one of your senses (sight, hearing, smell,
touch, taste and spatial awareness) is no longer normal
Hearing
Sensorineural deafness
When there is a fault in the inner ear (cochlea)
Permanent
Level of hearing loss may be described as mild, moderate, severe or profound and may not be the same in each ear
Only a few children are completely deaf
Amplification of residual hearing may be made possible with a hearing aid
If the hearing loss is very bad then the child may be given a cochlear implant which allows electrical signals to be sent directly to the auditory nerve providing a sensation of hearing
Conductive deafness
Happens when sounds fail to pass efficiently through the outer and middle ear to the cochlea and auditory nerve
Caused by a build-up of fluid in the middle ear - glue ear
Most common type of hearing loss
Likely to fluctuate and be temporary
Often treated by inserting grommets into the eardrum - ventilation tubes which allow fresh air to enter the middle ear to keep it free of fluid
Physical
Emotional
Social
Speech and Language
Cognitive and Neurological
May struggle to communicate with others
May find it difficult to communicate with others
May use sign language, speech or a mixture of both
Likely to be withdrawn in social situations because they aren't confident
Low self-esteem
Hard to make friends if they can't hear as not everyone knows sign language so they won't be able to communicate with them
Low confidence
If they can't hear in sports activities then they won't be able to take part so their physical development will be impacted
If they can't hear and their teacher doesn't know sign language or they don't have an interpreter then they won't be able to understand what is being said so they won't be able to learn
Visual
Used to describe a child who has sight problems severe enough to interfere with their learning
The majority of children with a visual impairment still have some vision – only five per cent are totally blind
Most blind/partially sighted children have their sight problem from birth but a small number lose their sight later in life following illnesses/accidents
If they can't see then they will struggle forming friendships and relationships
If they can't see then they will struggle taking part in sports activities
Their learning will be impacted the most because they can't see their notes or the teachers powerpoint, notes, resources etc
Low independence