Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program

The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program serves students ages three to twenty-two with a diagnosed hearing loss.  

The term Hearing Loss includes all degrees of hearing loss from hard of hearing to Deaf. This means that the hearing loss prevents full awareness of environmental sounds and spoken language, thus, limiting normal language acquisition. The degree of the hearing loss and the age of onset will have a profound impact on language development. 

Our program includes classrooms located at Riddle Elementary School, Mattoon Middle School and Mattoon High School in Mattoon, Illinois. These classrooms provide instruction to students needing a visual representation of language to learn. Possible eligibility for hearing impairment programming is determined through a case study evaluation and multi-disciplinary staff conference. If the student is eligible, based on functional ability in conjunction with the severity of the hearing loss, then an IEP is developed and placement decisions are made. 

Another option for services from our DHH program includes services from our Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf and hard of hearing. This teacher serves students with a hearing loss that are placed in their home district. Additionally, our itinerant teacher provides tech support to hearing aids and FM units used throughout the EIASE cooperative. 

The EIASE program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is committed to the philosophy of total communication. This method includes speech, lip-reading, fingerspelling, sign language, and the use of residual hearing to develop language competence. In the classroom multiple modes of sign language are used: ASL, Signed English, and Simultaneous communication. The method used is dependent on the needs of the students. Mainstreaming with supportive interpreter services is an integral component of the program. Interaction between teachers, interpreters, support staff, and parents is also an important part of the program. 

The EIASE program offers audiological services through Eastern Illinois University's audiology department. EIU's speech and hearing clinic provides full audiological testing for all students in our member districts. Any student with hearing concerns or have failed a hearing screening can receive a full audiological exam through the EIU clinic. The EIU audiological students work closely with our DHH itinerant teacher and supervisor to monitor students in our coop with  a hearing loss. This is done through the EAR (Educational and Audiological Review) Team.