ALDs/Personal Listening Device/FM Radio for ADHD child in classroom...

[Emmeline II]

I remember reading a post about this but I can't find it now .

We just received ds' eval from the audiologist who recommended a personal listening device for ds to help filter out background noise and to amplify the teachers voice (just to clarify, ds doesn't have any hearing loss, this is ADHD related). I read that it involved a microphone that is worn by the teacher, and a receiver that is worn by the student (dh thinks this will make ds stick out), though I read here of a student having a speaker on his desk.

In any case, I'd like to have an idea of what we want to do/ is it something we should provide ourselves, when we see the resource teacher next month , and by orientation.

[SpottedFoxx]

Actually, the inability to filter background noise is related to an auditory processing disorder.  My son's IEP includes a sound field system.  The teacher wears a mic and there is a speaker in the classroom that projects her voice throughout the room.  It doesn't create a big booming voice like you would expect to hear from someone who is mic'd but rather raises her voice just above the din of the classroom.  By having it for the entire room, no one knows who the system is for and actually, everyone benefits.  Of course, my son is in a self-contained classroom (special education classroom) so no one really notices if someone has a special tool to help them learn.  

[FarmerBeth]

Sometimes I've seen these used for CAPD, and I can see how it could apply to ADHD.  I haven't seen any desk versions.  My youngest son has CAPD but we didn't end up using one.  The oldest (who failed CAPD pre-screening and may have CAPD separately or as part of an ASD) had a reverse sort of issue and had a "whisper phone", which looks somewhat like a head set, and makes his own voice sound louder so he notices if he is working out math problems too loudly for classmates.  It stuck out way more than the personal listening devices that I have seen used as a teaching assistant, and he still didn't stick out much.  With computers used in classrooms, kids listening to MP3 players, etc, devices in the ears aren't given much mind.  I think you need to go by how much trouble he has blocking out background noise as part of his ADHD and how much it affects his ability to function.  If the noise is a big part, it may very well be worth it.

[Emmeline II]

Perhaps I described it wrong; this is part of the letter:

His difficulties with filtering out and ignoring unimportant auditory information in background-noise inhibit his ability to focus on the important aspect of speech and disregard everything else. This in not a result of APD but is attributed to his AD/HD. Attention problems cause a person to have difficulties filtering out auditory and visual background-noise thereby causing an inability to focus on tasks at hand....difficulty completing tasks with a language component indicates that part of his difficulty is due to a receptive language disorder.

When he was evaluated by an SLP in February, he scored significantly lower in tests with a verbal component, which prompted the recommendation for the CAPD screening.

I've found some personal and classroom devices; from what I've read, since his hearing is fine a classroom device should be ok.

[chiefmir]

We've used these types of devices where I work (they are called FM systems).  We currently have 4 in active use this year (public charter school), one by a child who has significant bilateral hearing loss and uses them in conjunction with hearing aids, one for a child who has an auditory processing disorder, and the other two are for kids who have significant ADHD.  We've tried it out with maybe 6 kids over the last 5 years who have ADHD and it has only been helpful for these two, but they seem to really benfit.

[lindsayinnc]

There are several different types of FM systems available.  Depending on the situation one type may be better than another.  You may want to follow up with the audiologist about what type he/she recommends. 

A classroom or Sound field system is a speaker that increases the volume slightly for the whole class it is typically positioned at the back of the room so that the student is receiving input from both the teacher and the speaker.  This is a permanent speaker that stays in 1 classroom.

Personal FM systems are usually a small speaker sitting on the students desk which puts the teacher's voice directly in front of the student.  The speaker is small enough that the student could bring it with them to another classroom if needed. About the size of a lunchbox.

People who wear hearing aids usually have a "boot" or other receiver that hooks to the hearing aid.  They would attach this to the aid when they needed their fm system on. This  could move with the student from class to class as long as the teacher had a mic.

I had a student in high school who did not want anything that was noticeable to other students. He was deaf in one ear, so he wore it on his hearing ear.  He wore a small receiver that looked like a hearing aid.  It was very small and sleek, here is a link:

http://www.phonak.com/com/b2c/en/products/fm/receivers/isense.html

Something like that though would only be appropriate for an older student who was able to take care of it and put it in unassisted.  It is also portable enough for the student to take it between classes.

All of these systems require some type of microphone that the teacher wears.  I found that teachers prefer the lapel or necklace type mics over the boom microphones (the headband type).

If this is something required for your son in his IEP then the school has to pay for it.  The school would own it and your son would use it as long as it is written in his IEP.  If you want something for home as well as school you would need to purchase it.   

I worked in the school system as an SLP and was responsible for putting them in for students who needed them, I consulted with an audiologist about placement etc. 

Good Luck!

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by lindsayinnc 

There are several different types of FM systems available.  Depending on the situation one type may be better than another.  You may want to follow up with the audiologist about what type he/she recommends. 

A classroom or Sound field system is a speaker that increases the volume slightly for the whole class it is typically positioned at the back of the room so that the student is receiving input from both the teacher and the speaker.  This is a permanent speaker that stays in 1 classroom.

Personal FM systems are usually a small speaker sitting on the students desk which puts the teacher's voice directly in front of the student.  The speaker is small enough that the student could bring it with them to another classroom if needed. About the size of a lunchbox. The school would own it and your son would use it as long as it is written in his IEP.  If you want something for home as well as school you would need to purchase it.   

I worked in the school system as an SLP and was responsible for putting them in for students who needed them, I consulted with an audiologist about placement etc. 

Good Luck!

I haven't found a desk speaker model yet, do you have a link for one? I've found plenty of lapel mic/student belt-clip on speaker sets, but I don't think that would be a good idea for ds if there was another option (one reason is that he has a tic that involves pushing on his waist band--he broke a belt last year doing this). And he's not responsible enough for the ear one yet. The audiologist only recommended a personal FM system but not anything more specific, though I could try to get more advice from her on that if necessary.

He doesn't have an IEP but I can see about adding it to his 504.
 

[lindsayinnc]

Here is a link for a desktop speaker: https://www.lightspeed-tek.com/391.aspx

This is the company that our sound field systems come from.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by lindsayinnc 

Here is a link for a desktop speaker: https://www.lightspeed-tek.com/391.aspx

This is the company that our sound field systems come from.

Perfect. If he had something like that it could go with him from class to class (except gym where it would probably be most useful ).

[mknight466]

I work with students who have hearing loss who are mainstreamed in regular education classrooms. We, also, use Lightspeed Technologies to provide the students who benefit more from a desktop system (Lightspeed's Spound Pak) or a classroom sound-field system (REDCAT). Our students love the sound quality. I have one student, who is in the 4th grade now, he started using the desktop system in 2nd grade and absolutely loves it! He was able to take it with him wherever he went and missed nothing. He loves to talk, and with this portable system, he stopped talking, "off topic." Each time he had something to say, it was related to what was being discussed in the classroom. He's a very bright student; his teacher saw a difference in his active listening as soon as he started using the desktop. My son has ADHD and I am seriously thinking about purchasing a personal FM (Phonak iSense) for him to use while in the classroom. I am worn out having to reteach the days lessons to him when he comes home to complete him homework and is lost.

[FarmerBeth]

My children's school is test driving a voice amplification this term for all the students.  The teacher wears a microphone and it is sent to the speaker.  This is aimed at all the students, not just for classrooms with special needs students.  Two of my three children are in the test pilot, and I was working in the classroom while one of them was in use.  There are some bugs to work on in that sometimes the speaker just cuts out, but all the students seem to be liking it being easier to hear the teacher.  One of the teachers told me it helps with her sore throat, too.  My oldest son has really been liking it because he is less distracted by back of the class whispering.