Chapter 6
Listening skills
59
With help, children who cannot hear well can learn to listen more
carefully to the sounds they are able to hear. Understanding more about
sounds will help them learn more about their world and will help them
use their hearing better, protect themselves, be safer, and become more
able to take care of their own needs.
Some children can hear a little when people speak to them. Many
children who cannot hear well may be able to hear loud noises, even if
they cannot hear softer ones. Or they may hear a low-pitch sound like
thunder, even if they cannot hear a high-pitch sound like a whistle.
But because the sounds do not make sense to them, they do not pay
attention to them.
If children practice listening, it will help them develop and use whatever
hearing they may have.
To use his hearing better, a child must:
• notice sounds or voices.
• figure out the direction the
sound or voice comes from.
Manuel,
listen to the
chickens!
• recognize what the sound is.
• tell the difference between
sounds.
This chapter has activities
that will encourage a child to
look, to listen, and to feel the
vibrations of sound. The activities
will help children who cannot hear well learn more
about sounds. The activities will also help you find out whether a child
has some hearing, and what kind of sounds and words the child can
hear. This information will help you know if it would be better for your
child to learn a spoken language or a sign language.