Welcome to Day Two of Stink Week 2016!

Day 2: Communication & Hearing Loss

REMINDER: Every day of Stink Week we will be posting information to learn and challenges to try! Remember to come back every day to learn, share, and let us know how it all goes! If you share more of the facts and challenges during the day, you can log back in again at the end of the day and let us know that too!

Click here to download a PDF of this page.

Facts

1. Children with hearing loss have many ways they can communicate! 

We will be learning about signing on Day 4 of Stink Week!

Click on this link:
 http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_56d06c1ee4b0bf0dab31c1cc  to read a great story about students who skipped recess to learn American Sign language so they could chat with their classmate easier!

2. Children with hearing loss may use an assistive listening device to hear.

We will learn more about hearing aids on Day 5 of Stink Week and cochlear implants on Day 6 of Stink Week.

3. Here are a Few Tips for Talking with Someone with a Hearing Loss

• Be sure to look at them when you speak. Don't turn your back, cover your face, look down, or talk with food in your mouth. Watching you speak can help them understand what you're saying.
   
• Don't get mad or say “forget it” if someone with hearing loss asks you to repeat yourself. They really do want to know what you said.
   
• It is harder to hear and understand in groups or when there's a lot of noise.  Make sure to take turns talking and try not to interrupt each other. 

Challenges

Challenge #1: Learn more about people with hearing loss and the incredible things they have done!

• Thomas Edison- He slowly lost his hearing after being sick with an illness called Scarlet Fever during childhood, but that didn’t stop him from inventing the light bulb! Click here to learn more
   
• Ludwig van Beethoven- Slowly became deaf from an illness when he was young, but that didn’t stop him from creating the most memorable music, like Beethoven’s 9th symphony! Click here to hear the 9th symphony! 
   
• William “Dummy” Hoy- He became deaf after being sick with meningitis at the age of 3, but that didn’t stop him from being a professional baseball player and inventing the signals for ball, strikes and outs in Major League Baseball. Click here to learn more

Challenge #2: Ask your parents if you can try out your earplugs again and this time ask someone to talk to you and NOT follow the tips listed above. Have them turn their back to you or talk with their mouthful. Then, with your earplugs still in, ask them to follow the tips. Do you notice the difference?

How did you do?