Hearing Impaired

The Magnolia Speech School
Programs for Hearing Impaired Children

Opening up a World of Opportunity
It is the belief of Magnolia Speech School that the barriers imposed by deafness can usually be overcome through early identification and appropriate intervention. Our staff treats the whole child by promoting success in learning, social, emotional, intellectual and physical development while emphasizing the concept of being a worthwhile individual. The educational program for each child is individually designed and emphasizes the development of communicative, cognitive and social skills, which will facilitate the child's integration into society.

The staff is dedicated to the promotion of a positive attitude toward learning through positive reinforcement and encouragement.

Because it is the ultimate goal of the school for children to complete this program ready to enter the mainstream of education, Magnolia Speech School has structured its Educational Program around the three stages of the student's needs:

The Parent-Infant Program is designed to start the child's journey by educating the family as to the needs that are unique to hearing impairment and coaching those family members in strategies designed to meet those needs.
The Self-Contained Classroom is a place in which a well-trained oral educator is in charge of the day today instruction in a setting promotes intensive, individual attention. Classroom instruction centers around Magnolia's unique curriculum which includes criteria in audition, receptive language, expressive language, speech, reading, math, social studies, science and fine and gross motor skills. This curriculum is used to target individual goals, track progress and schedule daily activities. This classroom is supported by a variety of specialists including an Occupational Therapist, a computer instructor, a music teacher, a Speech Pathologists and Pediatric Audiologists . The instruction is guided by Magnolia's own curriculum, which includes 11 subject areas.
The Mainstream Program is crucial to the success of the children leaving our program. Magnolia's staff continues to serve students through consultation, inservice, problem solving, outpatient speech and auditory therapy, and tutoring as long as there is need.

Parent-Infant Programs
Parents play such an important part in the development of their children. When a hearing loss is diagnosed and aids are fitted, the educational process begins for both the parent and the child. Magnolia's Parent-Infant Program is partially funded by the Mississippi State Department of Health in compliance with Mississippi's Universal Hearing Screening law. To date approximately 52 of the state's hospitals are screening the hearing of newborns. This support is allowing Magnolia Speech School to offer our Parent-Infant Program free to all parents of hearing-impaired children birth to three years.

A trained parent advisor makes routine visits to families' homes and day care centers.

School-based sessions are scheduled as well. Parents and other family members learn about hearing loss, hearing aid management, auditory awareness, and ways to stimulate age-appropriate play and language. Our pediatric audiologist works closely with the families and children to ensure optimal aided benefit is being provided at all times. The audiologist also helps to determine cochlear implant candidacy of the children, and counsels the families who are making the decision about implantation.

Self-Contained Classrooms for Children with Hearing Loss
Magnolia Speech School offers full day school auditory/oral instruction to hearing-impaired children ages 18 months through 14 years of age. We offer a small teacher-student ratio (1 teacher to 5 students). All of our teachers are certified teachers of the deaf and continue to receive training in auditory/oral teaching methods through in-services, conferences, and visits to other OPTION schools.

The 11 month educational program at Magnolia offers intensive, aggressive small group therapy/instruction from 8:30am to 3:00pm, 5 days a week. Language and academic instruction are offered in the classroom and supported by pull-out therapy/services in auditory training, speech, and occupational therapy as needed.

Each classroom has a maximum of five hearing impaired students. Often, a typical, hearing, child is also in the classroom as part of a reverse mainstream program. With a low teacher/pupil ration, each child has a better opportunity to receive individualized instruction from the certified teacher of the deaf and/or her teaching assistant. The Magnolia Speech School Curriculum is used to set goals and monitor progress for each child. The student's instructional day includes instruction in the areas of audition, receptive language, expressive language, speech, reading, math, social studies, science, social interaction, and gross and fine motor skills if needed. The children are in an auditory/oral environment for the entire school day. Using active learning and language based instruction, the teacher models language within each experience/activity. After the child learns to imitate the model, the teacher shapes and expands what the student has offered. Magnolia staff is careful to monitor each child's amplification. Auditory trainers are used in the classroom so the students will receive better quality sound. Teaching the children to listen and process what they are hearing is central to classroom instruction. A "listening attitude" is developed as each hearing-impaired student at Magnolia is surrounded by sound and bathed in language until typical oral skills emerge.

Mainstream Programs
The guiding light of Magnolia Speech School is to integrate our hearing-impaired students into their own communities as early and easily as possible. When a student is ready to mainstream, our teachers and staff help the parents prepare the community for the child's re-entry.

Parents and teachers work closely together to provide workshops and in-services to schools, day care centers, and other family members so everyone is prepared and comfortable.

Our Mainstream support services include monthly on-site school visits by the hearing-impaired teacher, consultations with therapists, and in-services to school personnel. Our teachers work closely with the student's mainstream teacher(s) to ensure a smooth, successful transition. Our in-house clinic offers weekly speech/language therapy, audiological services, cochlear implant rehabilitation therapy, and tutoring as needed.

For more information:
www.oraldeaf.org

Please contact Cheryl Thornton, Hearing-Impaired Supervisor

The Magnolia Speech School
733 Flag Chapel Road
Jackson, MS 39209
601-922-5530
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