Our Experience with Auditory Rehabilitation of Children with Hearing Loss during the Pandemic Process:Theoretical and Practical Trainings

• What problems were encountered in special education practices for children with hearing loss in special education and rehabilitation centers during the COVID-19 epidemic? What are your views on practices aimed at solving these problems?

At the beginning of December 2019, when atypical pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China were examined, it was determined that the virus causing the pathology was a new type of corona virus, and this clinical picture was named Covid 19. Since this date, many cases infected with this virus have been reported in many parts of the world, and on March 11, 2020, the corona virus (Covid 19) was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
According to the data of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey, the first case of Covid 19 was reported in Turkey on March 11, 2020.
The measures taken during the Covid 19 epidemic aimed to minimize the risk of contagion and to maximize individual and social protection. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world widely and continues to do so. The returns of the pandemic were also deeply reflected in educational institutions. Within the scope of the measures taken in our country during the pandemic process, special education and rehabilitation centers have suspended their training for three months between March 15, 2020 - June 15, 2020. Suspension of education in special education institutions has caused some disruptions in the implementation of special education for children with special needs. Delays or disruptions in diagnosis, treatment and educational intervention also affected children with special needs and hearing loss in this group. Hearing loss can affect all developmental areas of the child, especially language and speech. Therefore, the continuity of education of these children is important. Although face-to-face education was suspended in special education centers during the pandemic period, institutions and families tried to ensure continuity in education with different methods.
Educational methods applied to children with hearing loss include family-centered interventions. During the pandemic process, special education and rehabilitation centers cooperated with families through field professionals and organized a home-based family education program, and tried to ensure continuity in the education of these children with the distance education method.
With the EBA system put into practice by the Ministry of National Education, the education of children with special needs was supported.

• What tests/applications are you using? How do you interpret? What are your suggestions to the families of individuals with hearing loss after the test/application?

The educational evaluation of children with hearing loss begins with the diagnosis of auditory impairment and the provision of acoustic stimulus with hearing aids. The aims of educational evaluation; Determining the current situation of the individual with hearing loss, determining the gain from the hearing aid, determining the suitability for implantation applications, evaluating the development after hearing aid or implantation applications, determining the competencies and needs of the individual with hearing loss with evaluations for all development areas, especially language and speech, We can list these as early diagnosis of a possible additional pathology and evaluation of readiness for acquiring academic skills.
Educational assessment includes: auditory perception, language and speech skills, general development, cognitive skills, psychological, multiple intelligences, academic skills and family assessment. Examples of tests used during these assessments are EARS (Evaluation of Auditory Response To Speech) test battery for auditory perception assessment, PLS-5 (Preschool Language Scale) for language and speaking skills, TEDİL (Turkish Early Development Language Test), for pronunciation assessments. SST (Turkish Pronunciation and Phonetics Test), AAT (Ankara Articulation Test), Denver Developmental Screening Test for general development evaluation, WISC-R Intelligence Scale for evaluation of cognitive skills can be shown.
In addition to determining the competence and needs of the child with hearing loss, educational evaluation provides the organization of intervention and rehabilitation programs after the evaluation. After these evaluations, the education program is planned and implemented specifically for the child with special needs.
Early diagnosis and intervention; The needs and expectations of the family, which is one of the members of the intervention team, the support they provide to the hearing impaired person and their participation in the rehabilitation process are very important.
Informing the family about hearing loss, informing about hearing aid or cochlear implantation applications (wearing the hearing aid when the child is awake, eliminating simple technical problems, maintaining the device, etc.), ensuring the continuity of the child's education, fulfilling the recommended practices to support the education program. and it is necessary to cooperate with field professionals in order to observe the progress of the child's development with a realistic approach.

• Which applications did you prefer while conducting your lessons in Audiology undergraduate education during the pandemic period?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world widely and its effects continue today. As a result of the rapid spread of the pandemic, it has become a necessity for educators around the world to continue education on platforms that are the product of developing technology. During the pandemic process, education has been tried to be carried out by distance and alternative education methods in universities as well as primary, secondary and high school schools in Turkey. Universities, lecturers and students quickly adapted to this decision, which was taken out of necessity.
At Istanbul Gelişim University, rapid steps were taken in a short time in adapting to this process. In the distance education process at our university; The administration, the centers and units that support distance education, technical support personnel have provided the continuity of education by helping our instructors and students with their outstanding efforts.
While conducting distance education courses in audiology undergraduate education; Our course contents are digitally arranged in accordance with the interaction with the student. Education was supported with video and audio recordings, and active participation of students in live distance education lessons was ensured through discussion platforms. In practice courses, it is aimed to present the teaching activities in the highest quality by organizing distance education courses in a laboratory environment.

• Providing information about auditory rehabilitation courses in audiology undergraduate education, Res.Asisst. Çağla TÜRK:

“Audiology Department students attend Introduction to Communication, Language and Speech Disorders in the 1st semester of their undergraduate education, Rehabilitative Audiology in the 4th semester, Rehabilitative Audiology in the 5th semester, Approach to Language and Speech Disorders in the 6th semester, Educational Material Development and elective courses in the 8th semester of the Hearing Impaired Child By taking courses such as Development and Education, they gain the necessary equipment for the auditory rehabilitation process.” said.