Guide to Access Planning
Planning is critical for teenagers with hearing loss to prepare for adult life.
This guide is designed for teens, their parents and professionals who work with them to promote self-advocacy and foster responsibility for communication access and hearing assistive technologies. The goal is to guide and prepare students for the next step in their lives, be it continued education or career.
You’ll find:
- Assessment tools
for targeting new knowledge and skills that a teen requires to successfully self-advocate - Planning tools and resources
for developing a learning plan to address these targeted areas - Materials and information
for teens to learn about hearing loss and communication access
Promote self-advocacy
There are several tools in this guide to support the foundation for teens to become confident with their hearing loss and be in control of their communication accommodations.
Step 1. Assess and assist
Determine the most appropriate assessment tools for each individual student and guide the student through completion of each tool.
Step 2. Develop a learning plan
Guide the teen in identifying appropriate learning goals and completing the planners provided for developing goals, objectives, and timelines for addressing learning areas targeted from the assessment(s).
Step 3. Provide resources
This guide contains a wealth of information to help you work with the teen and to develop knowledge and competency in self-advocacy skills.
Getting started
Have a look at the resources and tools for professionals on this website to learn more about this guide. There’s also a comprehensive website dedicated to teens and their parents with all that and much more. Guide your clients to the full planning guide for teens with hearing loss.
Important considerations
Rights of people who are deaf and hard of hearing
There are important regulations that provide specific services and access accommodations for individuals with hearing loss.
Funding considerations
Teens should be encouraged to investigate local funding resources and possible available benefits for personal hearing instruments, assistive technology, college and job training as well as other potential services.
It is important to remember that securing funding and appropriate hearing assistance technology can be a difficult process to manage. Some tips for successfully navigating the process:
- Work with the teen to determine the most appropriate hearing assistive technology and involve all parties in the discussion
- Help the teen gather all relevant information to understand technology and accommodation needs
- Provide written recommendations to all entities involved