Sensory Needs Service (SNS)

The story of a boy with sensory-neural hearing loss supported by the Sensory Needs Service

Our son was diagnosed with a severe sensorineural hearing loss just after his second birthday. The Sensory Needs Service became involved straight away. His Sensory Needs Teacher worked with us at home, offering strategies for supporting our son and helping him to tune in to sound, listen and develop his language skills  as well as encouragement and hope (based on her expert knowledge and experience). When he started Nursery she was there on an ongoing basis, equipping them with the skills and strategies they needed to support him.

Our son is now in year 4 at a mainstream primary school. He is a popular boy, loves school and is doing well. His Sensory Needs Teacher has been supporting him right through his school path, and without her he would not be included in the way that he is now. Her ongoing advice, support and feedback enables his teachers and staff at the school to understand his needs and to make sure that his learning environment is one which he can be a part of, and play a full part in. To recognise specific challenges, advise specific strategies and train teaching staff requires the expertise and experience of a specialist teacher.

At the beginning of a new school year, with a new teacher, our son’s FM radio mike was not functioning. This enables him to hear the teacher’s voice directly into his hearing aids. It is essential equipment because hearing aids work best in a quiet environment within a two meter radius, and beyond that speech can become unclear and can blend in with background noise. Our son did not feed this back- he was possibly not aware what he was missing out on. His teacher reported that he was not engaged in his learning and was spending long periods daydreaming and staring out of the window. His Sensory Needs Teacher identified the problem and we were able to get it sorted out. This had an immediate effect on his engagement with learning.

On one occasion another parent told us that her son had said that he no longer bothered talking to my son as ‘he never listens’. This parent spoke to her son about hearing loss but also flagged this up to us. As a result, my son’s Sensory Needs Teacher in consultation with us went in to that class and through teaching and role play gave the children some further deaf awareness training. All the children were reminded how to make sure that my son (and any other people they meet who are deaf) knows they are talking to him and are aware of the difference that having a hearing loss makes. This has had a big impact on our son’s quality of life.

I feel that the proposed re-structuring of these vital services has been proposed by those who are not fully aware of how our specialist support teachers work, and what a difference they make to the lives of so many children and their families. Our child, and many others, are successfully included as a result of the knowledge, skills and experience of our specialist teachers. To withdraw this level of service or water it down, would make it impossible for the needs of our child and those like him to be met. Both long and short term outcomes would be affected.

G and A