Your First Deaf Student

If you are teaching your first deaf student–or your second or third– this self-paced tutorial in teaching deaf students will be helpful. It presents a series of common questions you may have. Under each question are several links, and the occasional video, that will help answer these questions. It is organized so that teachers can review content in any order they need, depending on your questions.

Extensive, Easy-to-Navigate Information

The curriculum is very thorough and includes a lot of content rarely discussed elsewhere. For example, it explains why it is especially important for deaf students to protect their eyes. It explains tinnitus–a condition that affects many deaf people, but is rarely addressed in most deafness content. One section addresses what to do when you deliver your class outdoors. And more.

For All Ages, All Countries–Mostly

Most of the content is useful regardless of the age of your students or what country you are in. However, some content seems to assume your students are older. For example, it does not explain how to make it easier for a deaf student to lip read you if they are much shorter than you. (Don’t lean over them. Instead, squat so your face can be at their eye level. Or have both of you sit in chairs to minimize the height difference). Some content, such as the section “Who can support me”? and “Resources”, assume you are in Australia.

Accessibility

The page is mostly accessible for people using screen reading software. One image does not use alternative text to describe it for people who cannot see (a logo for Melbourne Polytechnic). Videos are in spoken English, with English captions, and provide translation into Auslan (Australian Sign Language).