The importance of headphones during HOPE therapy sessions.
He who has headphones, let him hear.
“Do I need to wear headphones?,” “He/she will be working in a quiet room,” “I’m the only one in the house when I do the program,” and “They mess up my hair!” So the headphones are found in various places (other than on the head) with the volume on full blast, while the computer is attempting to interact with the student during the LDHope exercises. I can almost hear the headphone screaming, “Help, I am a headphone, not a loud speaker!”
Experience and evaluation show that students with severe language deficiencies have difficulties in discriminating fine differences in speech sounds. Many of these students also demonstrate difficulty in filtering sounds coming from several sources. Due to the filtering difficulty, they exhibit high levels of auditory distraction. With the headphones placed anywhere other than on the ears, both conditions are aggravated. It is extremely difficult to discriminate plosive sounds such as “p,” “b,” “t” and “d” at a close range and almost impossible with diffusion from a distance. This sound discrimination becomes an extremely frustrating task when other sounds are bombarding the student’s auditory processing center.
By placing headphones directly on the ears, the students are more prone to interact with the computer. They may also feel as though the voice of the computer is directed at them personally. Also, the students will be sitting in a better learning posture, facing their computers.
By encouraging the use of headphones, you will be enhancing each student’s chances of succeeding with the LDHope tasks. That increased success creates a greater self- confidence and the desire to experience continued success. Use whatever method necessary to motivate your students to wear the headphones-daily bonus points might be a solution.
Amy Highland
Director of Student Services
