Social Emotional

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Social Emotional

• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students Navigating
  Complex Social Environments

Maine Educational Center for Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Conrad Strack M.S. Ed. Public School
Outreach Consultant Conrad.Strack_at_MECDHH.org
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Goals

• Develop an understanding of the relationship that
  incidental learning and communication access has
  on social/emotional growth
• Gather suggestions and ideas to help mitigate the
  extra challenges that Deaf and Hard of Hearing
  face in accessing incidental learning

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Topics

• Importance of social/emotional growth
• Social/emotional growth takes place where, how
• How Deaf / Hard of Hearing needs differ from
  hearing classmates

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Topics

• Deaf needs, Hard of Hearing needs
• Encouraging social/emotional development
• Opportunities available through MECDHH

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How important is social growth?

• School success
• College success
• Work success
• Relationship success

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How does social development happen?

• Books? Classroom?
• School hall, cafeteria, recess?
• Friends? Family?
• Social Media?
• Communication?

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Communication

• Formal classroom communication (teaching)
• Informal/Incidental communication (between peers
  / classmates and at home)

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Deaf or Hard of Hearing needs differ from those
of their hearing classmates?

• Brief interactions with other students
• Smaller vocabulary base especially pragmatic
  language due to missing incidental learning
• Limited number of communication contacts
• Communication often superficial in nature
• Less access to social groups

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Differences continued

• Use of a different language (ASL)
• Not hearing or mishearing what was said
• Using assistive technology that no one else in
  their class or family has helps in class
• Less exposure to TV, radio, music, etc.
• Fewer friends

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Differences can lead to

• Frustration in dealing with hearing loss 24/7
• Anger at being different, struggling to
  understand what is said, missing information
• Feeling embarrassed
• Becoming extremely tired from working twice as
  hard to make sense of fragmented language

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Differences can lead to continued

• Not asking questions due to embarrassment,
  struggle or fatigue
• Withdrawing because communication is a struggle
• Isolation
• Low self esteem
• Emotional health

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Two types of learning

• Effortful (Intentional) Learning
• Learning that is consciously undertaken, with
  intention of retaining information for later use
• Incidental (Unintentional) Learning
• Acquisition of information without directed
  effort

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Incidental learning

• Foundation for inferential learning and executive
  functioning
• Incidental learning forms the neural and
  cognitive basis on which formal academic learning
  is built
• The brain is designed to learn incidentally

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How does the social needs/opportunities of
students who are deaf differ from those who are
hard of hearing?
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Deaf social development

• Has its own subculture in US and world
• Has its own language Pride
• Has its own sports programs, community, events,
  social gatherings (all wonderful opportunities
  for informal social learning)
• Students are visibly different

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Hard of Hearing social development

• Same language as family
• Hearing assume hard of hearing are the same as
  hearing
• Limited positive role models
• Language, socialization and incidental learning
  can be a struggle
• Inconsistent access to pragmatic/social rules

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Encouraging communication with deaf and hard of
hearing students

• Small group work
• Allow student to go to peers/classmates for help
• Lunch buddies
• Involvement in organized clubs, sports teams
  
• Teach ASL as a class
• Encourage all informal communication
• Permit use of social media

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Encouraging communication with deaf and hard of
hearing students

• Formally teach incidental learning
• Explain to class how to include hard of hearing
  student
• Encourage friends
• Formally teach social skills/emotional skills
• Push student out of comfort zone

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Encouraging Self-Esteem and Confidence

• Belonging to a group, club, team
• Having a unique skill
• Develop advocacy skills
• Encourage sense of worth
• Feeling competent
• develop hobbies
• Encourage taking risks and challenges

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MECDHH Programs

• W.I.S.E.
• Kids Like Me (1st-5th grade)
• Kids Like Me (6th-12th grade)
• Participation in GBSD school sports activities
• Special Events at GBSD
• Student Awareness Programs
• Social/Pragmatic language skills class

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How important is social/emotional development?

• More important than academic ?
• EQ gt IQ

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Summary

• Need for Social/Emotional growth
• Importance of incidental learning
• Providing access to incidental learning
• Every student is different

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• Intellectual growth should commence at birth and
  cease only at death
• Albert Einstein

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• Social/Emotional growth should commence at birth
  and cease only at death
• Conrad Strack

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Resources

• Self-ScienceThe Emotional Intelligence
  Curriculum, Karen McCown
• Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman
• Social Intelligence, Daniel Goleman
• Executive Functioning in Education From Theory
  to Practice, Linda Meltzer
• Building Emotional Intelligence Techniques to
  Cultivate Inner Strength in Children, Linda
  Lantieri, Daniel Goldman
• Family Learning Day, Amy Szarkowski, BCH, June 21
• Successforkidswithhearingloss.com

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• Those that know.. Do
• Those that understand .Teach
• Aristotle