CI Toolkit: Helping Children with Cochlear Implants in Inclusive Classrooms

描述（由申请人提供）：在这个快速通道项目中，KDHRC将开发和评估CI学校工具包，这是一套全面的材料，用于支持父母，教师和儿童，因为人工耳蜗（CI）的孩子进入包容性的课堂环境。这些综合的多媒体和印刷材料将1）支持父母与教师和学校合作，为CI儿童创造最支持的学习环境，2）协助教育工作者为CI儿童创造最佳的学习和听力环境，3）帮助CI儿童教育他们的同龄人了解听力损失和人工耳蜗植入，以增加社会接受度，减少耻辱感，并创造一个更有利的学校环境。该工具包将包括印刷材料、录像材料和网上材料，在编制时将听取目标受众和该领域专家小组的广泛意见。该项目的长期目标是为教育和宣传界提供一种工具，以优化感染儿童的入学和融入。 在编写材料后，我们将分两个阶段对工具包的功效进行强有力的评估：1）在一系列两组、前测试/后测试、准实验研究中对各组成部分进行评估; 2）在患有CI的儿童进入包容性教室时，与家长/教师对产品进行实地测试。该工具包随后将在肯尼亚人权中心商业化伙伴的帮助下在全国范围内分发。越来越多植入人工耳蜗的儿童进入包容性教室。随着FDA批准的最低植入年龄变得更年轻，这种趋势将继续下去，文献继续表明植入年龄是后期语言能力的强有力预测因素。研究表明，在包容性环境中接受CI教育的每个聋哑儿童可节省约30，000至200，000美元的成本。然而，只有教育环境优化了真正的包容性，这些好处才能实现。拟议的工具包将以易于执行的格式提供全面的教育材料，从而简化家长、教师和青年的入学程序。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this Fast Track project, KDHRC will develop and evaluate the CI School Toolkit, a comprehensive set of materials to support parents, teachers, and children as a child with a cochlear implant (CI) enters an inclusive classroom environment. These integrated, multimedia and print materials will 1) support parents as they work with teachers and the school to create the most supportive learning environment for their child with a CI, 2) assist educators in creating the best learning and listening setting for children with a CI, and 3) help children with a CI educate their peers about hearing loss and cochlear implants, to increase social acceptance, reduce stigma, and create a more supportive school environment. The toolkit will consist of print, video, and web-based materials and will be developed with extensive input from the target audience and a panel of experts in the field. The long-term objective of this project is to provide the educational and advocacy communities with a tool to optimize school entry and inclusion for children with CIs. After developing the materials, we will conduct a robust evaluation of the efficacy of the Toolkit in two stages: 1) an evaluation of the component parts in a series of two-group, pretest/post-test, quasi-experimental studies and 2) a field test of the product with parent/teacher dyads at the time when a child with a CI is entering an inclusive classroom. The Toolkit will then be distributed nationwide with the help of KDHRC's commercialization partners. More children with cochlear implants are entering inclusive classrooms. This trend will continue as the FDA-approved minimum age for implantation becomes younger, and the literature continues to show that age of implantation is a strong predictor of later language proficiency. Research has shown cost-savings of approximately $30,000 to $200,000 for every deaf child with a CI educated in an inclusive environment. However, these benefits are only realized if the educational environment optimizes true inclusion. The proposed Toolkit will ease the school entry process for parents, teachers, and youth by providing comprehensive educational materials in an easy-to-implement format.