Panasonic WX-LA20 User manual

Sound Field Amplification: An Innovative
Educational Intervention for Mainstreamed
Learning Disabled Students (Summary)
F.E. Glassford, M.S., Helen Ray, Lewis S. Sarff, Ph.D.
The Directive Teacher, pp. 18-20 Summer/Fall 1984
Otitis Media (OM) typically causes a conductive hearing loss of 26 dB and may
persist from a few days to indefinitely. Students with OM are more academically
at risk due to muffled and inconsistent verbal signals in poor acoustically
designed classrooms and noisy environments. Due to high classroom noise
levels (40 to 50 dB), plural endings, low energy sounds and voiceless
consonants are masked.
18 research studies focused on the prevalence of OM in learning disability (LD)
students.
• OM is reported to be twice as common in learning disability (LD) population.
• One in four elementary LD students experience OM.
• Medical management helps to negate the detrimental effects of OM
• Children with OM may be at risk for delays in auditory, language and academic
skills
Children with OM suffer from:
• Depressed receptive abilities
• Omission of low intensity words in conversational speech
• Lack of rehearsed phrases
• Failure to respond to low intensity sounds
• Diffi culty with syntax, auditory processing and abstract reasoning
• Poor expressive speech
Project MARRS studied the incidence and impact of sound field amplification on
students with minimal hearing loss. The study included 1000 students ranging
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from 3rd to 6th grade in four elementary schools. The data suggests a cumulative
effect of minimal hearing loss on academic achievement and that many of
these students would qualify for services that LD students receive.
Two instructional techniques were applied in the study: teacher voice
amplification and small group instruction. In each of the four schools, one
classroom in each grade was equipped with equipment to amplify the teacher’s
voice. The teacher wore a lightweight wireless microphone that projected a
consistent signal approximately 10 dB above classroom noise levels. The
remaining students were in non-amplified classrooms and received supplemental
instruction individually or in small groups.
All grade levels that received sound field amplification significantly increased
SRA academic achievement test standard scores. This change was equal to or
greater than the scores obtained from resource room instruction. The following
reasons prove sound field amplification to be more cost effective:
1. Staff utilization (requiring fewer personnel to achieve academic gains).
2. Lower initial and continuing instructional costs.
3. More legally defensible when considered within the context of the least
restrictive environment mandates.
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