Part 2: Who Supports Access at School?
Submitted by Janelle Parker, NC Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Once people understand why a team is needed, the next question usually comes quickly: “Okay, but who are all these people, and what do they actually do during the school day?”
School-based professionals who support Deaf and Hard of Hearing students are not interchangeable. Each one looks at access from a different angle. Together, they help the team understand how communication and learning actually happen in classrooms.
Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing focus on how hearing loss affects access to instruction and communication in educational settings. They observe students in real classrooms and consider listening demands, language use, and environmental factors. Their perspective helps teams understand how hearing loss interacts with instruction across the school day, which is why their input often connects many other pieces of the plan.
Educational interpreters support access for students who use sign language or other visual communication systems. While interpreters are not responsible for instruction, their daily presence in classrooms gives them insight into when communication is clear and when it breaks down, especially during group discussions, fast-paced lessons, or less structured activities. For students with both hearing and vision loss, Deaf-Blind intervenors support access to information, routines, and communication throughout the day, helping teams understand the student’s experience beyond academics alone.
Speech-language pathologists play an important role in school-based support as well. They focus on speech clarity, language development, and social communication. For Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, this work is most effective when it is closely connected to information about hearing and access. SLP input helps teams understand how communication skills affect participation in class, not just performance on isolated tasks.
Educational audiologists focus on how a student hears and listens in school settings. They provide information about hearing technology, classroom acoustics, and assistive listening systems. A key part of their work is the functional listening assessment, which looks at how a student listens in everyday classroom conditions such as background noise, distance from the speaker, and group instruction. This information often explains why students with similar hearing test results may need very different supports at school.
Each of these professionals answers a different question about access during the school day. None of them are repeating each other’s work. Together, they help the team move from assumptions to understanding.
For schools and families seeking a clearer understanding of school-based supports and communication access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Equalize Sensory Services are a helpful resource.