Kari Behrends, Program Coordinator
[email protected]

Margy Mazzola, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
[email protected]

Laura Chaplin, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
[email protected]

An itinerant teacher with deaf education certification provides special education support services for students who are deaf and hard of hearing in the twenty-one TMCSEA member districts. Students, ages 3-21, are referred through their school district via a Request for Service form.

The Hearing Itinerant Teacher provides direct and indirect services including:
  • Language skill development
  • Vocabulary building
  • Listening skill development
  • Amplification equipment installation and maintenance
  • Speech reading skill development
  • Use/care of hearing aids, cochlear implants, and FM systems
  • Advocacy skill development
  • Classroom consultation

TMCSEA Hearing Library
Information on FM Systems​


Information About Hearing Loss
  1. There is a great difference between audible sound and intelligible sound. That is, hearing a noise or understanding a message.
  2. Hearing loss is a challenging disability. The overwhelming barriers created by a hearing loss profoundly affect communication, language development, and social processes, which, in turn, seriously impact most aspects of the educational process.
  3. Even a slight hearing loss can mean losing the ability to connect with those around you, missing the input needed to develop speech and language, being unable to develop the communication needed to learn in school, lacking language to develop social skills, and ultimately not gaining the academic and social skills needed for adult life.
  4. Hearing loss is a low incidence disability - there is not widespread understanding of its educational implications.
  5. Children with any degree of hearing loss are at risk for being delayed in the areas of spoken language, social development, and subsequent academic success.
  6. An audiogram is a graph on which the person's ability to hear is recorded. It shows the intensity (loudness) at which the person responds to difference frequencies (pitches).
  7. Between 40-50% of speech sounds encountered in the English language are not visible on the lips, thus preventing the deaf or hard of hearing individual from receiving words in their entirety.

Important reminders when working with a student with a hearing loss:
  1. Preferential seating is important because students with hearing impairment cannot always receive intelligible speech well over distances.
  2. Hearing aids and FM systems do not restore normal hearing to students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
  3. A hearing loss can be invisible and easily ignored or underestimated.
  4. Not all students with a hearing loss know how to read lips or use sign language.
  5. Reduce environmental noise (fans, AC, open doors/windows, etc.) as much as possible in the classroom.
  6. Avoid speaking from behind the students or with your back to them, some deaf and hard of hearing students rely on facials, body language, and speech (lip) reading.
  7. Provide visuals as much as possible.
  8. Be sure to have the students' attention before giving instructions.

Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guides
Resources for Families
Follow the link below for state and national resources for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.
  • Deaf and Hard of Hearing Resources

For more information contact Kari Behrends, Program Coordinator