How can You make Participating in Team Sports more Inclusive for Children with Hearing Loss?

A few years ago, Derrick Coleman was signed by the Seattle Seahawks, making him the first deaf person to join the NFL. Matt Hamill, who has been deaf since birth, is a wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter. He was named the NCAA Division III national champion three times and was a competitor in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.   

Historically, many young athletes who are hard of hearing have been excluded from team sports. Some of the factors that led to this were due to group and social sensitivities, difficulty recognizing norms among the team members, and an absence of resources that limit the size of the staff. Disregarding these children and teens can harm their development as a person and an athlete. It could also lead them to become excluded at work and other social environments in the future. 

It’s important to work with schools and communities to address this issue and use better communication to allow children with hearing loss to develop interpersonal and teamwork skills. 

Raise awareness for Children with Hearing Loss

Remember that everyone has a different method of communication. If you believe that everyone communicates the same way, this is what leads to people being excluded. Encourage community leaders to be more empathetic, and learn more about:

• Sensory challenges. Every person and situation is unique.
• Recognize that someone on the team could have difficulty with hearing, may have attention deficit disorder (A.D.D.), could be on the autism spectrum, or have other sensory challenges.
• Do not give up on them, and have some empathy. They may be different and need extra help, but you can make a big difference in their life.

Ask questions

Observe the child with hearing loss and do research. The best way to help this child is by asking them. There may be some uncomfortable questions that a coach or teammate needs to ask. Here is some advice on how to navigate through this:

• Talk to the child’s parents and ask them the best ways to help their child.
• Acknowledge that you are unfamiliar with this area, and let them know that their child’s contributions to the team are important. The parents and the child are knowledgeable in this field, so be open to learning from them.
• Encourage the child’s teammates to ask respectful questions and be aware of the context when speaking to the child. It’s always good to have an open dialogue. 

​Be Supportive of the Needs of Your Child

A coach’s resources tend to determine how many support staff are needed to help a player.  You must let the team coach know what your child needs for them to give their best performance. Some solutions may include:

• Identifying some specific teams to have trained support staff for individuals who have sensory challenges. 
• Demonstrating how a hearing aid or assistive listening device works.

Advocate to have Multiple Means of Communication

Stress the importance of multi-channel communication and help to establish this. You can make visual aids, have a transcriber, or an interpreter. Other recommendations include:

• Face the players when you speak, and try to remember not to speak if you are looking away from them.
• After you finish reviewing the game, have a note sent to each player to recap what was discussed.
• If a video is shown, make sure the captions are on. Provide a transcript so that everyone on the team can follow along. 
• If you draw up plays, add a clear label for different plans.
• Use creative ways to add visual displays with your audio or text-based forms of communication.

Reaching out to coaches from your child’s school or community is an important first step in helping your child become more included. You may go to a meeting for the athletic department and speak to coaches. You could even become a coach for your child’s team, facilitate training with other coaches, and have an open form of communication with the athletic or recreation department. 

These adjustments take time and energy. It’s important to build a network of other parents in your school district or community to work together.

If your child has hearing loss, please contact us at Pure Sound Hearing Aids for a free hearing test and consultation. We offer a wide selection of hearing aid solutions for individuals of every age. Don’t let your child wait to participate in sports any longer, contact us today.

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