Lily is a 4-year-old girl with severe hearing impairment starting childcare for the first time. Her parents are newcomers to Toronto from China and primarily speak Cantonese. The document discusses the needs of Lily and her family in adjusting to childcare, including addressing Lily's hearing impairment, communication barriers, and providing family support. It also provides strategies for meeting Lily's needs within the childcare setting through visual aids, teaching techniques, and inclusion activities. Referral agencies and resources are listed to help support Lily and her family's needs.

1. Meeting the Needs of
Children and Families:
Part One
Student Name: Yunfan Jiang
Student No: 300620899
Date: Mar 6, 2012

2. Lily and Her family
 4 –year-old Lily has a severe hearing
impairment
 Her first time in a childcare centre
 Parents are newcomers to Toronto
 Parents primarily speak Cantonese, English as
the 2nd language
 Lily has an older brother aged 6 and a baby
sister aged 6 months

3. Needs of Lily and Her family
Needs of Lily:
 Possible separation anxiety
 Adapt to the environment and daily routine of
center
 Communication with teachers and peers
 Hearing impairment treatment
 Inclusive program to facilitate her development in
physical, cognitive, social, emotional & language
 Resource available in center
 Professional supporting services outside center
(eg. professional hearing agency)

4. Needs of Lily and Her family
Needs of family:
 Language barrier
 Totally strange surrounding environment
 Economical strains
 Looking for job
 Heavy housework
 Time limited
 Hearing test for the 6-month daughter
 Financially, emotionally and psychologically social
support from community services

5. About Hearing Impairment
Definition
Losing some hearing in one or both ears.
Degree of severity
Mild, Moderate, Severe and Profound
Types
Conductive, Sensory, Mixed and Neural
Characteristics of severe hearing impairment
 Can not hear any normal conversation and only a few
sounds of loud speech.
 Problems with inner ear or connection from the
cochlea to the brain.
 Can not filter out the background noise.

6. Meeting Needs within Childcare Setting
Modifications to the physical environment
Ensure good lighting
Use photographs, pictures or other methods
to convey information
Keep visual displayers and toys at eye level.
Reduce the amount of noise in the classroom
Modify activities and materials

7. Meeting Needs within Childcare Setting
Teaching strategies
Allow time for separation anxiety and
transitions
More observation, positive response and
emotional support
 Use as many visual aids as possible to
communicate with her positively and warmly
 Collaborate with parents and offer support
 Always face Lily and speak naturally and clearly
 Establish a procedure in case of an emergency.

8. Meeting Needs within Childcare Setting
Considerations within the larger group:
Encourage a positive acceptance of Lily by other
children.
Make sure Lily to attend the group activities by
adapting the activities to meet her needs.
Facilitate collaboration between Lily and other
children and reinforce social interaction
Encourage Lily to express herself by sign
language
Learn about related knowledge and adopt
suggestions from audiologist

9. Referred Agencies and Resources
Canadian Hearing Society
Not-for-profit agency, the leading provider of services, products,
and information for people with hearing impairment (www.chs.ca)
Toronto Children’s Services
Provide a broad range of child care services, including fee
subsidy, family resources, special needs resourcing, etc.
(ww.toronto.ca/children)
Centre for Information & Community Services
Provide a wide range of settlement programs and services for
immigrants. (http://www.cicscanada.com)
Family Drop-in Program
Children (0-6 years) and their parents participate in creative and
educational activities together.
(http://www.bobrumball.org/BRCD/oeyc.html)

10. Bibliography
1. Rena Shimoni, Joanne Baxter. Working with Families. Toronto:
Pearson Canada Inc., 2008.
2. Turecki, S., L. Tonner. The difficult Child. New York: Bantam, 1989.
3. Inclusion of Children with Special Needs: Reading Package. “Hearing
Impairments”
4. Class notes
5. http://www.hearing.com.au/digitalAssets/8911_1241584786681_H
earing-impaired-child-in-the-classroom.pdf
6. http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/hearing.html#sect0
7. http://karenplumley.suite101.com/learning-difficulties-for-the-
hearing-impaired-a84153
8. http://www.mydr.com.au/kids-teens-health/hearing-impairment-
and-schoolchildren
9. http://www.chs.ca
10. http://ww.toronto.ca/children
11. http://www.cicscanada.com
12. http://www.bobrumball.org/BRCD/oeyc.html