Sensory Impairments

Sensory Impairments:

1. Hearing Impairments: This is the generic term that is often used to cover the entire range of hearing loss. Deafness defines a hearing impairment so severe that no speech can be heard through the ear alone.  Hard of Hearing describes a hearing loss that makes it difficult (but not impossible) to hear speech through the ear alone.
2. Vision Impairments: This is the generic term that is often used to cover a wide range of visual problems. Blindness has a few different definitions depending on the context. Legal Blindness refers to visual acuity and field of vision. In the education setting the definition of blindness implies that the student must use Braille in order to receive instruction.  Low Vision refers to students that have some functional vision, meaning they can receive instruction with or without the use of assistant material. (Smith et al.)