Sensory Needs

Hearing Impairment

Hearing impairment spans a wide spectrum, from mild hearing loss to profound deafness, including students who use spoken language with lipreading, sign language, or a combination. Research consistently finds that barriers come overwhelmingly from how teaching and communication are organised, not from hearing loss itself.

Visual Impairment

Visual impairment ranges from low vision to total blindness. Some of the most damaging barriers found in research were attitudinal, not physical — generic equipment issued without real consultation, and staff questioning a student’s own judgement of their capabilities.