Glue ear – a common but complicated childhood condition

Abstract

The changes in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice extends the provision for those people aged 0–25 years and focuses more on disabilities, such as hearing difficulties. There is a particular focus on anticipating needs rather than waiting for ‘special educational’ needs to develop. This paper considers the implications of these changes for educators in providing appropriate support for young people with glue ear. This common condition affects about 80% of children under 7 years of age when they are developing their social and language skills and can result in permanent hearing impairment. This paper draws upon research which adapted and combined the methodologies of Photovoice and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to encourage a small sample of young people, and their mothers, to reflect upon their experience of chronic glue ear. The participants in this research explained that there were few adaptations made in the classroom to help minimise the impact of their hearing loss. Educational professionals appear to have a low awareness about the social, behavioural and cognitive effects of the condition on pupils. This may indicate that they would benefit from training in the potential impacts of it for their pupils.

Behind the Paintbrush: Understanding the Impact of Visual Arts-Based Research (ABR) in the Lives of Disabled Children and Youth as well as Methodological Insights in ABR Application

“…The issues arising from photovoice are often used to communicate to policymakers and other personnel to raise awareness of social issues in the lives of marginalized communities (Gubrium & Harper, 2016). For instance, through photovoice, participants demonstrated that education professionals often lacked awareness about the social, behavioural, and cognitive effects of disability on their learning (Capewell, 2016). Photovoice also allowed the researchers to better understand how to enhance well-being among children and youth with ASD in the context of education, by having access to technology, extra-curricular groups, food, counsellors, peers, and staff at school.…”

“…were not educated about ASD, as well as experiencing sensory challenges in the context of school environments. Through photovoice, participants also made it clear that more adaptations to school environments are needed (Capewell, 2016). However, in one study, photovoice was used to reflect upon positive experiences at school, such as deriving a sense of togetherness and belonging, relatedness of experience, the positive effects of the school environment, and the school experience being tailored to meet individual needs (Mamaniat, 2014).…”

“…Methodologically, photovoice also exposed researchers to the educational challenges disabled students face at school. This is knowledge that researchers otherwise would not have been able to access (Capewell, 2016;Danker et al, 2017Danker et al, , 2019Goodall, 2020;Mamaniat, 2014;Obrusnikova & Cavalier, 2011;Okyere et al, 2019;Zilli et al, 2020). Although authors did not report on their level of participant engagement, ABR allowed participants to carefully reflect on their educational experiences.…”

“…Image 2. Photographs where autistic students felt listened to at school (from the study by Zilli et al,,2020) b) The importance of the social world for children and youth: In 11 papers, ABR was used among disabled children and youth to reflect on their social lives, including relationships with peers, friends, and interactions with family members (Capewell, 2016;Danker et al, 2017Danker et al, , 2019Feldner et al, 2019;Goodall, 2020;Ha & Whittaker, 2016;Mamaniat, 2014;Obrusnikova & Cavalier, 2011;Okyere et al, 2019;Weiss et al, 2017;Zilli et al, 2020). For instance, in…”

“…In some studies, the very process of engaging in ABR emphasized the centrality of the social, as art-creation was at times, a collaborative event that involved the parents of child and youth participants. For example, in Capewell's (2016) study, a participant's mother created a photo-montage depicting her child's experience with glue ear, while the study by Feldner et al…”