Learning together
College program, faculty aim to enhance children’s
success in the classroom and beyond
Words of wisdom
Parents’ responses to children’s
math success, failure linked to
motivation, anxiety
“You’re so smart!”
This encouraging response may actually do more harm than good to children’s math performance, according to a new study by the University of Georgia.
Michael Barger, assistant professor, Department of Educational Psychology
Michael Barger, assistant professor, Department of Educational Psychology
Co-conducted by Michael Barger, an assistant professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology, the study found that encouraging children with responses related to their personal traits or innate abilities may dampen their math motivation and achievement over time.
Parents who make comments linking their children’s performance to personal attributes like intelligence (e.g., “You’re so smart” or “Math just isn’t your thing”) are using what’s referred to as person responses. In contrast, parents who link their children’s actions, such as effort or strategy use, to their performance (e.g., “You worked hard” or “What might be useful next time you have a math test?”) are using process
“Person-focused praise sounds good on its face, but ultimately, it might undermine students’ motivation if they run into challenges,” said Barger. “Because if you run into challenges after being told you’re so smart, you might think, ‘Maybe they were wrong.’ We also know that people tend to think about math as something that some people can do and others can’t, and that language is pretty common, whether it’s among parents or teachers, even with young kids.”responses.
Praising strategy and effort
For the study, researchers asked more than 500 parents to report on how they respond to their children’s math performance and their math beliefs and goals. Students were assessed in two waves across a year to measure their math motivation and achievement.
The results showed that parents who viewed math ability as changeable were more likely to give process responses focused on their children’s strategy use and efforts rather than their intelligence or other personal attributes.
In contrast, parents who believe math ability is unchangeable and that math failure can’t be constructive gave more person-oriented responses. Parents with high expectations for their children gave a combination of both responses.
While responses highlighting strategy and effort were not related to any achievement outcomes, children who received more responses about their personal traits—in particular, related to failure—were more likely to avoid harder math problems, exhibited higher levels of math anxiety, and scored lower on a math achievement test.
“There are a couple possible reasons process messages aren’t necessarily improving math achievement,” said Barger. “It could be that they’re just so frequent now that they just kind of wash over, and that doesn’t have as much of an impact. And it could also be that some of these messages don’t land correctly if they’re not authentic. However, with person responses, we saw clear links to anxiety and less preference for challenging math problems.”
A boost to math motivation
Because person responses predict poor math adjustment in children over time, researchers recommend limiting this type of response at home and in the classroom.
“There’s not necessarily any benefit to talking about whether people are or are not math people because if you’re a student who starts struggling, you’re going to start thinking that maybe you’re not a math person,” said Barger.
The second recommendation for parents is to think about their own beliefs and goals for their kids and examine how these might lead them to respond in person or process ways. Simply telling parents to refrain from talking about math ability may not be enough.
Instead, convincing parents that math performance can improve could go a long way.
Many parents praise their children’s individual characteristics as a form of encouragement, but focusing less on how students perform and more on their strategy and enjoyment of math might be a more effective way to enhance motivation.
This means using responses like “Why do you think that happened?” or “Did you have fun?” in place of responses like “You’re so smart” or “Math just isn’t your thing”.
“We should also be asking whether parents believe that math ability can change and if they view failure as an opportunity to learn, as this seems to be related to less person responses,” said Barger. “This is more effective than just giving a checklist of things to say
—Kathryn Kao
Words of wisdom
Parents’ responses to children’s math success,
failure linked to motivation, anxiety
“You’re so smart!”
This encouraging response may actually do more harm than good to children’s math performance, according to a new study by the University of Georgia.
Co-conducted by Michael Barger, an assistant professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology, the study found that encouraging children with responses related to their personal traits or innate abilities may dampen their math motivation and achievement over time.
Parents who make comments linking their children’s performance to personal attributes like intelligence (e.g., “You’re so smart” or “Math just isn’t your thing”) are using what’s referred to as person responses. In contrast, parents who link their children’s actions, such as effort or strategy use, to their performance (e.g., “You worked hard” or “What might be useful next time you have a math test?”) are using process
“Person-focused praise sounds good on its face, but ultimately, it might undermine students’ motivation if they run into challenges,” said Barger. “Because if you run into challenges after being told you’re so smart, you might think, ‘Maybe they were wrong.’ We also know that people tend to think about math as something that some people can do and others can’t, and that language is pretty common, whether it’s among parents or teachers, even with young kids.”responses.
Michael Barger, assistant professor, Department of Educational Psychology
Michael Barger, assistant professor, Department of Educational Psychology
Praising strategy and effort
For the study, researchers asked more than 500 parents to report on how they respond to their children’s math performance and their math beliefs and goals. Students were assessed in two waves across a year to measure their math motivation and achievement.
The results showed that parents who viewed math ability as changeable were more likely to give process responses focused on their children’s strategy use and efforts rather than their intelligence or other personal attributes.
In contrast, parents who believe math ability is unchangeable and that math failure can’t be constructive gave more person-oriented responses. Parents with high expectations for their children gave a combination of both responses.
While responses highlighting strategy and effort were not related to any achievement outcomes, children who received more responses about their personal traits—in particular, related to failure—were more likely to avoid harder math problems, exhibited higher levels of math anxiety, and scored lower on a math achievement test.
“There are a couple possible reasons process messages aren’t necessarily improving math achievement,” said Barger. “It could be that they’re just so frequent now that they just kind of wash over, and that doesn’t have as much of an impact. And it could also be that some of these messages don’t land correctly if they’re not authentic. However, with person responses, we saw clear links to anxiety and less preference for challenging math problems.”
A boost to math motivation
Because person responses predict poor math adjustment in children over time, researchers recommend limiting this type of response at home and in the classroom.
“There’s not necessarily any benefit to talking about whether people are or are not math people because if you’re a student who starts struggling, you’re going to start thinking that maybe you’re not a math person,” said Barger.
The second recommendation for parents is to think about their own beliefs and goals for their kids and examine how these might lead them to respond in person or process ways. Simply telling parents to refrain from talking about math ability may not be enough.
Instead, convincing parents that math performance can improve could go a long way.
Many parents praise their children’s individual characteristics as a form of encouragement, but focusing less on how students perform and more on their strategy and enjoyment of math might be a more effective way to enhance motivation.
This means using responses like “Why do you think that happened?” or “Did you have fun?” in place of responses like “You’re so smart” or “Math just isn’t your thing”.
“We should also be asking whether parents believe that math ability can change and if they view failure as an opportunity to learn, as this seems to be related to less person responses,” said Barger. “This is more effective than just giving a checklist of things to say
—Kathryn Kao
Moving beyond the Horizon
Horizons at UGA welcomed 30 elementary school students to kick off the program’s first year in Athens
“Are we ready?”
A resounding “Yes!” rings through the room as a group of rising first-grade students from Barnett Shoals Elementary School prepare themselves for a group jump into the pool at the University of Georgia’s Ramsey Student Center.
“Three, two, one!”
In unison, the students jump in together, wrapping up a 45-minute swim lesson spent practicing arm movements, blowing bubbles, splashing water and floating on their backs.
During the summer, these students learned how to swim and found joy in learning math, science and reading as part of the inaugural class of the Horizons Atlanta at the University of Georgia (Horizons at UGA) program.
“I know how to do jellyfish and starfish when you put your arms out and float,” said Zayden Barnett, a rising second-grade student. “My favorite move is ice cream scoop since it’s important to have your face in the water and blow bubbles out of your mouth, so water doesn’t get in your mouth. I feel more confident now because I used to stay at the side of the pool, but now I can go into the middle.”
During swim sessions, students practiced floating and learned how to do ice cream scoops—or freestyle swim—to reach the edge of the pool safely. Through learning these life-saving skills, students then transfer their newfound confidence in the pool to the classroom and focus on cultivating future success
“Our lessons are very hands-on, and that is a huge component,” said Susan Cardin, Horizons at UGA site director. “We are much more focused on the kids, and we want them to have fun. But we also want them to learn meaningful and relevant things that they’re going to connect with and take with them into the next year.”
Beyond classroom learning
The Horizons at UGA program, which launched this summer, currently serves 30 students from Barnett Shoals Elementary School and plans to expand by 15 rising first graders every year.
The program creates a supportive, long-term learning community during the summer when students often experience learning loss—a phenomenon that has become even more pronounced during the pandemic, especially in underserved communities.
Horizons at UGA—a partnership between the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education, the Clarke County School District and Horizons Atlanta—focuses on social-emotional learning in addition to academics, blending literacy and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) with swimming to build self-confidence and a lifelong interest in learning.
“We have a very critical social-emotional component in our program,” said Cardin. “We work with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to inform a lot of our social-emotional elements, and we collect data to look at growth over the summer because we want to eliminate the summer slide. Our kids typically do not slide, instead they grow.”
Horizons Atlanta provides 75% of funding for the UGA program, and the remaining 25% is funded by private donations and UGA, including the Office of the President, which contributed $35,000. With this funding, students can attend the program at no cost to their families or to CCSD
Professional staff in the program facilitate and teach in a 5:1 student-to-teacher learning environment with one-on-one and small group interventions by a reading specialist, who uses data to ensure all students’ individual needs are met in the classroom.
“It is evident that my daughter has learned to direct her enthusiasm more productively,” said parent Aaron Farnham. “Most importantly, she has shown more interest in reading. Because she is bilingual, a reading delay was anticipated, and Horizons has helped her bridge the gap. We look forward to seeing how much Horizons can continue to assist her in the future.”
In addition to learning a range of subjects and spending one to two hours swimming each week, students attended field trips to places like UGA’s North Campus and Whitehall Forest.
During a visit to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, students learned lessons on how to turn trash into fertilizer, the environmental impact of spiders, how plants defend themselves from predators and more.
“This is my favorite field trip because I get to learn about all the cool things like plants,” said rising second-grade student Demetrius Hill. “I also learned about number pyramids in math class. They were easy at first, but they got harder when I got bigger numbers.”
Beyond giving back
While Horizons at UGA is in its inaugural year, the program’s roots run deep.
Nancy Juneau, CEO of Juneau Construction Co. and alumna of the Mary Frances Early College of Education, has been involved with Horizons Atlanta for over two decades.
“The premise was super simple,” she said. “It was to take kids that are economically disadvantaged in all kinds of different areas, partner with the public school systems and elementary schools to start, and then middle schools, and engage these kids for six weeks.”
Juneau helped launch—and continues to support—the program at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Sandy Springs. A few years later, during her second year as a UGA Foundation trustee, Juneau suggested bringing the program to her alma mater.
“I said UGA would be a great host and a wonderful place to nurture these kids,” Juneau said.
She toured Horizons at UGA twice—once during its first week and again during its last week, which included two other notable guests: First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
The pair visited the program on its penultimate day, engaging with students and their parents as they practiced swimming and learning through hands-on activities.
“It is always an honor to be recognized for the work we do in education, and this visit was a particular honor for a couple of reasons,” Cardin said. “First, to be honored by a visit from a fellow educator such as Dr. Biden really validates the work we have been doing. Second, this visit highlights the ongoing needs our students have for summer learning, not just this summer, but every summer.”
The visit was one stop on a tour of summer learning programs across the country.
The timing of the visit also provided a unique opportunity for Biden and Cardona to see a summer program like Horizons at UGA in its first year.
“I love the fact that they’re seeing this one in its infancy,” Juneau said.
As the program grows in enrollment, the number of staff members and volunteers will increase, offering potential experiential learning opportunities for College of Education students. At full enrollment, the program will serve 135 students.
“This is a great way to come out and be actively involved in a fun way; this program is fun for the adults as well,” Cardin said.
Juneau echoed this sentiment.
“It’s just such a great program, and it’s such a win for the community and the kids and the host school,” Juneau said.
—Anika Chaturvedi and Kathryn Kao
Moving beyond the Horizon
Horizons at UGA welcomed 30 elementary school students to kick off the program’s first year in Athens
“Are we ready?”
A resounding “Yes!” rings through the room as a group of rising first-grade students from Barnett Shoals Elementary School prepare themselves for a group jump into the pool at the University of Georgia’s Ramsey Student Center.
“Three, two, one!”
In unison, the students jump in together, wrapping up a 45-minute swim lesson spent practicing arm movements, blowing bubbles, splashing water and floating on their backs.
During the summer, these students learned how to swim and found joy in learning math, science and reading as part of the inaugural class of the Horizons Atlanta at the University of Georgia (Horizons at UGA) program.
“I know how to do jellyfish and starfish when you put your arms out and float,” said Zayden Barnett, a rising second-grade student. “My favorite move is ice cream scoop since it’s important to have your face in the water and blow bubbles out of your mouth, so water doesn’t get in your mouth. I feel more confident now because I used to stay at the side of the pool, but now I can go into the middle.”
During swim sessions, students practiced floating and learned how to do ice cream scoops—or freestyle swim—to reach the edge of the pool safely. Through learning these life-saving skills, students then transfer their newfound confidence in the pool to the classroom and focus on cultivating future success
“Our lessons are very hands-on, and that is a huge component,” said Susan Cardin, Horizons at UGA site director. “We are much more focused on the kids, and we want them to have fun. But we also want them to learn meaningful and relevant things that they’re going to connect with and take with them into the next year.”
Beyond classroom learning
The Horizons at UGA program, which launched this summer, currently serves 30 students from Barnett Shoals Elementary School and plans to expand by 15 rising first graders every year.
The program creates a supportive, long-term learning community during the summer when students often experience learning loss—a phenomenon that has become even more pronounced during the pandemic, especially in underserved communities.
Horizons at UGA—a partnership between the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education, the Clarke County School District and Horizons Atlanta—focuses on social-emotional learning in addition to academics, blending literacy and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) with swimming to build self-confidence and a lifelong interest in learning.
“We have a very critical social-emotional component in our program,” said Cardin. “We work with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to inform a lot of our social-emotional elements, and we collect data to look at growth over the summer because we want to eliminate the summer slide. Our kids typically do not slide, instead they grow.”
Horizons Atlanta provides 75% of funding for the UGA program, and the remaining 25% is funded by private donations and UGA, including the Office of the President, which contributed $35,000. With this funding, students can attend the program at no cost to their families or to CCSD
Professional staff in the program facilitate and teach in a 5:1 student-to-teacher learning environment with one-on-one and small group interventions by a reading specialist, who uses data to ensure all students’ individual needs are met in the classroom.
“It is evident that my daughter has learned to direct her enthusiasm more productively,” said parent Aaron Farnham. “Most importantly, she has shown more interest in reading. Because she is bilingual, a reading delay was anticipated, and Horizons has helped her bridge the gap. We look forward to seeing how much Horizons can continue to assist her in the future.”
In addition to learning a range of subjects and spending one to two hours swimming each week, students attended field trips to places like UGA’s North Campus and Whitehall Forest.
During a visit to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, students learned lessons on how to turn trash into fertilizer, the environmental impact of spiders, how plants defend themselves from predators and more.
“This is my favorite field trip because I get to learn about all the cool things like plants,” said rising second-grade student Demetrius Hill. “I also learned about number pyramids in math class. They were easy at first, but they got harder when I got bigger numbers.”
Beyond giving back
While Horizons at UGA is in its inaugural year, the program’s roots run deep.
Nancy Juneau, CEO of Juneau Construction Co. and alumna of the Mary Frances Early College of Education, has been involved with Horizons Atlanta for over two decades.
“The premise was super simple,” she said. “It was to take kids that are economically disadvantaged in all kinds of different areas, partner with the public school systems and elementary schools to start, and then middle schools, and engage these kids for six weeks.”
Juneau helped launch—and continues to support—the program at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Sandy Springs. A few years later, during her second year as a UGA Foundation trustee, Juneau suggested bringing the program to her alma mater.
“I said UGA would be a great host and a wonderful place to nurture these kids,” Juneau said.
She toured Horizons at UGA twice—once during its first week and again during its last week, which included two other notable guests: First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
The pair visited the program on its penultimate day, engaging with students and their parents as they practiced swimming and learning through hands-on activities.
“It is always an honor to be recognized for the work we do in education, and this visit was a particular honor for a couple of reasons,” Cardin said. “First, to be honored by a visit from a fellow educator such as Dr. Biden really validates the work we have been doing. Second, this visit highlights the ongoing needs our students have for summer learning, not just this summer, but every summer.”
The visit was one stop on a tour of summer learning programs across the country.
The timing of the visit also provided a unique opportunity for Biden and Cardona to see a summer program like Horizons at UGA in its first year.
“I love the fact that they’re seeing this one in its infancy,” Juneau said.
As the program grows in enrollment, the number of staff members and volunteers will increase, offering potential experiential learning opportunities for College of Education students. At full enrollment, the program will serve 135 students.
“This is a great way to come out and be actively involved in a fun way; this program is fun for the adults as well,” Cardin said.
Juneau echoed this sentiment.
“It’s just such a great program, and it’s such a win for the community and the kids and the host school,” Juneau said.
—Anika Chaturvedi and Kathryn Kao
Support Horizons at UGA
We believe that all children, regardless of income, should have the opportunity to realize their potential. Horizons at UGA is dedicated to serving students from underserved communities in the Clarke County School District. By making a gift, you’re not only helping close gaps in opportunity, you’re helping local kids who might be at-risk see a brighter future ahead!
Emma Moore (M.S. ’22), food scientist and project manager
Emma Moore (M.S. ’22), food scientist and project manager
Katie Tran (B.S. ’24), pre-med student majoring in biology
Katie Tran (B.S. ’24), pre-med student majoring in biology
A shared experience
UGA aural rehabilitation group supports hearing loss community with tips, strategies
Emma Moore (M.S. ’22) lives with hearing loss in a hearing world.
Because she experienced things differently than most, Moore didn’t know anyone with firsthand knowledge of her condition to turn to for advice. In fact, she’d never met another person with hearing loss until she attended a free aural rehabilitation group at the University of Georgia.
While there, she met Katie Tran (B.S. ’24), a pre-med student majoring in biology, who was born with bilateral hearing loss and shared a similar experience to Moore—she had only met one other person her age with hearing loss.
“I remember walking in for the first time and meeting the friendliest staff from UGA’s Speech and Hearing Clinic and fellow students who have hearing loss,” said Tran, who—along with Moore—discovered the group through UGA’s Disability Resource Center. “We talked about personal preferences, instances of miscommunication, inconveniences and asked each other questions along the way. It was so nice to be instantly connected and to talk about phenomena that honestly no one else can understand.”
Forming a community
Moore and Tran are just two in a growing group of people who have found community as part of the UGA Speech and Hearing Clinic’s Hangin’ and Hearing group.
Created and facilitated by clinic audiologist Kerry Cohen, the group meets on the first Friday of each month in Aderhold Hall and is open to anybody in the community with hearing loss, along with people who want to learn more about hearing aids and hearing-related topics, including pre-med students who want to specialize in hearing, health and allied health professionals, teachers and more.
“My hope is that those with hearing loss gain a greater sense of community through the group and its supportive environment,” said Cohen. “Those with hearing loss have better outcomes with hearing improvement strategies, and the group in general provides helpful information regarding hearing and hearing-related topics.”
Despite coming from different backgrounds, group members bond over their shared experiences by discussing strategies to improve communication as well as a range of other topics. According to Cohen, research shows that those who participate in these groups generally have a better experience with their hearing aids than those who just receive their hearing aids with no group participation.
“Maybe people take more interest and ownership of these devices,” said Cohen. “Some people have a grandma who wears hearing aids, but especially for students, it’s good to find someone else their age who is kind of going through the same thing at the same time. This form of outreach goes beyond just showing people how to use their hearing aids. This is a way to further support the community.”
Using tips to adapt
Mask-wearing during the pandemic created a host of new problems for people with hearing loss, as many rely on lip-reading and facial expressions to communicate.
“During the mask era of COVID, I began to struggle with communication since I rely on lip-reading,” said Moore. “I started therapy with a therapist who also had hearing loss to learn more tips on how to better communicate with people wearing masks and more about hearing loss in general since I was not born with my hearing loss—it has progressed over time.”
As the cost of Moore’s therapy increased over time, she jumped on the opportunity to attend the free service support group at UGA where she could meet others with hearing loss and speak with an audiologist outside of appointments.
Hangin’ and Hearing covers numerous topics during discussions, including:
- Communication tips in restaurants and group meetings
- Communication tips for friends and family members
- Hearing conservation strategies
- Auditory training exercises
- Understanding hearing loss
- Understanding types of hearing loss
- Learning advanced technology in hearing aids
- Self-advocacy techniques
- Impact of music on hearing and the brain
- Other ear and hearing issues including tinnitus, hyperacusis and fall prevention
“I learned the importance of always wearing my hearing aids,” said Moore. “I didn’t start wearing hearing aids until college, but even when I got them, I only wore them for class. Over time, I started to wear them more, but I would still take them out if I was studying or trying to relax. Now, I know that I should wear them for the whole day to help keep my ears stimulated.”
While learning how to optimize hearing aids and communicating effectively in a variety of settings helped both Moore and Tran adapt during the pandemic, it’s the friendships they’ve developed through the group that have made the greatest impact on their lives.
“It is so nice to have friends who I can talk to about hearing loss because knowing about hearing loss is so different from having hearing loss,” said Tran. “Before this, I would only really talk to my audiologist about my condition.”
—Kathryn Kao
Emma Moore (M.S. ’22), food scientist and project manager
Emma Moore (M.S. ’22), food scientist and project manager
A shared experience
UGA aural rehabilitation group supports hearing loss community with tips, strategies
Emma Moore (M.S. ’22) lives with hearing loss in a hearing world.
Because she experienced things differently than most, Moore didn’t know anyone with firsthand knowledge of her condition to turn to for advice. In fact, she’d never met another person with hearing loss until she attended a free aural rehabilitation group at the University of Georgia.
While there, she met Katie Tran (B.S. ’24), a pre-med student majoring in biology, who was born with bilateral hearing loss and shared a similar experience to Moore—she had only met one other person her age with hearing loss.
“I remember walking in for the first time and meeting the friendliest staff from UGA’s Speech and Hearing Clinic and fellow students who have hearing loss,” said Tran, who—along with Moore—discovered the group through UGA’s Disability Resource Center. “We talked about personal preferences, instances of miscommunication, inconveniences and asked each other questions along the way. It was so nice to be instantly connected and to talk about phenomena that honestly no one else can understand.”
Forming a community
Moore and Tran are just two in a growing group of people who have found community as part of the UGA Speech and Hearing Clinic’s Hangin’ and Hearing group.
Created and facilitated by clinic audiologist Kerry Cohen, the group meets on the first Friday of each month in Aderhold Hall and is open to anybody in the community with hearing loss, along with people who want to learn more about hearing aids and hearing-related topics, including pre-med students who want to specialize in hearing, health and allied health professionals, teachers and more.
“My hope is that those with hearing loss gain a greater sense of community through the group and its supportive environment,” said Cohen. “Those with hearing loss have better outcomes with hearing improvement strategies, and the group in general provides helpful information regarding hearing and hearing-related topics.”
Despite coming from different backgrounds, group members bond over their shared experiences by discussing strategies to improve communication as well as a range of other topics. According to Cohen, research shows that those who participate in these groups generally have a better experience with their hearing aids than those who just receive their hearing aids with no group participation.
“Maybe people take more interest and ownership of these devices,” said Cohen. “Some people have a grandma who wears hearing aids, but especially for students, it’s good to find someone else their age who is kind of going through the same thing at the same time. This form of outreach goes beyond just showing people how to use their hearing aids. This is a way to further support the community.”
Katie Tran (B.S. ’24), pre-med student majoring in biology
Katie Tran (B.S. ’24), pre-med student majoring in biology
Using tips to adapt
Mask-wearing during the pandemic created a host of new problems for people with hearing loss, as many rely on lip-reading and facial expressions to communicate.
“During the mask era of COVID, I began to struggle with communication since I rely on lip-reading,” said Moore. “I started therapy with a therapist who also had hearing loss to learn more tips on how to better communicate with people wearing masks and more about hearing loss in general since I was not born with my hearing loss—it has progressed over time.”
As the cost of Moore’s therapy increased over time, she jumped on the opportunity to attend the free service support group at UGA where she could meet others with hearing loss and speak with an audiologist outside of appointments.
Hangin’ and Hearing covers numerous topics during discussions, including:
- Communication tips in restaurants and group meetings
- Communication tips for friends and family members
- Hearing conservation strategies
- Auditory training exercises
- Understanding hearing loss
- Understanding types of hearing loss
- Learning advanced technology in hearing aids
- Self-advocacy techniques
- Impact of music on hearing and the brain
- Other ear and hearing issues including tinnitus, hyperacusis and fall prevention
“I learned the importance of always wearing my hearing aids,” said Moore. “I didn’t start wearing hearing aids until college, but even when I got them, I only wore them for class. Over time, I started to wear them more, but I would still take them out if I was studying or trying to relax. Now, I know that I should wear them for the whole day to help keep my ears stimulated.”
While learning how to optimize hearing aids and communicating effectively in a variety of settings helped both Moore and Tran adapt during the pandemic, it’s the friendships they’ve developed through the group that have made the greatest impact on their lives.
“It is so nice to have friends who I can talk to about hearing loss because knowing about hearing loss is so different from having hearing loss,” said Tran. “Before this, I would only really talk to my audiologist about my condition.”
—Kathryn Kao
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