An impairment in the process of speech, language or hearing. Speech impairments may exist with or without other disabilities, particularly deafness. Information for Instructors . Students who are deaf or have a hearing impairment are not all alike. They have various ways of communicating, such as orally, using sign language, gestures, writing, or they might even use a combination of the above.
Some students use sign language interpreters and others rely on real-time captioners .
Some students may have partial hearing, and may use assistive devices such as hearing aides. Along the same lines, students with speech impairments may use different methods to communicate, such as their own voice, writing, pointing to communication boards, using electronic speech synthesizers, or through assistants who interpret their speech. If the students use their own voices, they may be slow and lack clarity. This dysfunction continues despite instruction in standard classroom situations. Students with learning disabilities mostly have average or above average intelligence, but they face problems with information processing .