Listening skills
These pages set out details about the assessments that can be used to assess and monitor the listening skills of deaf children. These assessments and information should be used alongside Key principles and effective practice.
For many deaf children, the assessment of their listening skills in everyday life impacts on their learning and ability to access the curriculum. It’s vital these skills are included when considering the range of assessments, and the next steps following assessment. The outcome of the assessment may be, for example, a review of the child or young person’s amplification or acoustics in the classroom. Setting learning targets in the classroom where the child is unable to access the language and curriculum is not useful.
When assessing the listening skills of deaf children, it’s important that you establish the difference between what they’re able to detect and respond to as opposed to what they’re able to hear but are unable to understand or identify because of their limited language, adverse listening conditions or faulty technology. This information is vital in order to be able to inform both those working in the classroom and those providing amplification advice. There’s no one single test that will give you the information you need but rather a series of profiles, checklists and observations that you can use and adapt to give you the best picture of their functional listening abilities in everyday life.
The following section will give you information about some of the functional listening assessments/checklists and profiles available, where to access them or find out more information on how to administer them.
Use the links below to find out more about each assessment in this section:
Nottingham Auditory Milestones (NAMES)
Age range? First three years after implantation
Who can use it? Teacher of the Deaf, speech and language therapists, other professionals and parents
Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS) and the Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS)
Age range? Early years - adult
Who can use it? Parents and professionals working with deaf children
McCormick Toy Test
Age range? Over two years of age
Who can use it? Teachers of the Deaf, educational audiologists, audiologists
EAL Toy Test
Age range? Over two years of age
Who can use it? Teachers of the Deaf, educational audiologists, audiologists
Manchester Picture Test
Age range? Appropriate for children and young adults
Who can use it? Any appropriate professional using the manual
Manchester Junior Word list
Age range? Children over six
Who can use it? Any appropriate professional using the manual
AB Short Word List for Parrot
Age range? Children over six with appropriate vocabulary
Who can use it? Any appropriate professional using the manual
Listening Inventories for Education UK – Individual Hearing Profile (LIFE-UK IHP) Revised (LIFE-R)
Age range? 7 - 14 years old
Who can use it? Audiologists, educational audiologists, speech and language therapists and Teachers of the Deaf
Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH)
Age range? Birth - school years
Who can use it? Parents with audiologists and Teachers of the Deaf
Teachers' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children and Ease of Listening (TEACH) and TEACH
Age range? Pre-school and school-aged children
Who can use it? Teachers and Teachers of the Deaf
Bamford-Kowal-Bench (BKB) Sentence Test
Age range? Five and over
Who can use it? Professionals working with deaf children
Classroom Monitor
Age range? Early years - 13 years old
Who can use it? Teachers, Teachers of the Deaf, schools