At Cincinnati Union Bethel, we screen every child in our early childhood education program and a hearing test is part of that screening process. This year, we have two new digital pilot audiometer machines called Maico Pilot Screens, thanks to a grant from The Rotary Foundation of Cincinnati, to help with these tests. Our staff member, Dana, who does the tests, is thrilled.
She gushes about them: Oh, I love them! It's so much simpler because it's like a game.
With the Maico Pilot Screen, Dana doesn't have to spend time teaching the children how to do the test, by telling them to raise their hand when they hear something. A lot of children would forget they are three to five year olds. But this meant Dana had to retest a lot of children. She doesn't have that problem anymore because the tests are now designed as an interactive game, which is much easier for the children.
The new machine is bilingual so when Dana works with the 14% of students who speak Spanish, she doesn't need another staff member to translate; the machine does that work for her. That is another big time-saver. And the machine is portable so Dana can take one with her as she travels between our four preschools.
