Carl C. Crandell
Dept. of Commun. Processes & Disorders, Univ. of Florida, 461 Dauer Hall, Gainseville, FL 32611
Univ. of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614
It is well recognized that the acoustical environment in a classroom is an important variable in the psycho educational achievement of hearing-impaired children. To date, however, there remains a paucity of information concerning the importance of classroom acoustics for populations of children with normal-hearing sensitivity. The present discussion will examine: (1) commonly reported levels of classroom noise and reverberation; (2) the potential effects of classroom acoustics on the speech recognition of several populations of pediatric listeners (young children, children with language/articulation disorders, non-native English children, children with minimal hearing loss, developmentally disordered children, children with central auditory processing disorder); (3) intervention strategies, such as sound field amplification systems, to benefit normal-hearing children in the classroom setting; and (4) implications of appropriate classroom acoustics to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).