"I'm Exhausted!" The effects of fatigue on deaf students

Abstract

The cognitive, visual, auditory, and attention demands within classroom environments are compounded for students who are deaf. The effort needed to focus simultaneously on information presented auditorily and visually across multiple, overlapping speakers for at least six hours a day, five days a week when resources mitigating fatigue are denied, unavailable, or infrequently implemented has a lasting impact on educational, vocational, and quality of life outcomes for students. The likelihood that fatigue has serious consequences to academic, social-emotional, and vocational outcomes for students who are deaf is undeniable. This presentation will discuss what fatigue is, how it affects students who are deaf, and what can be done by teachers/instructors and classroom peers to support students.

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Natalia Rohatyn-Martin