Rani Patel

Activity Tile: Visiting the Zoo/Aquarium

Sources: The Hearing Place. (15 June, 2020). Activities for People with Hearing Loss. Retrieved
from https://thehearingplaceco.com/blog/activities-for-people-with-hearing-loss/
Victory J. (11 March, 2021). Hearing Loss. Retrieved from
www.healthyhearing.com/help/hearing-
loss#:~:text=Hearing%20loss%20is%20the%20loss,among%20people%20older%20than%2060.
Patient Education. Communicating with People with Hearing Loss. Retrieved from
https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/communicating-with-people-with-hearing-loss

Equipment: A backpack with personal items such as water bottles, snacks, lunch, map of the
zoo/aquarium, umbrella if it rains, wet wipes, camera/phone, money, and etc.

Activity Description: The goal of this activity is to let the participant explore their surroundings
and use their other senses to better understand the scenery. They can use visual information that
is displayed at exhibits to get a further understanding of what they are looking at. They can also
capture photos of the animals in their natural habitat, so they can have a digital memory of the
time they visited the zoo or aquarium.

1. Gather all the equipment needed for an adventure at the zoo or the aquarium.
2. Each participant should be guided in the right direction by always being in their sight and
directing the way.
3. Also, don’t forget to give them some freedom so they can feel like they are in control of
their adventure.
4. Encourage the participants to read the information displayed at different parts of the zoo
or aquarium so they can have the best possible experience.
5. Once the day comes to an end, ask the participants about what they found most enjoyable
about the activity and what they needed help understanding. Encourage social interaction
between other participants, so they can have a more memorable experience.

Primary Social Interaction Pattern: The primary social interaction pattern for this activity is intra
group interaction because it consists of two or more participants in a single group that are
motivated by the same goal. They are all interacting with each other and their surroundings by
creating new memories as a group and learning new information.

Adaptation; Hearing loss can be caused by many different factors which can “range from mild to
profound”(Victory). It's very common for an individual to have hearing loss as their age
progresses, but it's also common for children to lose their ability to hear. Hearing loss can have
varying symptoms that depend on different circumstances. Some people might have a harder
time hearing high frequency sounds while others might not be able to hear anything. People with
hearing loss can have difficulty completing tasks and everyday routines. They can have a harder
time communicating with others and they can also experience frustration when they can’t
understand what the person next to them is saying. An adaptation that can be used during this
activity is to have the participant wear a hearing aid if they are provided with one. It's easier to
communicate with the participant if the facilitator has no experience with sign language. It would
be helpful if the facilitator learned to use simple sign language gestures to communicate with the
participant. Another adaptation would be to always guide the participant in the direction that they
need to go during the journey, so they don’t get lost or confused. When talking to the participant,
directly face the participant while having a conversation with them. This should be done to
ensure that the participant can read lips and understand what you are saying. It is important to
speak calmly and slowly while looking directly at the participant.

Participant: 50 year old women diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss.