FM listening systems have been around for quite some time but have gotten more popular over the past several years. What is a FM listening system? The company, Phonak, states that “a FM system is a wireless system designed to help someone better identify and understand speech in noisy situations and over distances of up to 50 feet. Some FM systems work together with hearing aids, while others are designed for those with normal hearing. It works like this: the person speaking wears or holds a transmitter microphone (or places this in the middle of a group). This transmitter picks up important speech sounds and uses harmless radio waves to send these to one or more FM receivers, which a child wears behind the ear (e.g. connected to their hearing aids). The result? The child hears the speaker’s words directly in their ears, without any distracting background noise, allowing them to enjoy and participate fully in a conversation” (phonak.com) It has often been used for students that are mostly or partially deaf but is becoming more prevalent in classrooms, not only for those students with hearing difficulties, but those with ADHD or autism. The reasoning behind why the FM listening systems work is because they do cut out a lot of the outside or background noise. It helps a student that may be having difficulties with concentration, focus better and not become easily distracted. These systems are also able to be hooked up straight to a computer and the computer program speak to them just like it would through headphones. For a student that needs something to help them hear better, focus more, or guide them as they go through school, this could be the tool. Based on a journal reading, “the studies that have been conducted are encouraging for autism students in a classroom but they have also been high functioning students” (The Hearing Journal). They found they were able to wear them consistently and that it did help keep them on track and better focused. I believe this particular technology could help solve a physical, social, and intellectual barrier between students and the resources they are able to utilize. If a student has a physical limitation due to hearing, then this would help solve their issue. It could also help the social barriers by allowing the students to participate more and the intellectual side because they would still be able to access all of the things the other students are doing. Being that it is small, it is also more inconspicuous which would help with some kids’ confidence. This technology already is and should be integrated into the schools. It could also be used in the library by the media coordinator because it would do the same thing for the students that it does when a teacher is in a classroom. It would help reduce background noise so the student could hear, focus, and learn. Since it could be hooked to computers, they could also use the laptops or hook into a smartboard if it’s being utilized. I think that this technology could really be used in any library setting but see where it would be most beneficial in a school library. In a school library, you have a lot of children of various ages. Many of them have disabilities or IEP’s set into place for them. This listening system could be a resource or tool that could help a student learn and change the way they do things daily. I believe that the FM learning system could be a great asset to the community and for teachers across the board, including in the media center. Most days in a school library, you are going to be reading a story to your students, especially in younger settings. Wouldn’t you want a child to hear the story and be able to participate as you discuss the story and the different parts of it? In older settings, if you aren’t reading a story, you will probably be helping them with some sort of research or project. The student needs to be able to hear you, look up information, know where and how to find the information, and contribute to the class. I feel if having this tool helps, then why not. I know it is beneficial for students with hearing problems but love the idea that it could also help those with ADHD and autism. I have a boy in one of my classes now with autism and he’s not a big fan of the library but loves the computer. I could really see how this could actually help him when he’s in here if he was willing to try it. A lot of autistic kids are hypersensitive or hyposensitive to sound and this would help minimize or control the problem. They often have social problems, language barriers, and attention deficits but by using the listening system, it can help cut down a lot of the issues because a lot of the time, it is auditory stimuli (The Hearing Journal). I hope that more people will become familiar with the assistive technologies available to them and try using them in different settings. I feel it could really help some of the obstacles in the schools today.

References
Rance, Gary. (July 2013). In autism study, FM system enhances listening, attention, and behavior. The Hearing Journal, Volume 66, Issue 7. Retrieved from http://www.ecu.edu/lib/ovid on November 12, 2015.
Stanberry, Kristin. (2010). Personal FM Listening Systems. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/personal-fm-listening-systems/ on November 13, 2015. http://www.phonak.com/content/dam/phonak/b2b/C_M_tools/FM/Children-Hear-Better-with-FM.pdf on November 13, 2015.