Classroom Amplification: Not Just for the Hearing Impaired Anymore.

This paper discusses the difficulties that children with central auditory processing difficulties can have in the classroom environment. Classroom acoustics that can hinder a child's accessibility to instruction are discussed, including open windows or windows not designed to be acoustic barriers, increased reverberation time in rooms with high ceilings, bare floors and walls, and high ambient noise. Soundfield equalization is described as a classroom listening strategy that creates an environment where each child is at a favorable speaker-listener distance by routing the teacher's voice through small, wireless, high-fidelity public address systems self-contained in the classroom. The positive results that students have had in classrooms with soundfield equalization are highlighted. (CR)