Hearing loss looks alot like ADD. If you can't hear what is going on, obviously you will tune out and create your own little fantasy world. My hearing impaired son always played alone and had a vivid fantasy/imaginary friend world in preschool. Gradually, after he got a hearing aid, he became more engaged with other children and school.
He always had a great attention span at home when it was quiet. He could sit for hours and build blocks, or legos, etc.
This year so far (knock wood!) has been great. We shut off his FM system, which linked the teacher's mike into his hearing aid. He said he likes not hearing her keys clinking- I guess sometimes teachers wear their keys around their neck, it would hit the mike,a nd amplify into his head!
They started fourth grade with the 5th grade mathbook, which has been easy for him, but alot of kids are struggling. He does basically all of the work in class but most kids have 30 minutes at home to do. Attention is a skill that can be improved with practice also. He's been doing weekly private piano lessons for 3 years, and that has helped alot too.
