NBPTS Exceptional Needs Specialist Practice Exam – Practice Test & Study Guide

The term that refers to a condition where a child exhibits hearing loss but can still perceive some sounds is "hearing impairment." This designation is used to encompass a range of hearing difficulties that do not result in total inability to hear. Hearing impairment can include mild to moderate hearing loss, where individuals may struggle to hear certain frequencies or softer sounds while still having some functional hearing ability.

In contrast, deafness is used to describe a more severe form of hearing loss, where an individual has little to no functional hearing, often requiring total reliance on visual communication methods. Auditory processing disorder pertains to difficulties in processing auditory information in the brain despite having normal hearing ability—this is not primarily a hearing loss but rather a challenge in understanding sounds. Complete hearing loss indicates the total inability to hear any sound at all, which does not accurately reflect the ability to perceive some sounds that children with hearing impairment might have. Thus, hearing impairment is the most fitting term to describe the scenario presented.