So often in therapy, I feel that we (professionals) coach parents to use specific techniques (which is great!) and expect them to just do it because we said so (not so great!). This is not to say that therapists are being authoritative, or pushy, or bad in any way, but I do think that we generally tend to assume that if we say it, parents will do it — and the majority do. But why? Other than the rare parent who feels comfortable enough to challenge or question the professionals, I think parents take what we say at face value because there is an enormous power differential between parent and professional.
With so many professionals unexpectedly moving to telepractice in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, I am offering a FREE webinar to help people get started with teletherapy. CLICK HERE to join tomorrow 3/19/2020 at 8PM EST.
Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean our brains take a break from growing. Use this printable to remind yourself, your child, or the families you serve to keep up the good work of “feeding their brains”!
Therapists (hopefully!) spend a lot of time carefully planning goals and activities for each Auditory Verbal Therapy session, but professional planning is not enough. Parent coaching is the heart of AVT. It is not enough for you, the professional, to know what’s going on. Parents deserve this information, too! Below, I’ll detail a strategy I came up with called “PAW” that can help you structure your sessions for maximum engagement.
This summer I had the opportunity to present with some incredible friends and colleagues at the 2018 AG Bell Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona. Below are PDFs of the slides from our presentations. Enjoy!
When I began studying auditory verbal therapy, one concept I learned was the “equal time pie” or “equal talk time,” — the idea that all three participants in an AVT session (child, parent, and therapist), should each be doing roughly 1/3 of the talking during the session. For years, I tried to self-monitor during my intervention to make sure this was happening. But then I started teaching students about AVT at the university level. After weeks of hearing me drive home the point that families are their children’s first and best teachers, one student raised her hand and asked a question that revolutionized the way I think about sharing talk time in sessions…
As Auditory Verbal Therapists, our job is not to evaluate or judge parents, but rather to guide and coach. How can we best offer feedback that validates families’ effectiveness at helping their children grow?
When you have a child with hearing loss (or any disability), you are instantly thrown into the deep end of new jargon, appointments, professionals, and more. When a therapy or early intervention provider is assigned to your family, how do you know if who you’re getting is any good? They’re supposed to be the expert in this, so how are parents who are new to this whole world supposed to know if they and their child are getting what they deserve?
This time of year, I see many parents asking on social media, “What is the best gift for my child’s teachers/audiologist/speech-language pathologist/auditory verbal therapist? While there are many wonderful gifts out there, I’m going to rock the boat a bit.
