When I coach other professionals, I tell them to work smarter, not harder! I like to pick just one book and make it work for ALL of the children I see in a week. My schedule is filled with listeners of all different ages, developmental levels, and needs, but with some creative thinking, you can take a classic story like Goldilocks and the Three Bears and find a gold mine of goals inside. Here are THIRTY ways to make the Three Bears work for (nearly) everyone on your caseload.
Nutritionists advise diners to think about building a “balanced plate” of proteins, carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables for every meal. Eating too much of one thing isn’t good for your health! An Auditory Verbal session can be imagined in the same way. Too much focus on one type of goal or activity doesn’t help children achieve the well-rounded communicative competence that we want them to have. So, how do you build a balanced plate in an AV session?
Acoustic highlighting is a key strategy in Auditory Verbal Therapy. By changing the way that we present verbal information (for example, adding emphasis, repetition, or intonation), we can help children tune in to specific aspects of the signal, such as a new word or missed speech sound. There are many different ways to acoustically highlight, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking they’re all equally good in every situation. Just as you carefully choose colors to fill in a coloring page, be careful to choose the right highlighter for the job. Learning that acoustic highlighting exists is just step one. Here are some thoughts on how to take your highlighting skills to the next level!
While learning to listen and speak is possible for many children who have hearing loss, there are some children who, for reasons of additional disabilities or other complicating conditions, can learn to listen with technology but may struggle to produce spoken language. What choices should parents and professionals consider when deciding how to best help these children? Below, I’ll discuss two case studies of children in this situation and some factors to consider when planning intervention.
The cow says “moo,” the sheep says “baa,” and pretty soon the entire therapy room is sounding like a barnyard… but what are these Learning to Listen Sounds all about and why are week p-p-p-ing for the boat and woof-woof-woof-ing for the dog to help children learn to listen and talk?
I am conducting a survey to investigate the strategies that professionals (and pre-professional students) use to facilitate listening and spoken language skill growth in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Please consider participating in this study to further the knowledge in our field! CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE.
In Auditory Verbal Therapy, we want children to learn to listen all the time, but we don’t want them to focus just on listening. We focus on audition, but we don’t focus only on audition. Listening is an important factor, but it’s not the only factor. So which is it — is AVT all about listening, or not?
Whether you love singing or wouldn’t be caught dead singing in the shower, singing is a terrific way to help your child with hearing loss learn important listening and spoken language skills. You don’t have to be an award-winning singer to build your child’s brain through music.
There are many benefits of music, theater, art, and dance education for all. Arts education is linked to improved focus and behavior, academic achievement, higher SAT scores, and a host of other benefits. The positive cognitive, creative, physical, social effects are undeniable. But what about arts education for children with hearing loss?
