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Listening and learning Auditory-Verbal Therapy

(Joanna Stith)

“How will I communicate with my child?”

“How will my child communicate?” “How

will I find a program that will prepare my

child academically and socially?”

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Introduction

• Auditory verbal therapy practice is the application of techniques, strategies, condition & procedures which promote optional acquisition of spoken language through listening , which becomes a major force in nature the development of the child personal, social, & academic life.

• Children with appropriate hearing aid, cochlear implant & other sophisticated technology, most children benefit significant from AVT.

• Maximum use of residual hearing.• AVT includes education, guidance, advocacy & family

support.

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• Hearing and active listening become an integral part of communication, recreation, socialization, education, and work.

• AVT is an approach that emphasizes the use of residual hearing to help children learn to listen, process verbal language, and to speak.

• The earliest possible identification of hearing loss with immediate fitting with amplification, as well as prompt intervention helps to reduce the extent of language delay commonly associated with hearing impairment.

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• Auditory-verbal therapy is a method for teaching deaf children to listen and speak using their residual hearing in addition to the constant use of amplification devices such as hearing aids , FM devices, and cochlear implants.

• Auditory-verbal therapy emphasizes speech and listening.

• Children with hard of hearing need help to learn to detect and recognize sounds around them. They must be taught that listening is useful and necessary to verbally communicate

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Types of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss can be described by the

type of loss:

Conductive H/L

Sensorineural H/L

Mixed H/L

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Reading an Audiogram

Child will have had an

audiogram that the therapist and audiologist will use constantly to best plan for child’s

new technology

and learning

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The Difference Between Hearing and Listening

The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary (1998)

• Hearing: ‘to perceive with the ear’

• Listening: ‘to hear with attention’

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The Difference Between Hearing and Listening

‘Hearing is when a sound reaches your ears, listening is when it reaches your

brain!’

Listening is not automatic

It takes practice

Principal of auditory verbal therapy

• To detect hearing impairment as early as possible through

screening programs, ideally in the newborn nursery and throughout childhood.

• To pursue prompt and aggressive audiological management and maintenance of appropriate aids (hearing aids, cochlear implants, etc.)

• To guide, counsel, and support parents and caregivers as the primary models for spoken language development and to help them understand the impact of deafness and hearing impairment on the entire family

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• To help children integrate listening into their development of communication and social skills.

• To support children’s auditory-verbal development through one-to-one teaching.

• To help children monitor their own voices and the voices of others in order to enhance the intelligibility of their own speech.

• To use the developmental patterns of listening, language, speech, and cognition to stimulate natural communication.

• To continuously assess and evaluate children’s development and, through diagnostic intervention, modify the program when needed.

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• To provide support services to facilitate children’s

educational and social inclusion in regular education classes

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What is Auditory-Verbal Therapy?

• Immediate practical support for babies, children and their families to access their residual hearing in order to communicate for life.

• Offers hope, encouragement, support, expertise, guidance and nurturing.

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What is Auditory-Verbal Therapy?

• Individualised and family-centred

• Teaches natural spoken language and listening following natural child development models using evidence based research

• Allows the full range of educational, social and vocational choices for child

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Practical Implications

• Immediate fitting of hearing aids or cochlear implant

• weekly sessions with the therapist designed to be fun and practical

• Carry-over activities in the home based on family and child’s needs

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• Entering into a partnership with the therapist and audiological team

• Being child’s advocate

• Learning to stimulate speech, language and communication, plan strategies and make informed decisions

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What is Auditory-Verbal Therapy?

‘Patience ’ with the

team and child

‘Access ’ to the

new technology and

how to use it

‘Relevance ’

engaging activities to

stimulate learning

‘Success ’ to integrate this

process into family

‘Time’ to learn

‘Nurturing ’ for child

‘Expectations ’ that are high and

realistic

PARENTSNEED

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The AVT Framework

• Young children can use technology assisted hearing to learn to listen, process verbal language and to speak.

• These same children can enter mainstream schools and be independent citizens in mainstream society.

• Child needs highly enhanced auditory and language input to reach potential.

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The AVT Framework

• Parents acquire training and knowledge during therapy sessions that are easily transferred to home

• Therapy sessions are always diagnostic and proactive

• Listening and auditory understanding is promoted as part of your child’s day-to-day experience without the use of lip-reading or signing.

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The AVT Framework

• All therapy goals are part of normal developmental goals leading to mainstream schooling

• The ‘structure’ is highly flexible relying on documented therapist and parent evaluations, goal planning and links to established developmental norms

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Developing Listening and Auditory Function

1. Auditory awareness and perception 2. Auditory attention and inhibition 3. Distance hearing 4. Localization 5. Discrimination

6. Auditory feedback and monitoring 7. Auditory memory store 8. Auditory memory span and sequencing 9. Auditory processing 10. Auditory understanding

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Developing Listening and Auditory Function

Activities and games that stimulate children auditory development happen all the time

At: feeding cuddling

playing reading nappy changing bathing

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What can Impact on Child Development?

Your child is developing in four overlapping areas:

Physical Development

Thinking skills

Social and Emotional Development

Communication Skills

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What can Impact on Child Development?

Child’s hearing impairment can impact on all four areas of natural child development

unless listening and communicating becomes part of their personality.

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Basic AVT Techniques

Activities will involve:

games songs toys

fun activities that are easily replicated at home

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The Parent’s Role

Champion

Role model

Team playerPartner

Advocate

Facilitator

PARENT

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The Parent’s Role

PARENTS

can:

be actively involved

be patientJoin support groups

be motivatedProvide a rich listening environment

Stimulate hearing, listening and talking

be kind to yourselves Delight in child’s growth

Love and nurture

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Factor of AVT

Degree of (HI)Cause of (HI)

Effective amplification

Device

Audiological Management

Family’s Participation

Emotional state of the family

Therapist Skills

Child HealthChild’s Intelligence

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Vygotsky (1995)

“One must keep in mind that any child with a disability is first of all a child…. From a

psychological and pedagogical point of view, one must treat the child with a

disability in the same way as a normal one.”

References • Definition of avt downloaded from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory-verbal_therapy on 16.09.2013

• http://www.annals.edu.sg/pdf/34VolNo4200505/V34N4p307.pdf

• http://www.irishdeafkids.ie/2013/auditory-verbal-therapy-belfast/

• http://speakingofkids.blogspot.in/2012/08/auditory-verbal-therapy-series.html

• Principal of a.v.t. downloaded from http://www.listeningforlife.com/AVTprogram.html

• http://www.hearandsaycentre.com.au/principles-AVT.html

31http://www.hearing.com.au/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=38&languageId==1&contentId=-1

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