Introduction To Auditory Verbal Therapy (Belfast)
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) is a parent-centred approach to enabling children with deafness to learn to talk by listening with hearing-devices.
The UK has just 14 certified AVT therapists, and on April 27th a free 2-hour information session on AVT is being held in Belfast for parents of deaf children aged under 5. Registration is needed (details [...]
Lip-Reading Challenges In The Hearing World
Friday, April 5th, 2013Having to verbally ”translate” for signing deaf friends who do not lip-read, confirmed this skill to Rachel Kolb, a masters student at Stanford University in California. She writes eloquently here, about the challenges of lip-reading.
Read>> Seeing At The Speed Of Sound
Lip-reading is a very under-rated skill. When hearing-devices are off, it can be the ideal back-up [...]
Parents’ Essential Role In Language Development
Saturday, March 30th, 2013Parents have a stronger role than researchers thought, in developing verbal language in children with hearing issues. A new study from the University of Miami shows “maternal sensitivity [has] strong and consistent effects on oral language learning”, a fact that hospital cochlear implant teams need to note.
Mom’s sensitivity helps language learning in deaf children
Dr Dana [...]
“He Is Not Me”: A Book On Mainstream Education
Monday, March 25th, 2013A new book, “He Is Not Me”, by Stuart McNaughton, tells the story of being deaf from birth – and opting for a cochlear implant in his twenties. Notably, Stuart’s parents mainstream-educated him, to equip him with real-world skills from the very start – with the support of teachers and professionals.
Read >> He Is Not [...]
Bilateral Cochlear Implants: Hearing With Two Ears
Thursday, March 14th, 2013With bilateral cochlear implants (both ears) in Ireland’s news recently, here’s some information that may answer readers’ and families’ questions.
Read: Who is a cochlear implant candidate?
Some unilateral (single-ear) implant-wearers keep a hearing-aid in the other ear, and can recognise speech by listening through two ears. Others choose to ‘go bilateral’ with 2 cochlear implants, to [...]
Study Supports For Doctors With Hearing Issues
Tuesday, March 12th, 2013An article, “Deafness Among Physicians and Trainees: A National Survey“, in the February 2013 issue of Academic Medicine, gives insights to how doctors with hearing issues access their training and get to work in the mainstream.
Read: Are deaf/hoh physicians getting needed supports?
Amplified stethoscopes (89%) were the most frequent accommodation, with hearing-devices/FM (32%), realtime captions (21%), sign [...]
California Student Seeks Captions Instead Of FM
Friday, March 8th, 2013In 2009, a California-based high school student with a cochlear implant asked her school district to provide realtime captions in class, instead of a FM system, which she said gave her headaches and relayed static noise. At end-2012, the case was reopened with a similar, second case in the state.
Read: Student asks Tustin schools to [...]
Teacher Question: Reading/Listening On The iPad
Wednesday, March 6th, 2013A teacher asked about using an iPad with a pupil who’s partially hearing:
What apps for reading and English did the IDK team recommend?
How can the student listen to audio files and Skype, from their iPad?
The student wears Phonak hearing aids and uses a FM system in school.
This list suggests apps for students with reading challenges:
Fifty [...]
Home-Work With Children Who Have Hearing Loss
Monday, February 4th, 2013Some families turn a child’s hearing issues into a chance to find and learn language in all situations and environments, according to blogger mum, Kristen Johnson (“No Small Thing“), whose third child has hearing issues.
Read SpeechBuddy: How To Help A Child With Hearing Loss
Kristen’s top tips for parent-child communication at home:
Turn off appliances when talking with [...]
‘Happy New Ear’ To The HSE From A Parent Group
Friday, January 18th, 2013Last month, the Irish Examiner revealed that over 350 children are awaiting second cochlear implants from Beaumont Hospital’s pediatric service, due to HSE caps on budgets for spending on health and audiology services.
Children in Ireland currently receive one cochlear implant, in contrast to other countries where two implants (simultaneous or sequential) are seen as best practice for [...]