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Hearing-Aids And Parents Boost Kids’ Vocabulary

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Children with hearing-aids and sufficient parental support and interaction will have a stronger vocabulary than others, according to a tertiary researcher, Karien Coppens, at the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.
Parental encouragement and support are two key components for learning outcomes in children with hearing issues. Coppens found parent support is vital in a child’s potential [...]

Childcare Managers’ Vital Role In Language Skills

Monday, May 13th, 2013

Childcare facilities may overlook childrens’ cognitive language and social-emotional skills development with the other early-skills children must learn, according to a recent piece in Canada’s ‘The Castlegar Source’ newspaper.
When children learn and practice early social skills like turn-taking, sharing and interaction, with hand-eye coordination and early physical development, their exposure to rich language may ’stall’ as [...]

Early Years Technology Builds Child Literacy Skills

Friday, May 10th, 2013

Early-years technology “awakens the imagination and fosters the cognitive development of young children”, while developing early literacy skills in children who may not have a language-rich home environment, according to Remake Learning, the blog of the Pittsburgh Kids+Creativity Network.
Read: How Early Years Innovators Are Changing The Tech Game
Best of all, parents and caregivers can prompt [...]

“I Am The Happiest Deaf Teenager On Facebook”

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

His profile reads “I am the happiest deaf teenager on Facebook”. UK-based Jamie Williams started writing a blog after a friend said how happy and content he is, even when he’s deaf. And his writing ability shows in the blog.
Read >> Deaf teenager’s blog takes Facebook by storm
Jamie’s blog is “A Deaf Boy in A [...]

Introduction To Auditory Verbal Therapy (Belfast)

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

Auditory-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, 2013

Having 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, 2013

Parents 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 [...]

Bilateral Cochlear Implants: Hearing With Two Ears

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

With 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 [...]

Teacher Question: Reading/Listening On The iPad

Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

A 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 [...]

A Surgeon’s Thirty Million Words Project Research

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

Chicago-based ENT surgeon, Dana Suskind, who oversees pediatric cochlear implants, is researching a thirty-million-word gap she sees among implanted children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. By age 3, these children hear 30 million fewer words than peers from more affluent backgrounds.
With babies known to hear in the womb before birth, Suskind has a point.
Read more >> [...]

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