Auditory Verbal Therapy: Part 8

Auditory Verbal Therapy: Part VIII

Principle VIII

Guide and coach parents to help their child self-monitor spoken language through listening.

Parents are encouraged to imitate any noises the child makes.  This can be a very fun game for mom and baby, and it helps develop the auditory feedback loop.  The child needs to have the skills of listening to what other people say, and repeat it.  This then transfers into the child being able to listen to their own speech and modify it.  This strength is crucial to developing proper speech and language skills.  All this from saying, "Goo goo" and "ba ba ba" and "mee mee mee"?  You betcha!

Auditory Verbal Therapy: Part 6

Auditory Verbal Therapy: Part VI

Principle VI

Guide and coach parents to help their child integrate listening and spoken language into all aspects of the child's life.

Children born with hearing loss, especially if it is amplified late, are not natural listeners.  It needs to become a habit.  And habits can be taught!  Parents need to learn how to take advantage of everyday listening moments and capitalize on them.  For example, the mom and baby are playing with blocks and the doorbell rings. She could just get up and go answer the door, but she would be missing out on a great learning opportunity.  Mom should sit up straight and announce, "I heard something!" and point to her ear.  She is teaching the child to notice sounds as they occur around her.  She is also teaching her that sounds go through the ear/hearing aid/implant thus teaching the child the importance of the device that they wear and its connection with noises. 

Auditory Verbal Therapy: Part 2

Principle II

Recommend immediate assessment and use of appropriate, state-of-the-art hearing technology to obtain maximum benefits of auditory stimulation.

A child born with a hearing loss should be fitted for hearing aids as soon as possible to receive auditory stimulation.  The early years are the most crucial.  The first 3 1/2 years of life are when neuroplasticity is at its greatest, meaning the brain is the most adaptable.  The younger the child, the more adaptable the brain and the easier it will be for them to learn to listen and talk.  Therefore, the older the child, the more difficult it is because the auditory centers of the brain have begun to reorganize themselves. (Sharma et al., 2002; 2004; Sharma, Dorman, and Kral, 2005).

Auditory Verbal Therapy: Part 1

Principle I

Promote early diagnosis of hearing loss in newborns, infants, toddlers, and children, followed by immediate audiologic management and Auditory-Verbal Therapy.

Most states have implemented a newborn hearing screening program in which many types of hearing loss can be detected.  We need to ensure that when a child is identified with a hearing loss, the family is educated regarding all of their options and that appropriate follow-up is established.  A child can be fitted with a hearing aid as early as one month: the time it takes for a complete audiological exam, molds to be made, and the hearing aid to be ready for the child.

Fun Fact Friday

Did you know that by the 20th week of gestation a baby's cochlea is fully formed?  That means by the time a child is born they already have 20 (ish) weeks of hearing experience!  That's why they show preference towards their mother's voices at such a young age.  It's also why it's so important to get a child fitted with hearing aids as soon as possible once a hearing loss is detected.  They're already 20 weeks behind so it's important to act quickly if you want your child to develop age-appropriate listening and speaking skills.

Guest Post: Hearing Loss Basics

This article was submitted to me by new blogger John O'Connor from Blogging With John O.  Like me, John has a desire to spread the word about hearing loss and related issues.  We hope you learn something new from it!

In the United States, two to three children in every 1000 suffer hearing loss or are completely deaf. Unfortunately, some hearing loss in small children is not recognized until the child is already behind in language.  Early intervention is necessary to help parents take the necessary steps to prevent delays in language development.

What Precautions Can Be Taken to Prevent Hearing Loss In Children?  

All 50 states offer a newborn hearing screening, Early detection is crucial, and along with early intervention, children can learn to listen and speak without getting behind in language skills.

What are the Causes of Childhood Hearing Loss?

 
Otitis Media

  This condition can lead to permanent hearing loss if left untreated. Otitis media is a middle ear infection that often occurs in underdeveloped Eustachian tubes common in developing children. With this type of infection, the fluid builds behind the eardrum and becomes infected. If the fluid remains there for a prolonged period of time, it can impair hearing.

Acquired Hearing Loss

Certain illnesses can cause hearing loss in children. These conditions include: encephalitis, meningitis, measles, influenza, head injuries, chickenpox, genetic hearing loss, very loud noises and certain medications.

 Congenital Factors

Some children who are afflicted with hearing loss from childbirth may experience loss because of genetics or because of prenatal complications. More than half of children’s congenital hearing problems are due to genetics. Children’s hearing loss can also occur when the mother has diabetes or toxemia during pregnancy. Hearing loss is also more common in children born prematurely.

How to Notice Hearing Loss in Children

•           Children Do Not React to Loud Noises
•           Children Do Not Respond to a Mother’s Voice
•           Children Pull or Rub Ears
•           Children Are Irritable for No Apparent Reason
•           Children Do Not Understand/Follow Directions
•           Child is not reaching early language milestones 
•           Child Has Ear Pain accompanied by a Fever

How to Treat Childhood Hearing Loss

Medications

A pediatrician may prescribe antibiotics to alleviate the symptoms associated with ear infections and hearing loss.

Hearing Aids

Children with hearing loss can begin wearing hearing aids as early as one month old.

 Ear Tubes

A child may need ear tubes to drain the fluid from the eardrum and prevent infection. Children may require an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist for this procedure.

Implants

Children may require cochlear implants or electronic devices to help with hearing. These devices should be used only after hearing aids have been found ineffective.

5 Ways to Provide a good language foundation for your baby

1) Sit down and have a conversation. -  Our lives have become so busy and so full of gadgets and to-do lists and errands to run.  I'm afraid that it has caused us to reduce the attention we give to our babies.  They have no choice but to lay where we lay them and to look at whatever is in the direction their head is facing.  My advice is to put down the ipad or the TV remote or the laptop and put your baby on your lap.  Look at each other in the eyes.  Practice eye contact.  Try to get your baby's attention by making noises and having her turn her head.  Then smile.  This is also establishing turn-taking skills.  Did you know that when you are making noises at your baby that you are teaching them the skill of turn-taking?  They make a noise - then you make a noise, then they make a noise, then you make a noise.  It should sound just like a conversation with different noises and different intonation, except that it's just gibberish.  Gibberish or not - it's still very important!
2) Respond to their vocalizations - More specifically, if you and your baby are in the same room but you're cooking dinner or working on the computer and your baby makes a loud noise, you can probably tell that they are trying to get your attention.  Reward it!  You want to reinforce the concept that they can initiate conversation and that by making noise they are causing you to turn your head and give them attention.  Just take a few second to turn your head towards them.  Smile.  Make a noise back.  Then go back to what you were doing.  Not only is it good for language - it reminds the child that you are there for them and that they are the more important than whatever else you're doing at that moment.
3) Tell them what you're going to do, then do it - Talk to your baby all the time.  Don't worry if they don't understand everything you say.  There is no need to simplify your language at all.  Most of what babies learn is 'incidental' meaning as it happens around them and in an unstructured setting.  You want your child to be able to associate what you are saying with what is going on.  So if you pick up your child and say, "It's time for your bath!" then you get distracted and start folding laundry, they won't learn the association between what you say and what you do.  A great example of this is when parents say, "Night-night" as part of the bedtime routine.  The baby has learned to associate sleep with the words 'Night Night'.  These are the babies who might get very upset if you say 'night-night' to them and they're not tired! :)
4) Nursery Rhymes and Finger Plays - There's a good reason why nursery rhymes have been around for so long.  They are a great way to establish language basics in babies.  Some of the skills you are reinforcing include: turn-taking, joint attention, eye contact, intonation, and vocabulary. It doesn't even matter what you're singing.  Pick a song and sing it to your child.  Help them do actions such as clapping hands and raising them high into the air.  They'll soak it up.  
5) Read to your baby -  It's never too soon to start reading to your baby!  I've mentioned before some of the great benefits of reading.  Big thick board books are great for those chubby little hands to hold and feel.  They will associate reading a book with you and the physical closeness and comfort which will help them enjoy reading as they get older.  Check out this video of my 3 month old niece!  Her daddy is reading to her in Spanish and she is just soaking it up.  

Baby Sign

I received a question from a reader about Baby/Toddler Sign Language, and how that affects their language development.  Here are my thoughts on that topic:Baby Sign is the concept of teaching an infant a couple of simple signs (such as milk, food, sleep)  in the hopes of helping them communicate earlier.  The logic is that a child is able to make the gross motor movements of those signs earlier than they would learn how to coordinate the fine motor movements of speech.  Babies can learn to sign back as early as about 6 months, whereas they often don't use true words until about 9 months or later.Research shows that using sign with your child can give your child a language advantage, higher intelligence scores, and better communication with parents.  And in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with teaching your baby some signs, unless you start to use only signs and stop talking to your child.  In that case it makes sense that the child stops hearing language therefore they stop learning it.  I would recommend that if you're using baby signs, be sure to not reduce the language you speak with your child in any way, and when they are old enough to start talking, then I think it's probably a good idea to fade away so they learn to rely on vocalizing instead of signing.  If you let your child get what they want from signing only then they won't see a need to start talking because their needs would be met.  Once again, I think it's all about finding the right balance.This handout explains things clearly - take a look.I hope that information is useful and that it answers your questions!  Let me know if you have other thoughts about this subject.