30th Anniversary Oberkotter Foundation Video

Oberkotter and Hearing First are dedicated to supporting families throughout their LSL journey. 

Enjoy this video celebrating Oberkotter Foundation’s 30th year. The Foundation grew out of one family’s journey with their daughter who is deaf. The video is a version of a home movie to pay tribute to that family and to the amazing gift they have given to so many other families and children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Every family follows its own unique path, but all families share similar steps along the way, and even journeys that are separated by decades of time resonate with similar emotions, feelings, successes and struggles. 

Video Link Here

GIVING THE GIFT OF LISTENING AND SPOKEN LANGUAGE

By Lynn A. wood

Consultant on the HEARING FIRST TEAM

Republished with permission from Hearing First.

This holiday season, we’re celebrating the gifts that help your child achieve their full potential. When you begin implementing LSL strategies for your child who is deaf of hard of hearing, you are giving them more than just a single gift, you’re giving them opportunities that can set them up for a lifetime of success. Take a look at our favorite gifts that create spoken language.

READ MORE

About Hearing First
The Hearing First website is a multimedia digital experience and connection point designed to link families who have chosen Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) for their children with hearing loss and the professionals who work with them with the resources, information, tools, community and learning experiences they need to ensure the children in their lives succeed. 

Visit www.hearingfirst.org or click here to learn about the Hearing First Communities.

Milestones in Action - a FREE Library of Photos and Videos of Developmental Milestones

Sound Localization and the Musical Elf on the Shelf Hide and Seek Game

Sound Localization and the Musical Elf 

Available to purchase:Pressman Toys

Hide the musical and talking elf from your child’s view somewhere in a room.

When beginning the Hide and Seek Listening Game:

First, ask your child WHAT he hears.

Then, WHERE the sound is coming from.

You may want to begin by keeping the choices simple. For example, "Do you hear the Elf near the windows or closer to the fireplace?" 

Remind the child to listen first or else they will begin searching with their eyes! 

To play this game, with the Musical and Talking Elf, press the on/off button and hide him. The Elf plays music such as Jingle Bells and calls out phrases periodically like, "Yoo-hoo! I'm hiding! I'm over here! " 

Sound Localization

The ability to localize sounds develops over time. The earlier your child has received his bilateral cochlear implants/hearing aids, the sooner he starts picking up sound cues and gains valuable experiences localizing sounds. 

Tips For Children Learning to Locate Sound Sources

• Using two different musical toys, hidden from the child’s view, locating one to the left of the child and one to the right side of the child. Then, make a sound with each instrument in varied sequence, ask your child to identify which instrument is on which side. You can do this with Mom's vs. Dad's voice as well. 
• At the dinner table or while playing games help your child locate who is speaking. Your entire family can help the child learn to locate and follow then natural flow of
• conversation.
• Playing hide-and-seek indoors (e.g. room or house), hiding yourself and calling out to your child to find you. This task may be varied by taking turns between hiding and searching.
• Games in a group, such as “Blindman’s Buff ” or “I Spy” (with sounds), hand clapping games are ideal for practicing sound localization in a  playful way.
• Teach your child that is hard of hearing to be extra alert visually in crowds, walking near cars, crossing streets, riding bicycles, and in group games. Remind your child to look for traffic and not to depend on hearing oncoming vehicles. If your child rides a bicycle, consider rear-view mirrors to help him see traffic he might not hear.            

Sample Localization GOAL with Benchmarks

GOAL: Child will auditory locate with bilateral cochlear implants/hearing aids:

-  a sound presented at ear level within a 3-foot radius in front or on either side

-  a sound presented at ear level within a 6-foot radius from behind

 - understand and verify gross, environmental, music or speech sounds within  9 feet, then 12 feet and  finally, within the same room in all directions.

 - Understand sounds with a specific location or direction outside.

Click HERE for a packet by Med-EL entitled,
 "Sound Localization Tips and Information for users of Cochlear Implants"

A great listener at the Auditory Verbal Center of Wheaton

SUMMER OF SILENCE - A journey from hearing to deafness to re-implantation

 Summer of Silence  - Click HERE to read.

November 29, 2016

Urban Plains 

 Sydney Price, one of my Auditory Verbal graduates is a Senior at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She writes the story of while studying abroad in Italy her cochlear implant failed. Health insurance left her in limbo and she experienced a summer of silence and struggled with her identity. Her article is an awe-inspiring first-hand account of her journey from hearing to deafness to re-implantation.

“Not every deaf person gets to say they took their hearing for granted. I did.” writes Sydney.

Sydney began AVT as an infant and continued in therapy for many years. We kept in touch over the years and she returned for Auditory Rehabilitation this summer after being re-implanted due to her cochlear implant device failure. 

Sydney is on the left enjoying a Summer Family Picnic with 

my Hearing Connections Group back in the 90's

 I love her quote, 

“I didn’t just need a slew of audiologist appointments to test if I could hear.

I needed auditory rehabilitation to help retrain my brain

 so I could understand what I was hearing.”

HLAA 2016 Financial Assistance Programs and Foundations

Source

The HLAA (Hearing Loss Association of America) updated their financial assistance document in July 2016. It looks like a comprehensive list and is ten pages in length. I have uploaded the document and HERE is the link as well.

Please let me know if you secure assistance from one of these organizations.

Page 1 of 10

Attitude of Gratitude

Listening2Learn shares the importance of being thankful and ways to instill gratitude in your child by listening and talking together. 

Auditory Verbal Graduate Earned the Rank of Eagle Scout

Mat, may the high goals and ideals 

which led to this special honor 

continue to inspire you in years ahead.

Help me congratulations Mat, one of my AV graduates who earned the rank of Eagle Scout this week. He began AV therapy at about 8 months old and received services through middle school. Today, he is a junior in high school, a high achiever, a leader and a spoken language superstar. Mat is looking at universities with the inspiration to become a research audiologist.

Auditory Verbal therapy made it possible for Mat to learn to listen, talk with clear and natural speech, develop spoken language, excellent literacy, and academic skills. He hears with a cochlear implant.

Mat and his Mom. - His biggest advocate and teacher

Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America. 

After 16 years we are still great friends!

Mat attended the 2016 A.G. Bell's LOFT (Leadership Opportunities for Teens) program

 this past summer in Denver. 

Mat is front and center wearing the white and yellow. 

Have You Seen The Quick Guides to Hearing Device Components from CID?

https://cid.edu/

The Central Institute For the Deaf has three quick and simple video guides to hearing devices.

Hearing Aid Components

Cochlear Implant Components

Bone Conduction Devices

These are ideal for a parent, caregiver or school professional new to listening devices that need to learn the parts of a hearing cochlear implant or bone conduction device.

C.I.D's You Tube Link

Ten Little Native Americans

This week in therapy I began using Thanksgiving as a theme in some of my AVT sessions. My little listeners enjoy the song, Ten Little Indians while it may not be considered politically correct it is a wonderful repetitive song that I have used for countless years. We sing and shout, "Woo woo woo, Woo woo woo" which is great for early sound awareness and imitation. 

Together, we take the Native Indian boys and girls in and out of the teepee which is a catalyst for many listening and spoken language activities and goals.

One little, two little, three little Indians

Four little, five little, six little Indians

Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians

Ten little Indian boys/girls.

Favorite Thanksgiving Books

Kristin Cummings, an SLP from Simply Speech created a collaborative list of her blogging friends' favorite Thanksgiving books. There are 15 stories with links to each blog sharing ways they use the book. Some have created include book companion materials.

 Click HERE for this great resource of Thanksgiving books for Auditory Verbal Therapy and at home.

Children's Music and Cochlear Implants You Tube Channel

Source

This channel was created by Weingarten Children’s Center to empower the parents and educators of children with hearing loss to make music a way of life in their homes and schools. Each week will focus on a different song and offer one teaching tip geared towards listening and spoken language learners and one twist, giving you an outside the box way to play and learn with the song. Their goal is to post a new song for each week of the school year and encourage you to enhance your child's musical journey by subscribing to our channel and joining us regularly. 

Weingarten Children’s Center (WCC), a non-profit organization, was established in 1967 by parents who believed that deaf and hard of hearing children could learn to listen and speak.For more information visit www.weingartencc.org

Week 1- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Tip- Purposeful pausing Twist- Piggybacking to sing about daily actions

Week 2: The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Tip- Play with singing the song using different volumes (loud, soft) Twist- Try using different location words for the spider

Click HERE for additional songs, tips and twists.

AV Listener won FIRST PLACE for a 1-minute video

One of my AV Listeners won FIRST PLACE for a 1-minute video featuring his CI program at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. We have a ton of fun together as Nathan is full of laughter and funny without even trying. Enjoy!

Halloween Auditory Verbal Therapy Pinterest Board

Halloween and Auditory Verbal Listening and Spoken Language Ideas 

Click HERE to view my Halloween Pinterest board

"I Can Hear You!" A-V Graduate Proclaims

Dear World is part business/art project/social experiment and asks each portrait subject to share a message they care about in their signature style of distinct message-on-skin portraits . Dear World has photographed over 50,000 thousand people all around the world.

Dear World came to the college of one of my Auditory Verbal graduates. Nicole had something to say, "I can hear you!" Nicole received her first CI in 1999 at age two. Today she is studying biochemistry with plans to be a cardiac thoracic surgeon.

If you had a story to share about something you love, what would it be?

Apples and Auditory Verbal Therapy

Last week, when at the Hear Indiana Listening & SpokenLanguage Conference. I was asked by a number of you why I am not posting pics of what I am doing these days in therapy.  Life is busy - but I will try post AVT pics more often.  Here you go!

Hi, Ho Apple Tree Game and The Star in the Middle of the Apple story are among the highlights.

First Day of School with "Harmony Hears A Hoot"

"Harmony Hears A Hoot" is a new book I received thanks to Island Wide Speech's founder and author Fara Augustover, M.A. CCC-SLP. I am excited to share this with my Little Listeners at the beginning of this school year. The story is about Harmony’s 1st day of school and is great for learning self-advocacy skills. The book highlights lessons such as: dealing with questions about devices from peers, FM systems, auditory, speech and language therapy, background noise, batteries, advocating, asking for repetitions, etc.!

"Harmony Hears A Hoot" follows a young owl who has a hearing loss. She already has a diagnosis, listening devices (e.g. hearing aids, cochlear implants, BaHa's, etc.), and now it's time to venture off to school. Children with hearing loss can learn with Harmony as she experiences meeting new people and the questions/situations that arise. This book offers a whimsical account that a children can relate to, and enjoy as they listen to the story and looks at the colorful illustrations, all while personally associating themselves with the main character, Harmony."

You can order a hardcover or ebook at www.harmonyhearsahoot.com or Amazon!

There is also a "Harmony Hears a Hoot" Activity Pack, Book Report Template and even an adorable handmade crocheted Harmony Doll.

I hope your Little Listener enjoys hearing about and learning with Harmony!