As children are receiving cochlear implants at younger ages, benchmarks in speech, language, and auditory development can assist auditory-verbal therapists in setting expectation levels. Therapists can then counsel parents who often inquire how their children are progressing compared to peers with the same amount of listening experience. This…

In 1993, the first study of outcomes of auditory-verbal graduates was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology (JAAA). The stated purpose of the research at that time "was to document the status of graduates of one aural habilitation option; auditory-verbal" (p. 190, Goldberg & Flexer). A follow-up study was…

"We wish we had that option in our area." "Wish we lived closer." "I wish I would have known." These statements, made by parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, illustrate a frustrating reality for many families--a lack of access to qualified professionals and specialized services to help children with…

State coordinators of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs completed a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, or SWOT, analysis that examined 12 areas within state EHDI programs. Related to how the medical home is integrated into the EHDI process, 273 items were listed by 48 coordinators, and themes were identified…

Explored are various means of amplification for aurally handicapped adolescents, including behind-the-ear hearing aids, "custom ear" (or in-the-ear) hearing aids, as well as aural rehabilitation. (BD)

The chapter defines speech perception, raises such questions as the nature of acoustical correlates of linguistic units, reviews available information on the auditory capabilities of hearing impaired listeners (such as detection of the time/intensity envelope and temporal resolution), and addresses the relationship between auditory skills and…

The program at the Helen Beebe Speech and Hearing Center (Easton, Pennsylvania), a unisensory approach capitalizing on residual hearing, promotes parent participation through an intensive education program. The approach is intended to help the family support, accept, and encourage the child. (CL)

The chapter describes developments in the use of residual hearing in educating hearing impaired children from ancient times to the present and raises questions concerning the usefulness of auditory training, the age at which amplification should be provided, hearing and lipreading in combination, and effects of powerful hearing aids on residual…

This auditory training program used an analytic distinctive feature approach to attempt to improve consonant recognition in single syllable words through listening and speechreading practice. Two hundred exercises addressed 3 auditory features: voicing, nasality, and sibilancy. The Phoneme Identification Test showed no statistical change in 26…

The development of speech and language skills in hearing impaired children at the preschool level is discussed in terms of a model of communication which includes listening, speech and language, social interaction, cognition, and academics. Sample learning activities illustrate the incorporation of multiple objectives into one lesson. (DB)

A study examined the global language growth rate of 40 children with hearing loss (hearing aid and cochlear implant users) who received intensive auditory-verbal intervention for 1-4 years. Results found these children essentially attained linguistic competency at levels commensurate with peers who had normal hearing. (Contains references.)…

The Central Speech and Hearing Clinic in Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) was established by families of young children with hearing impairments, who perceived the need for an auditory-verbal clinic. The processes and challenges involved in the clinic's development are described, including fund raising and resistance to the program by professionals and…

The speech and language developmental progress of children with hearing loss educated using an Auditory-Verbal approach was compared to that of a control group of children with normal hearing. The experimental group consisted of 29 children ages 2-6 years with a mean pure tone average in the better ear of 76.17 dB HL at 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz. The 29…

Technical (e.g., the need for more audiologists) and educational (e.g., the need for personnel preparation) considerations are examined in terms of maximizing the use of residual hearing with hearing impaired students. Historical and current approaches to auditory training are discussed, as is the role of prosody in spoken language comprehension,…