One activity to target Auditory Associations is by hiding objects in containers with clear tops. Through hearing alone, the child listens to the therapist/parent/teacher's associations of a hidden object.
Read moreempowEAR Audiology podcast Host Carrie and I come Full Circle
Take a listen to the empowEAR Audiology podcast on August 5, 2022, hosted by Carrie Spangler, Au.D, CCC-A. Carrie and I have a long history together as I was one of Carrie's early childhood audiologists when I still lived in Ohio.
Carrie's parents were tremendous advocates and committed to doing whatever it took for her to learn to listen and develop spoken language.
Well, it worked! Today Dr. Spangler is a dedicated professional in the field of educational audiology and has a passionate personal journey of living successfully with hearing loss.
I was humbled to be a guest on Carrie's recent podcast. I loved going down memory lane together and then chatting as dear friends and colleagues.
Leadership Opportunities for Teens For Teens Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Meet my friend Nate. I was Nathan and his family’s Auditory-Verbal Therapist and good friends today. Nate traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in AG Bell’s LOFT (Leadership Opportunities for Teens) program earlier this month. LOFT was established in 1996 and is dedicated to shaping and transforming the lives of deaf and hard of hearing teens by fostering valuable skills of self-advocacy, self-confidence, leadership, and communication. For five days, Nate bonded with 18 other kids, learned a lot, had a blast, and did plenty of sightseeing.
Nate has a great personality advanced in academics, literacy, and social skills. A few of his achievements include:
Competitive Speech Team. Nate's events include persuasive speech and radio speaking
Honors French for his foreign language requirement
Nathan will soon earn the highest honor and national-level recognition for Boy Scouts of America as a Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.
Photography became Nate’s interest and hobby during the pandemic. He bought his own camera and is taking photography classes.
Nate is personable, curious, compassionate, and a well-rounded young man. His speech, language, and academic abilities are commensurate with his hearing peers. This is a result of Nate's family's unwavering commitment to listening and spoken language, his cochlear implant hearing technology, the dedicated professionals on his team, and Nate's motivation and work ethic.
Nate’s Dad and Mom took turns attending our auditory verbal therapy sessions which was an essential part of his listening and spoken language success.
Nate and his Mom kicking off a new school year last week.
Over the years I have had many of my auditory verbal graduates attend LOFT. Part of what makes AG Bell's LOFT programs so important to these teens is the everlasting bond they establish with their peers who often become lifelong friends.
Learn more about the LOFT program at the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Thinking With Language - Duck! Rabbit! Read-Aloud
Do you know the book Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal? (Ages 3-7) The simple story follows two kids as they debate whether they see a picture of a duck or a rabbit and then leave it up to the listener to decide.
Duck! Rabbit! is a "thinking with language" activity and so much fun! In LSL therapy, I introduce opinions and how to be persuasive. The parent and child must back up their final decision with at least three supporting details.
Recently, I was a guest reader and chose Duck! Rabbit! to read aloud.
The kids and their teacher loved it!
Auditory Comprehension Spring Matrix Games
Spring MATRIX GAMES are grab-and-go resources for building listening and language. They are auditory comprehension tools for children with hearing loss or auditory processing difficulties.
SIX THEMED MATRIX GAMES:
1. Where am I? (Outdoor locations)
2. Spring animal babies
3. On the farm
4. Outdoor play
5. Insects
6. Colored egg hunt
YOU CAN TARGET:
Auditory attention
Auditory memory
Vocabulary
Critical elements
Descriptive language
Multi-step directions
Length of utterances (MLU)
A variety of grammatical structures
Concepts of color, size, quantity, location, time/sequence
Matrices are flexible games that can be leveled up or down to meet a child’s auditory memory, comprehension, and language goals. As a child’s skill level develops add more elaborate syntactic structures, use the keywords in sentences or within simple stories.
Here is an example how Matrix One can be played.
You’ll ❤ the matrices and all the other Spring Listening and Language games and activities!