The Secrets Beneath the Palm Tree by parent Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen

I am excited to introduce my guest blogger, Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen, a parent of a grown son with profound hearing loss who uses listening and spoken language.  Angeliki shares that, September is International Deaf Awareness Month! This September of. 2020 is not like every other year. This September of 2020 is GOING BACK or NOT GOING BACK to school month. There are global changes and different ways of approaching the current pandemic crisis. Fortunately, books can be used in the same ways as always. So can the internet.

Angeliki wrote The Secrets Beneath the Palm Tree, a book geared to address children that are deaf and hard of hearing. She shares the her story can bring joy to each child who encounters hearing loss at a young age, whether it’s their own or someone else’s. This book is veritable documentation on effective communication tactics; it also imparts information on hearing dogs, friendships, and much more. A lip-reading game is described in the book. Today, because of COVID-19 every one is required, in a group situation, to wear a mask. The game cannot be played with regular masks. Instead, a smart adaptation would be to use clear masks, a fun way for all children to understand their necessity.

A reflection from the past. I am the mother of a now-adult deaf son, diagnosed with a hearing loss at age three. Initially, he was aided with a bi-cross hearing aid. The very difficult diagnostic journey lasted two-and-a-half years. After that we were very lucky, we worked with several dedicated professionals in the field, and my son developed spoken language. At age 12, he suddenly lost his residual hearing overnight. Soon after, he got his cochlear implant. While I cherish all the miraculous technological advantages and the related science behind them, we all know the limitations of existing assistive hearing devices. Good communication tactics are therefore so essential.

For a long time, every September was a very stressful month for me, simply because my son was attending mainstream school and he would start a new year. How I wish I had a fun book like this, a book of hearing loss would have been most helpful, to introduce him and explain his hearing loss, to his class. That was when I conceptualized the theme of my book and the fact that we have to educate “hearing” children about deafness. It took me many years of hard work to bring it to fruition. By then, my son was already in college.

Today, I am happy to say that my book is published in two languages. My native language is Greek. Naturally, the book was first published in Greek. The English version came later. I have always loved children’s literature. That is how I learned English, by reading illustrated children’s books. As a doting grandmother, I continuously share my love of illustrated children’s books with my beloved grandkids and I am passionately involved with children’s literature in my retirement years. But I have to confess that my favorite books are the ones that have protagonists with hearing loss!

The Secrets Beneath the Palm Tree was released in February of 2019. Today it is available in paperback, hardcover and on Kindle. It is a rich story embedded with tips for children, educators, speech language pathologists, audiologists and others. It is a must to add to your library.

Thank you Anglelki for your heart, journey and words of wisdom. I am proud to share you and your son’s story with my readers and followers.

Listen & Move to the Music

Listen & Move is a tried and true musical activity to include in your auditory verbal therapy in face to face sessions, in telepractice or for families at home. It’s a no-prep, effective listening and language learning activity so give and try!

I’ve been a long time fan of incorporating Greg & Steve's music in auditory verbal sessions. The songs are language rich, educational and motivating. The Listen & Move song from theWe All Live Together, Vol-2 album is exceptional for babies to listen and move to along with their parents or caregivers. Preschoolers and early elementary aged children can build skills in

• listening and attention

• following directions

• auditory memory and recall

• musical appreciation.

In the linked YouTube video, there are no images, so Listen and Move! is played through hearing alone. Kids listen to the words and the tempo that match actions to follow along. Allowing children to hear the music without pictures or using props provides ear contact before eye contact which is critical to growing a child’s brain for auditory skills. 

How to Play:

1. Play the video, listen to the music and follow the directions to WALK, GALLOP, TIPTOE, RUN, SKATE and HOP.

2. The second verse is the same music but without the words or directions.

3. This time the kids listen to the musical elements of pitch, rhythm, phrase, cadence and use their auditory memory and recall to dance and move to the sounds they hear and identify. Each action’s musical sounds are distinctive such as tiptoeing versus skating.

4. Expand this activity by targeting vocabulary and talking together about topics like, Who gallops? Why would someone tip-toe? Types of skates and so on. 

5. Follow up with a story. Check out a list of the best kids books about movement and motion by Bookroo: The Children's Book Experts.

   Gallop! A Scanimation Picture Book  by Seder, R. B. (2007) is wonderful for babies and toddlers and encourages listeners to gallop, swing, run, and jump like a variety of different animals.

   Have fun!

Not A Teacher - On Teachers Pay Teachers?

Teachers Pay Teacher (TpT) is a marketplace for original educator-created content. Look around and you will see fabulous content from Listening and Spoken Language Specialists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Audiologists, Teachers of The Deaf, Occupational and Physical Therapists, Mental Health Counselors, classroom teachers, administrators and others.

Little Known Fact: In addition to being an Audiologist by degree with over 35 years of experience as an LSLS Certified AVT I once held my K-12 and Special Education licensure through the Board of Education in the state of Ohio. After relocating to Illinois eventually I let my teaching licensure lapse. I still have the ❣️ of teacher and am without a doubt an educator just not in a classroom.

TpT is a treasure trove for those of us who guide families and work with children that are deaf and hard of hearing. On the 25th of each month a group of us who have connected on instagram offer select resources at 25% off. I am thankful for these creative friends and colleagues. Last Fall when I took the plunge as a AVT on TpT I knew only two out these sixteen authors. It’s the people we meet along the way that make us love the journey.

Gather new ideas, learn together and have fun shopping!

Sinister The Bad Listener

I came up with the idea and the character Sinister years ago and have yet to meet a child who doesn't love talking about this bad listener. Kids love imaging the trouble sinister gets himself into because he doesn’t listen. Many can relate to all of Sinister's excuses for not listening. Listening is hard work. Listening fatigue is real. This activity allows them to laugh, relate, and share what they have thought about but never dared to say out loud.

I created a new resource for my Listen With Lynn store about Sinister and am eager to share it with many more children. It is not grade specific but I have found it successful for first graders through middle-schoolers.

Meet Sinister Sinister has two ears, wears great hearing devices and has been in listening and language therapy since he was a toddler. But, it doesn’t matter. Sinister is a BAD listener! He doesn’t try and makes up excuses for not listening. Sinister gets in a whole lot of trouble because he doesn’t listen.

The therapist, teacher or parent leads a discussion using the game deck of Sinister’s poor excuses for not listening. It is designed to be presented through hearing first to emphasize learning spoken language through listening. The activity has a Listen slide followed by the passage. The adult reads aloud each of the 12 passages one by one that contains Sinister’s excuses for not listening. Read the passage while viewing the Listen slide. This provides ear contact before eye contact, which is critical to building auditory and listening skills.

https://auditoryverbaltherapy.net/2015/06/01/the-auditory-feedback-loop/

The child listens and retells or paraphrases the excuse in their own words. This uses the child’s Auditory Feedback Loop (Hear It → Think it → Say it) and builds auditory memory and comprehension skills.

Then show the slide with Sinister's excuse. Talk with the child and reflect on Sinister’s excuses for not listening at school. Brainstorm suggestions about what Sinister could do to become a great listener and the boss of his hearing loss.

Tips for Communication Success -Boss of Your Hearing Loss can guide the discussion. It is always amazing to ask the asking the child what they learned and their takeaways from talking about Sinister after this activity.

This activity is an easy, no-prep way to encourage the child to be Boss of Your Hearing Loss. It can be used by parents at home, teachers and therapists both face to face and during tele-practice.