Listen to Lynn - A Story
Here I am back in the late 1990’s
I did not set out to become an audiologist or an auditory verbal therapist. Rather my career path found me. In 1978, I took Introduction to Speech Disorders as an elective course and I was hooked. The following year, a family sought me out as an undergraduate student at the University of Akron Speech and Hearing Clinic. They were committed that their daughter learn to listen and talk. My clinic supervisor warned me that children who are deaf cannot speak and the family was in denial. Surprisingly, I ignored my supervisor’s warning, put faith in this family who in turn introduced me to Helen Beebe and Doreen Pollack pioneers of Auditory Verbal practice.
God Winks - Divine Coincidences
Dr. Carol Flexer came to the University and became my clinic supervisor, then my favorite professor, and later I was her assistant throughout graduate school. Carol continued to be my mentor for my Clinical Fellowship and coached me as I launched my career. In 1988, I moved to the suburbs of Chicago and Dr. Daniel Ling (Ring a bell? The Ling Six Sounds) referred a family from southern Illinois and soon Marian Ernst another auditory verbal pioneer sent a family from Wisconsin. The word spread thanks to the AG Bell Association. I resigned from my clinical audiology position and began what is today the Auditory Verbal Center of Wheaton. Looking back at my auditory verbal experiences and moving to Illinois at just the right time were all divine interventions or God’s Winks! I am so thankful I listened!
Blink
Time passes. Still today, many of my favorite moments are in therapy sessions side by side with babies, children and their families. I am humbled at the countless families who put their trust in me as their children developed great listening and spoken language skills just like other kids with normal hearing.
In A Flash
It’s 2019, and I am launching, Listen With Lynn™ an online store with listening and spoken language resources, tools and activities for parents and professionals. Beyond my love of direct therapy, I have an infinity for resource design and practical professional development. You’ll find activities, games, songs and play routines for families and engaging auditory rehabilitation activities and practice lessons for teens and adults in the online shop. You can benefit from resources and tools that have lead to successful listening and spoken language outcomes in my practice. Let the Listen With Lynn™ downloadable resources make your listening and spoken journey easier.
We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9