For the child with hearing loss, we are always looking for opportunities for exposure to language, whether it be to fill in the gaps or to pre-expose to new language. While there are many different activities and ways to achieve this goal, one of my favorite language-based activities is cooking.…
Getting the Most Out of a Second Implant
Research has shown that two ears are better than one, especially for locating a sound source and listening in noisy environments. Quality of life questionnaires completed by teens and adults have shown that many find socializing much easier after the 2nd implant and overall many report a huge difference in…
The Art of Faking It: An Attempt to Blend In for the Child with Hearing Loss
Today, I taught one of my students one of the most important lessons that I could have taught her. Typically, we think of the key parts of listening and spoken language therapy to be auditory discrimination tasks, vocabulary lessons, grammar lessons, and speech sound practice, to mention just a few.…
Lip Service: Do You Always Need To Cover Your Mouth?
When some people think about auditory-verbal therapy, they envision people walking around talking with their hands covering their mouths, at all times. This is not the case. The purpose of auditory verbal therapy is to work on enhancing listening skills so that the child becomes reliant on the auditory information…
Why are MAPpings Needed Forever?
Cochlear implants are an amazing technology. Tiny electrodes implanted inside the ear (cochlea) can stimulate the auditory nerve causing the brain of a people with significant hearing loss, to hear the sounds around them, including speech. At initial activation, the audiologist programs the speech processor so that an individual has…