The Center's ConnectHear program allows children with hearing loss to receive Auditory-Verbal Therapy via the internet.
Having a child with special needs is never easy, but it can be especially difficult for families without access to the specialized services their child needs to thrive. The Center for Communication, Hearing & Deafness is helping to eliminate these barriers by integrating cutting-edge technology with old-fashioned professional expertise through its long-distance Auditory-Verbal (A-V) therapy service, ConnectHear. Using web cameras and computers, parents throughout Wisconsin, and the country, are able to pursue Auditory-Verbal Therapy for their deaf or hard of hearing child, even if the nearest certified A-V therapist is hundreds of miles away.
Download the ConnectHear Brochure
Auditory-Verbal Therapy is a parent-centered approach that focuses on listening as the primary input for learning language. During therapy sessions, the parent, child and therapist engage in activities that teach the child to use sound meaningfully while wearing his or her hearing aid or cochlear implant. According to CCHD’s Amy Peters Lalios, a Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist, “access to qualified professionals who have the necessary education, training, knowledge and experience teaching language to children with hearing loss is often limited across geographic regions. This is especially true for auditory-verbal therapy. Long distance therapy, or “teleintervention,” provides families with direct access to professionals and services that would otherwise not be available.”
This was the case for the Petrina family of Kewaunee, whose daughter Ashley was born with profound hearing loss nearly two years ago. Early on, Ashley’s parents decided that they wanted spoken language to be her first language and opted to provide Ashley with cochlear implants. Ashley’s mom, Carol, researched different therapy choices and sought out books and ideas about how she could help her daughter’s language development from home. A daunting task for any parent. Carol first learned about CCHD’s Auditory-Verbal Therapy services during the Center’s annual Family Learning Vacation event. She watched a presentation by Amy Lalios, and talked with another family who shared the success they had found through A-V therapy. But, given that the Petrina’s lived about two hours away from the Center, in-person therapy didn’t seem like a realistic option. Until they discovered that CCHD also offered long distance Auditory-Verbal Therapy services — one of the first teleintervention programs for children with hearing loss in the country, and Ashley was able to begin receiving weekly therapy from Amy via the internet and web camera in the comfort of their own home.
In addition to the convenience and accessibility of receiving long-distance therapy, Carol says that the most beneficial part of auditory-verbal therapy is that it “gives me lots of ideas for activities to do at home with Ashley, since I’m with her all day.” A key part of A-V therapy is parent involvement, and the therapist guides parents in ways to include listening as a meaningful part of the time they spend with the child outside of regular therapy sessions. “Just the other day, we were in the waiting room at the doctor’s office and I was able to have a full therapy session with her right there.”
When children such as Ashley receive specialized intervention services at an early age, many – even those with profound hearing loss – are ready to take their place with their hearing peers when they reach school age. While not the right choice for every family, Auditory-Verbal Therapy is just one of the options available to parents at CCHD. And now, through the miracle of modern technology, children throughout Wisconsin and the country, can access this valuable service, whether they live in a big city or a rural town.
