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Auditory-Verbal Therapy
Auditory-Verbal Education
Information for Parents
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The majority of children with hearing loss have
useful residual hearing; a fact known for decades
(Bezold & Siebenmann, 1908; Goldstein, 1939;
Urbantschitsch, 1982).
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When properly aided, children with hearing loss
can detect most if not all of the speech spectrum
(Beebe, 1953; Goldstein, 1939; Johnson, 1975; Johnson,
1976; Ling, 1989; Ling & Ling 1978; Pollack,
1970, 1984; Ross & Calvert, 1984).
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Once ALL available residual hearing is accessed
through binaural hearing aids or cochlear implants
(and other assistive devices such as FM untis),
then a child will have maximum access to the speech
spectrum and can develop language in a natural way
through the auditory modality. (Boothroyd, 1982;
Goldberg & Lebahn, 1990; Robertson & Flexer,
1990; Ross & Calvert, 1984).
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The identification of hearing loss, use of appropriate
amplification and medical technology, and stimulation
of hearing must occur as early as possible in order
for the child to benefit from the “critical
periods” of neurological and linguistic development.
(Clopton & Winfield, 1976; Johnson & Newport,
1989; Lennenberg, 1967; Marler, 1970; Newport, 1990).
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If hearing is not accessed during the critical language
learning years, a child’s ability to use acoustic
input meaningfully will deteriorate due to physiological
(retrograde deterioration of auditory pathways),
and psychosocial (attention, practice, learning)
factors (Evans, Wester, & Cullen 1983; Merzenich
& Kaas, 1982; Patchett, 1977; Robertson &
Irvine, 1989; Webster, 1983).
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Current information about normal language development
provides the framework and justification for the
structure of Auditory-Verbal practice. That is,
infants/toddlers/children learn language most efficiently
through consistent and continual meaningful auditory
interactions in a supportive environment with significant
caretakers (Kretschmer & Kretschmer, 1978; Lennenberg,
1967; Leonard, 1991; Ling, 1989, MacDonald &
Gillette, 1989; Menyuk, 1977; Ross, 1990).
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As verbal language develops through the auditory
input of information, reading skills can also be
developed. (Geers & Moog, 1989; Ling, 1989;
Robertson & Flexer, 1990).
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Parents in Auditory-Verbal programs do not have
to learn sign language or cued speech. More than
ninety percent of parents of children with hearing
loss have normal hearing (Moores, 1987). Studies
show that over ninety percent of parents with normal
hearing do not learn sign language beyond a basic
preschool level of competency (Luetke-Stahlman &
Moeller, 1987). Auditory-Verbal practice requires
that caregivers interact with a child through spoken
language and create a listening environment which
helps a child to learn.
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If a severe or profound hearing loss automatically
makes an individual neurologically and functionally
“different” from people with normal
hearing (Furth, 1964; Myklebust & Brutton, 1953),
then the Auditory-Verbal philosophy would not be
tenable. The fact is, however, that outcome studies
show that individuals who have, since early childhood,
been taught through the active use of amplified
residual hearing, are indeed independent, speaking,
and contributing members of mainstream society (Goldberg
& Flexer, 1991; Ling, 1989; Yoshinaga-Itano
& Pollack; 1989).
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