COMMUNICATION
Exactly what and how your child hears is dependent upon the specifics of his or her unique hearing loss. Ask your Audiologist to describe your child’s hearing loss in terms which help you to communicate as effectively as possible with your child.
In most cases, it will be recommended that you use clear, articulate speech to emphasize certain key sounds which enhance the intelligibility of words and sentences spoken to your child. This will minimize the need for repetition and will greatly facilitate communication with your child.
Speech and language training sessions may further enhance the development of both receptive (hearing) and expressive (talking) forms of speech and language. A specialist in this area will create an enjoyable learning environment for your child where he or she will teach your child to easily recognize and produce certain sounds, words and sentences.
If your child has a severe or profound hearing loss in both ears (a “bilateral” hearing loss), a similar approach in speech and language training may be initiated.
Consideration may also be given to supplementing or replacing this training with one or more alternative teaching methods. These may include the use of lip-reading, gestures and expressions, finger spelling or certain signs.
