About Me

My photo
Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist, Speech-Language Pathologist, International consultant for LSLS training and children with hearing loss, husband-wife AVCC team, mother of three amazing individuals.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

2020 NEW BOOK: Auditory-Verbal Therapy Science Research & Practice



Website for AVT information


Online information about AVT is plentiful. Here are a few resources:

Regarding LISTENING and SPOKEN LANGUAGE: 

This a a good website/blog with lots of articles answering questions parents have about AVT:

The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
https://agbell.org 

July 2020 Integrated Scales of Development in AVT

Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) follows Ten Principles of Auditory-Verbal Practice. In AVT we teach according to the natural hierarchy of listening, language ( Receptive & Expressive ), Speech Development, Cognition, and social communication. International Cochlear Corp has published a wonderful resource that helps me guide the parents early in therapy. This integrated scale of development starts for babies at age 0-3 months - on up until they have full use of spoken language. Each check list covers a 3 month period.

For all the families I teach in my Auditory-Verbal Therapy Parent Guidance program I use this easy to use checklist:
 https://www.cochlear.com/in/en/home/ongoing-care-and-support/rehabilitation-resources/scales-of-development

I refer to it every day as I write my Lesson Plan. I also keep a running record of the sounds I hear the baby saying in each session. This helps me "think" like the baby, get right on their level of listening and language development.

During the AVT session, the parent and I discuss the skills to see if the child is achieving that skill or ways we can help them look for natural ways to stimulate the baby to achieve the skill. Sometimes it is as easy as making the parents aware of what they baby might be doing and then they see and hear the baby doing what I am asking.

Please check out the checklist?

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Lea's List of Children's Book to use in AVT

Trying to List My Favorite Children’s Books……

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? by Dr. Seuss
Are You My Mother? P.D. Eastman
Go, Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman

The Three Bears  by Paul Galdone
The Three Pigs by Paul Galdone
The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone

The Gingerbread Man
Old McDonald Had a Farm

Little Red Riding Hood
The Three Little Kittens by Lilian Obligado

Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan ( and all the Little Owl books )

Scuppers the Sailor Dog by Margaret Wise Brown

George and Martha books  by James Marshall (great short stories about the two hippos )

The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Nadine Bernard Westcott
The Big Hungry Bear by Audrey and Don Wood

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Joffe Numeroff



Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton

Red Hat, Yellow Hat by Sandra Boynton
Goodnight Moon by Margret Brown


The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Have You Seen My Cat?  by Eric Carle
1, 2, 3 to the Zoo by by Eric Carle ( all books by Eric Carle )

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?  by Nancy White Carlstrom

Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Jump, Frog, Jump!by Robert Kalan

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw

I Went Walking by Sue Williams
The Napping Houseby Audrey Wood

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Pete the Cat books by James Dean

Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Curious George by Margret & H.A. Rey
Each Peach Pear Plum by Allan Ahlberg

Maisy by Lucy Cousins
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
No, David! by David Shannon

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback
I Love You, Little One by Nancy Tafuri

Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathman

Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis

I Stink!  By Kate & Jim McMullan

Hush Little baby Don’t Say a Word

Where’s Spot?

The Mitten by  Jan Brett
The Hat by  Jan Brett


And so many more……

Thursday, October 29, 2015

"God's Special Mothers" - by Erma Bombeck

"God's Special Mothers" - by Erma Bombeck
In the mid-70s, shortly after a mother discovered that her son was deaf, her sister-in-law sent her this piece written by Erma Bombeck. This mother keeps it and still reads it over when times get tough.

GOD'S SPECIAL MOTHERS

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year over 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint, Matthew."

"Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint, Cecelia."

"Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."

Finally He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to  have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.

I will permit her to see clearly the things I see... ignorance, cruelty, prejudice... and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air.


God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Karl White TED Talk on Establishing a Sound Foundation

Copy this into your web browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfN1RPVuzl0