How to Grow Your Baby's Brain the Auditory-Verbal Way

How to Grow Your Baby’s/Child’s Brain the Auditory-Verbal Way

From “Children with Hearing Loss: Developing Listening and Talking”
By Elizabeth Cole and Carol Flexer 2007

Above all, love, play and have fun with your child!

1. The quieter the room and the closer you are to your child, the better you will be heard.The child may have difficulty over hearing conversations and hearing from a distance.You need to be close to your child when you speak.

2. Your child must wear his or her hearing aid or cochlear implant during all waking
hours (except bathing or swimming, of course),every day of the week.The brain needs
constant,detailed auditory input in order to develop. Knowingly depriving your child ofthis access is a form of neglect. The technology is your access to the brain and your child’s access to full knowledge of the world around him or her.

3. Check your child’s technology regularly. Equipment malfunctions, often. Become
proficient at troubleshooting.

4. Use an FM system at home to facilitate distance hearing and incidental learning. An FM system can be used during reading too, to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and to facilitate the development of auditory self-monitoring. Place the FM microphone on the child so that he/she can clearly hear their own speech, thereby facilitating the development of the “auditory feedback loop.”

5. Focus on listening, not just seeing. Call attention to sounds and to conversations in the room. Point to your ear and smile, and talk about the sounds you just heard and what they mean. Use listening words such as “You heard that,” “You were listening,” and “I heard you.”

6. Maintain a joint focus of attention when reading and when engaged in activities. That is, the child looks at the book or at the activity while listening to you.

7. Speak in sentences, not single words, with clear speech using lots of melody.

8. Read aloud to your child, daily. Even infants can be read to, as can older children. Try to read at least 10 books to your baby or child each day. We should be reading chapter books by pre-school.

9. Sing and read nursery rhymes to your baby or young child every day. Fill his/her days with all kinds of music and songs to promote interhemispheric transfer.

10. Name objects in the environment as you encounter them during daily routines.
Constantly be mindful of expanding vocabulary.

11. Talk about and describe how things look, sound and feel.

12. Talk about where objects are located. You will use many prepositions such as in, on, under, behind, beside, next to and between. Prepositions are the bridge between and abstract thinking.

13. Compare how objects or actions are similar and different in size, shape, quantity, smell,color, and texture.

14. Describe sequences. Talk about the steps involved in activities as you are doing the activity. Sequencing is necessary for organization and for the successful completion of any task.

15. Tell familiar stories or stories about events from your day or from your past. Keep narratives simpler for younger children, and increase complexity as your child grows.

IF YOU FOLLOW THESE STEPS, YOU WILL PROVIDE A VERY PRODUCTIVE
AUDITORY VERBAL ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUR BABY/CHILD

Lea Donovan Watson, M.S., CCC/SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT
Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist
Listening and Spoken Language Specialist Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist