Auditory-Verbal Therapy (for Children)
Austin Ear Clinic is the only clinic in Austin, TX, to provide Auditory-Verbal Therapy for children with hearing loss. Auditory-Verbal Therapy is specialized type of therapy designed to teach a child to use their hearing (provided by a hearing aid or a cochlear implant) for understanding speech, learning to talk, and learning to listen. The child is taught to develop hearing as an active sense so that listening becomes automatic and the child seeks out sounds in life. AVT helps a child develop hearing and active listening to become an integral part of communication, recreation, socialization, education, and work.
Auditory Verbal Therapy can be further described by the following:
The philosophy of Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) is for deaf and hard of hearing children to grow up in a regular (mainstream) learning environment, enabling them to become independent, participating, and contributing citizens in a society that uses listening & spoken language.
AVT is a parent centered approach. It encourages the use of naturalistic conversation and spoken language to communicate (not sign language).
AVT emphasizes the use of residual hearing to help children learn to listen, process verbal language, and to speak.
AVT maximizes the use of the child’s aided, residual hearing for the awareness, detection & discrimination of sounds. If AVT
starts early enough, it also fosters more normal neurological, auditory, and literacy development.
AVT supports earliest possible identification of a child’s hearing loss, with immediate fitting of amplification.
AVT supports prompt intervention to help reduce the extent of language/speech delays commonly associated with hearing impairment.
AVT is based on teaching parents during their child’s individual therapy sessions. This helps parents emphasize listening skills and interact with their child using an auditory-verbal approach.
AVT is a parent centered approach. It encourages the use of naturalistic conversation and spoken language to communicate (not sign language).
AVT emphasizes the use of residual hearing to help children learn to listen, process verbal language, and to speak.
AVT maximizes the use of the child’s aided, residual hearing for the awareness, detection & discrimination of sounds. If AVT
starts early enough, it also fosters more normal neurological, auditory, and literacy development.
AVT supports earliest possible identification of a child’s hearing loss, with immediate fitting of amplification.
AVT supports prompt intervention to help reduce the extent of language/speech delays commonly associated with hearing impairment.
AVT is based on teaching parents during their child’s individual therapy sessions. This helps parents emphasize listening skills and interact with their child using an auditory-verbal approach.