How Does Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) Work for Deaf Children?

An Auditory-Verbal Therapy session for a child with hearing loss includes the child, the child’s carers (parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.), and the AuditoryVerbal Therapist. This therapy helps the child learn to listen and speak through natural interactions such as playing, singing, and talking. The therapist uses the following 10 principles in Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) to assist deaf children in their development:

1. Promotion of early diagnosis of hearing loss in infants, toddlers, and young children followed by immediate auditory-verbal therapy and audiologic management

2. Get the maximum benefit of auditory stimulation through the use of appropriate, state-of-the-art hearing technology.

3. Through active auditory-verbal therapy, parents and guides are the primary facilitators in supporting their child’s development of listening and spoken language.

4. Parents and guides may help their child use hearing as a primary sensory modality.

5. Auditory-Verbal Therapy helps the child integrate spoken language and listening into all aspects of his or her life.

6. The active participation of parents and guides helps to create an environment in which children can listen and speak throughout their daily activities.

7. Supporting the child’s ability to self-monitor spoken language through listening

8. Use of natural developmental patterns for developing speech, communication, language, and cognition skills in children

9. Encourage students to attend regular schools where they will have friends with typical hearing.

10. Develop tailored auditory-verbal treatment plans using continuous formal and informal diagnostic tests.

Conclusion

An Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) test helps young children who are deaf and hard of hearing, or those who use hearing aids or cochlear implants, grow up getting the same education as their peers. It allows the child to participate in mainstream society. During the first three and a half years of a child’s life, the brain has optimal neural plasticity.