Q&A

Subject: 3yr old with hearing problem

From: AAR

Am a father of a 3 years old child who has a hearing problem "Loss 50 % in hearing capability" Now she uses an ear speaker to improve the hearing, and she also goes to a school for speaking and communicating . What is the best and fastest way to improve her hearing and speaking, I also would like to know what is the newest technologies in that field. Thanks very much for your concern yours, AAR.

Dear Sir,
Keep in mind that children with normal hearing spend their first year or so just listening...taking in sounds and learning to make associations. Now that your three year old has hearing help, she will still need time and help to make sense of the sounds she now hears. You can help by speaking in such a way that she can see your face as you speak normally to her; that is, do NOT exaggerate your mouth positions and do NOT speak unnaturally loudly. These things will distort your speech and give her a poor model to imitate. At first, sentences should be short and grammatically simple.

Talking about daily activities and reading books with colorful pictures and simple story lines are pleasant ways to increase awareness of language. Remember that the information has to get into her brain before it can come out of her mouth.

There are numbers of special schools for children who are behind in speech and language development for a variety of reasons. Three years old is not too young for educational programs. Speech pathologists are professionals trained to help in speech and language development, though you would try to seek out such professionals who have experience with hearing impairment.

Another resource is the American Speech and Hearing Association. They can be reached via www.asha.org.

Good luck,
Solveig Ingersoll