Cochlear Implant Program hosts Midwest's first auditory-verbal symposium
July 29, 2009 – Children’s Memorial Hospital’s Cochlear Implant Program will host the Midwest’s first Auditory-Verbal Symposium and Practicum for educators and speech pathologists on the art of providing this specialized type of hearing therapy. The symposium will be held August 3-6, followed by the practicum August 7, 10-14 at Children's Memorial in Lincoln Park and The Children of Peace School, home of the Holy Trinity Deaf Program in Chicago, at 1900 Taylor Street (corner of Taylor and Damen).
In order to learn to use their new found hearing, children who receive a cochlear implant need hearing therapy. “My clinical experience is in agreement with research that has demonstrated that auditory-verbal therapy is particularly effective for children who have recently received a cochlear implant,” says Nancy Young, MD, medical director and surgeon who has performed over 700 implants in children since founding the program. “If they learn to listen, they will be able to listen to learn. Building these skills positively impacts language development and literacy” says Young.
Children as young as 6 months of age who are profoundly deaf and complete a rigorous evaluation process are potential implant candidates. According to the FDA, over 23,000 adults and 15,500 children in the United States have received cochlear implants. Modeled after a program held on the east coast, 50 educators of the hearing impaired, speech pathologists and audiologists will attend didactic sessions during the symposium, concluding with a “trouble shooting” lab designed to familiarize professionals with the externally worn parts of cochlear implant systems.
Eighteen of the participants will attend a six day intensive practicum where they will work closely with certified auditory verbal therapists who will serve as mentors regarding therapy techniques as well as parent counseling methods. Children implanted at Children’s Memorial and their families will receive free therapy in return for volunteering their time during this professional education program. Because of improvements in cochlear implant technology, more children are candidates for this treatment than ever before.
In addition, the success of newborn hearing screening programs in identifying children with significant hearing loss early in life has made early implantation a reality for a growing number of infants and toddlers. It is important that children who receive this advanced medical technology have access to hearing therapy through the State of Illinois’ Early Intervention Program as well as at early childhood education programs that serve hearing impaired children.
“These children need assistance in the beginning of their lives so that they may achieve their full potential. Unfortunately hearing therapy for children is not typically a major part of the curriculum for professionals seeking degrees in deaf education, speech pathology or audiology. Therefore, post-graduate programs like ours are a necessity,” says Young, who had been wanting to host this type of program for many years.
"We have sponsored many one day courses, but that is not the same as providing a professional with a mentored therapy experience while they are interacting with children and their parents," says Sally Tannenbaum, MEd., LSLS Cert. AVT, who has been in private practice as well as a consultant to the Children’s Memorial implant team for 18 years is the course director. In addition, Tannenbaum has provided professional education regarding cochlear implants and hearing therapy to the Chicago Public Schools on behalf of Children’s Memorial for almost a decade.
Two guest speakers include Donald Goldberg, PhD, Co-director of Cleveland Clinic’s hearing implant program and Kathryn Wilson, MA, Director of the University of North Carolina’s First YEARS distance learning program on listening and language therapies for hearing impaired children. Dr Goldberg is also President of the AG Bell Academy, an educational arm of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing that administers auditory verbal certification.
Individuals from twelve states including Wisconsin, Oregon, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Indiana, Arizona, South Carolina, Florida, Utah and Alaska, as well as Illinois, will be attending. The program has been funded by the Office of Child Advocacy of Children's Memorial Hospital, the Foundation for Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation and the Illinois State University through their U.S. Department of Education Grant. Illinois residents received scholarships because of generous corporate donations from Advanced Bionics Corporation, Cochlear Americas, and Phonak. For more information contact Julie Pesch, 773.880.3055.