WHO has declared March 3 as International Ear Care Day 2015 and this year’s theme is “Make Listening Safe”
Aural Rehabilitation for children involves treatment of speech disorders to help them and their families cope with hearing loss. Hearing loss in children could have a heavy impact on their speech and language development skills. Effective rehabilitation at the right time is essential for children with hearing loss or else it could have a detrimental effect on the child’s communication skills.
A hearing and speech specialist will play an effective role in helping your child develop excellent communication skills. The audiologist will ensure the best possible result for your child and family as far as speech and language development is concerned. Once you figure out that your child is suffering from hearing loss, you must consult an audiologist who can help you deal with growth and development of your child. The specialist can help you take the right decision as far as treatment options are concerned thereby helping your child achieve their maximum potential.
How Does It Help?
Aural rehabilitation helps children learn more about their hearing loss and what they can do to manage situations where hearing loss creates difficulties in communication. The rehabilitation process may depend upon the severity of the condition and the age when hearing loss occurred. The program may include speech and language therapy, auditory training, and voice maintenance. The aural rehabilitation plan will also depend upon individual needs of every child and accordingly will focus on one or more of the elements below.
Speech and Language Development
Aural rehabilitation intends to help children brush their communicating skills for effective verbal communication. A child suffering from hearing loss may develop his or her speech by learning new sounds and words. Learning voice maintenance and controlling the rate of speech is also a part of the language development process. The program also aims to improve child’s grammar, vocabulary, and narrative skills. Cochlear India has recently launched a wireless range of accessories for Cochlear Implants. Click here to learn more.
Visual Communication
It is extremely important for hearing impaired children to identify auditory and visual communication elements. Aural rehabilitation can help a child distinguish and understand different words and their sounds. Learning non-verbal communicative clues can also help these children understand facial expressions and body language.
Handling Communication
Aural rehabilitation process involves determining what assistive listening skills and devices are suitable for every child. Which means, the process also involves helping the child get acquainted with a hearing aid, teaching ASL (American Sign Language), or explaining how to use an alternate assistive listening device. For children who are slightly older, the process could involve seeking peer support from other hearing impaired children, learning how to be independent, and teaching how to look after, adjust, and manage their hearing aids. It has been observed that children who successfully complete the rehabilitation process are able to communicate better than those who do not.
