Lynn’s AVT Dollhouse Continuum and How To Follow A Child's Lead

As a follow-up to my post on, Lynn’s LSL Dollhouse Continuum I wanted to share strategies on following a child's lead in Auditory Verbal Therapy while guiding and coaching the families and meeting the child's goals.

Source

I am very intentional when following a child’s lead in order to target specific listening and spoken language areas of need. In reply to your question, I  sometimes brainstorm with the parents but most often model as we play and coach throughout the session a little bit of information at a time. I have found hands-on coaching is most effective. I have a sign in my office that says, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

I have worked with some families who are “good at playing” and many others who do not know where to begin. If the toy doesn’t have batteries and entertains even for a short time they are lost. 

Therefore, I  model how to engage a child in play and also how to join in and play. Being clear about the LSL goals is essential to guide the play.

Here are three strategies, I model and use to Follow the Child’s Lead. 

1. Observe, Wait and Listen (OWL)

Observe for what the child is interested in. 

Wait to give the child a chance to initiate or get involved in an activity

      Waiting can be hard to do! I try to model counting to 10,  looking expectant and leaning forward

Listen to what the child is trying to tell us

2. The parent and I begin playing together with the hope that the child follows and joins in the fun.  When the parents and I are playing (this can be in short spurts) I model the LSL skills we are targeting. 

I love to hear the child come back and use what he just heard modeled. In this situation, language is caught through hearing and not directly taught.

3. I often set up or act out a scenario to encourage the child to communicate. 

For the dollhouse, I may have bits of cracker on the little kitchen table. I often set-up of something unexpected to encourage or give the child a reason to communicate (sabotage).  I always include a broken chair to make a connection to the earlier taught Three Bears story.  


4. Giving the child choices is effective. I may offer the bear family or people dolls to use in the dollhouse.  

Have fun playing and listening together! 

How To Use Audiobooks In Auditory Rehabilitation




Do you ever listen to audiobooks? 
Oral storytelling is one of the most ancient art-forms. Stories have been passed on by word of mouth to entertain, educate and inform from generation to generation, long before recorded history.
Although these oral traditions have changed, the desire to TELL and HEAR stories remained constant. This is why hearing loss can have such a significant impact on everyday life.
The sudden change in hearing ability after receiving new hearing aids or cochlear implants impacts most aspects of your life, but listening exercises can vastly improve one’s auditory skills.
Those who are unable to participate in conversations can experience feelings of loneliness, isolation, and frustration. Thankfully, there are ways to rehabilitate from the loss of hearing, through technology and auditory training.
Home Based Rehab Using Audiobooks
Audiobook exercises can be conducted at home or as part of an Auditory Rehab program. A Rehab Specialist, such as a rehab audiologist, an auditory verbal therapist or speech pathologist, can guide and coach you on the strategy, as well as recommend sessions where family or significant others can join in and learn effective communication techniques. Therapy-based services can help you successfully put the pieces of the communication puzzle together.
Today, a new era of oral storytelling or audio books is booming with mobile technologies such as smartphones, tablets, and multimedia entertainment systems in cars and podcasts over the internet.
Audiobooks, especially, are easily accessible and an enjoyable way to practice listening that can be completed independently at your own pace. They are particularly useful for patients who might have difficulty finding a suitable conversational partner. Auditory training at home with audio books and the corresponding texts is an enjoyable rehabilitation option that spans the scope of a beginner to experienced cochlear implant user.

How To Begin With Audiobooks?

READ ON AT:  How to use audiobooks for hearing rehab


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Middle Ear Issues and Pre-Existing Hearing Loss - Lynn's Advice For Parents


THE PARENT’S GUIDE TO MIDDLE EAR ISSUES - PART 2

 Written By: Lynn A. Wood, M.A. CCC-A, LSLS Cert. AVT. 
If your child with hearing loss has middle ear fluid, this is a call to action for prompt and aggressive management. The presence of fluid or infection in the middle ear space behind the eardrum may prevent your child’s access to sound. 
Of course, hearing loss of any type and degree blocks the doorway to get auditory information the child’s brain, but even fluid alone can fluctuate and cause 5dB to as much as 40dB decrease in hearing (Estabrooks, et. al., 2016). Couple this to a pre-existing loss and a moderate hearing loss can become severe or profound. Persistent middle ear fluid has negative consequences on auditory, spoken language and cognitive development.

Understanding Middle Ear Fluid
Last week, Marge Edwards shared her story about her son’s experience with middle ear fluid. The big takeaway is that middle ear fluid is common with estimates that 75% of children experience at least one episode by their third birthday. And, almost half of these children will have three or more ear infections during their first three years. In fact, children who are not breastfed, those attending large child care centers and living in homes with smoke present (cigarettes, wood stoves) are more likely to experience repeated ear fluid or infections.

Many children with Otitis Media with Effusion (OME) also known as middle ear fluid, experience chronic recurrence and with accompanying colds or allergies, can have middle ear fluid  for many months of the year. Any decrease in hearing caused by fluid means poorer auditory access and has detrimental effects on a child’s spoken language development. This can significantly affect listening and spoken language outcomes for children with hearing loss!

How can you and your LSL professional team work together? You will need to work closely to monitor your child’s hearing status. A positive LSL outcome requires that you stay the course in monitoring your child’s hearing status through daily listening checks and performing the Ling Six-Sound Test. Share any change in your child’s responses with the members of your LSL professional team.

The journey to listen and talk requires a team committed to monitoring, treating and addressing the causes and symptoms of middle ear fluid. Don’t wait!



OME and the Role of the Pediatric Audiologist ...
ABOUT HEARING FIRST
The Hearing First website is a multimedia digital experience and connection point designed to link families who have chosen Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) for their children with hearing loss and the professionals who work with them with the resources, information, tools, community and learning experiences they need to ensure the children in their lives succeed. 
Visit www.hearingfirst.org or click here to learn about the Hearing First Communities.

Parent's Guide For Middle Ear Fluid + Coexisting Sensori-Neural Hearing Loss


THE PARENT’S GUIDE TO MIDDLE EAR ISSUES - PART 1


This month we’re highlighting a topic that doesn’t get a lot of attention but can be a huge factor for children with hearing loss and their families: middle ear infection. Read along to hear one parent explain her family’s struggle with middle ear infection and how important it is to ask the right questions about middle ear fluid with your child’s medical professionals to combat one of the barriers that can keep your child from hearing critical sounds!

READ MORE


ABOUT HEARING FIRST
The Hearing First website is a multimedia digital experience and connection point designed to link families who have chosen Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) for their children with hearing loss and the professionals who work with them with the resources, information, tools, community and learning experiences they need to ensure the children in their lives succeed. 
Visit www.hearingfirst.org or click here to learn about the Hearing First Communities.

Lynn’s LSL Dollhouse Continuum

  • A recent discussion prompted me to share strategies that I incorporate when introducing a dollhouse in my AVT sessions. I guess I could refer to it as, Lynn’s AVT Dollhouse Continuum. Ha!
    1. First, I introduce a basic version of an LSL rich and classic Goldilocks and Three Bears story. We listen and learn the story using simple props including three bears,  a kitchen table, three size bowls for the hot/cold and just right porridge, three chairs, three beds - hard/soft/just right. 
    2. Then in a couple weeks or so, I include a very basic dollhouse in the story. We play and retell the story together.
    Over the years, I have learned to keep the materials simple. If I would share a busy dollhouse too soon many children would become overstimulated, excited, and want to do their own thing with the house.  Then, my LSL goals and plans go out the window ( A little pun!).
    3. Soon, we are ready to introduce a full or more elaborate dollhouse within the LSL session and at home.  
    4. I divide lessons on the “HOME”, by rooms of the house. Each of the lessons includes literature, songs and accompanied LSL activities to meet the child’s needs and goals.  We listen, learn and expand upon the rooms of the house that were introduced in the story. We target LSL goals through individual units on bathtime, bedtime, mealtime routines, doing the laundry, in the garage, parts of the house (ceiling, chimney, gutters, porch…) and then outside of the home and into the yard. The Three Bears going for a walk blends into a “Listening Walk”  as well as learning outdoor vocabulary.
    4. My LSL continuum often begins in January with the Three Bears Story and carries through the Spring. Outdoor summer themes are next. The same themes can be repeated this next year at a higher LSL level. Of course, the house is only one area or theme but the continuity is rich for LSL. 
    5. I guide the family and plan the LSL sessions to include the broad areas of:  
    House vocabulary/labels, Action Verbs, Categorizing items in the house, Basic Concepts including Prepositions, Go -Togethers,  Parts of The Whole, Sequencing, Answering “wh” questions, Following/Giving Directions and social/pragmatic skills and play.
    As you can see the dollhouse continuum and thematic room by room units are ideal for targeting and reaching typical goals for a 2-4 year olds.
    This topic is near and dear to my heart as my husband and I gave our two-year-old grandson a wooden dollhouse last December. I researched the options and highly recommend the Hi-Rise Wooden Dollhouse for a clinic, school or family.  It has gender-neutral colors and patterns, a natural-wood frame, and open sides with access every room so it's easy to talk and play together. Our grandson particularly loves the garage and the wooden car that the family rides. I also purchased a wooden animal pet set which adds to our animal lover’s dollhouse experience.
    There in no limit to listening, spoken language, learning and fun with a dollhouse!