How to Use Clear Speech To Help People With Hearing Loss Understand

Queen Elizabeth,  A newscaster, and an Elementary School Teacher
 are examples of people who talk with clear speech.


Just like dancing a tango, it takes two people to conduct a conversation. When one of the conversational partners has a hearing loss, we often assume that this person must do all of the work in making a conversation successful---for example, the person with hearing loss might wear a hearing aid, try to read lips, ask for clarification when communication breakdowns occur, and so forth.

That a person with hearing loss should take responsibility for successful conversations is only partly true because the other person in the conversation also has a responsibility to talk as clearly as possible so that the person with hearing loss can best understand what is being said. 

Research has shown that when conversational partners talk with clear speech, the person with hearing loss understands a lot more of what is being said then if they are talking conversationally.  So what is clear speech?

Here's an example of clear versus conversational speech:
  • Clear speech:  "Did you eat yet?"
  • Conversational speech:  "D'jeet yet?"
The researchers at clEAR Auditory Brain Training have developed a short video to teach people how to speak with clear speech.  You can watch it by going to this YouTube address or by visiting the clEAR website.

Youtube address:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djrc_YsJqkk

clEAR website video address:  https://www.clearworks4ears.com/site/page?page=game_videos

If you are an audiologist, please feel free to share this video with the loved ones of your patients.  If you are a person with hearing loss, whether or not you use a hearing aid, feel free to ask your loved one to watch this video.  When a partner speaks clearly, conversations become more successful and everyone wins.

Ear train the brain:  www.clearworks4ears.com

Listening, Language and Learning with a Halloween Sensory Bin

Listening, language and learning with a Halloween sensory bin is a rich and motivating activity for a wide range of children. I use dry pinto beans and ofter cover the bin with a small swag of autumn leaves to keep the item(s) hidden. Increase or decrease the set size to meet the child's level. 

Depending on the goals the activity may  look like:

- Bury a season object and talk about it before the child sees it. (Hearing 1st)  OOoooo! Boo!

- Find something - with a face, an insect, that grows on trees...? 

- 

Categories - things that fly: are scary; see in a pumpkin patch; are make-believe.... 

Find an item that doesn’t belong. 

- Following directions/critical elements- Look for the bat and make it sleep upside down.

Auditory memory- Find the apple, the wagon, and the black cat.  Uncover the skeleton, the witch but not the monster.

Inferences or Riddles- "I am the color of darkness. Some people say I’m bad luck. Others say I have nine lives. Witches keep me as their pet." Find it!

Give the child a turn to bury a toy and describe it to the other players.

Monster APP - Go Away!

Did you know that the Go Away, Big Green Monster! book is also a fabulous interactive app By Night & Day Studios, Inc?  (One of my favorite developers.)
You can listen and read along with the author Ed Emberley, a funny child or you can read aloud the story with your child. There is a Sing-Along Mode with music composed and performed by Ed’s granddaughter.  Kids love to touch the monster and see it react.
It plays anywhere: no wifi or internet necessary and totally safe with no third-party advertising or in-app purchases or pop-ups interrupting play.
$.99   

Go Away, Big Green Monster! on the App Store

App Store
Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots, and learn more about Go Away, Big Green Monster!. Download Go Away, Big Green Monster! and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Have fun!

Not So Scary Halloween

Have you shared Mouse's First Halloween by Lauren Thompson? I read it this week in Auditory Verbal Therapy, added props and it was a hit with the Little Listeners and their parents.

Mouse finds out that first impressions can be misleading as he sees not-so-scary things swooping, smiling bats, pretty, tumbling leaves, scampering kittens and more.  It’s rich fall colors, rhythmic, repetitive, reassuring words add up to a gentle Halloween story for young preschool trick-or-treaters.

Here is a video read by Nana, a Youtube Storyteller.




Leaf Rubbing - Fall Auditory Verbal Adventure

Leaf Rubbings are one of my favorite fall auditory verbal activities. This activity encourages the children to listen and observe as we discuss the wonders of nature with supporting vocabulary within a rich LSL conversation.
Materials/Advance Preparation:
fresh leaves of different shapes and sizes
crayons, preferably thick ones with the paper stripped off
thin copy paper.
Directions:
1. Place a leaf view side up on a smooth table and cover with a sheet of paper.
2. Using the side of the crayon (lay the crayon down on the paper), rub the crayon back and forth until the leaf's outline and features are clearly visible.
3. Place another leaf under the paper and use a different colored crayon to make a rubbing.It's fine if the leaf rubbings overlap a bit; in fact, it makes the rubbing even more beautiful.
4. Together notice and describe features of the rubbings (e.g. "My leaf has three points," “The yellow leaf has a jaggedy edge").
Adjectives:
-Color words - green, red, orange, yellow, brown…. golden, crimson
-Dry, crunchy, rustling, noisy
-Rough, smooth, pretty, rounded, pointed, jagged edges
Home Carryover Suggestions:
I encourage the parents to take their child on a leaf walk to collect leaves for this activity at home. I remind them that while they are raking and playing in the leaves to talk about what you are doing and what you see and the more times your child hears these words, the more likely he/she is to retain and learn them.

Nouns:
-Leaf
-Rake
-Bag
-Tree
-Branch
-Acorn
-Squirrel
-Bird
-Stick
-Pile
Verbs:
-Rake
-Jump
-Throw
-Drop
-Climb

A fun way to work on verbs is by making a pile of leaves and then practicing different actions through the piles.  For example, the child can march, stomp, skip, run, or roll through the pile. Take pictures as a way to expand LSL once the activity is over.
Follow-Up Leaf Craft - Following Directions/Sequencing
Set the activity up so that there are steps the child has to complete.  Think about what would help your child do this activity easily, and then make it just a little bit harder.  For example, if you think “my child could listen and follow one step of this at a time easily”, then give them two directions at a time.  Here are the steps to the activity that you can use to create the directions for your child. Remember to present through hearing first!
1. Collect leaves
2. Draw a picture on paper of a bare tree, a pumpkin patch…. (for younger children, skip this step)
3. Spread glue on paper
4. Put leaves on glue
5. Place your picture in a safe place to dry
After you’re done, go back and talk about the activity with your child.  You can talk about what you did first, next, and last. Have your child share the leaf craft and tell someone else about the what s/he created with the leaves.