When parents select the Auditory-Verbal approach as their family's way of managing their child's hearing loss, they choose a communication option that requires their informed and active involvement. In an effort to support this choice, we offer the following information. This explanation is intended to define and further the understanding of the Auditory-Verbal approach. 

Definition of an Auditory-Verbal Therapy Plan

An Auditory-Verbal Therapy plan supports:

1. Early detection programs and initiation of Auditory-Verbal therapy upon diagnosis of   the hearing loss. Prognosis for speech and for the use of the hearing sense for language learning is not made at the time of diagnosis. Instead, progress throughout the course of therapy and home training are the indicators of the child's prognosis for developing spoken language communication.
2. The earliest possible fitting and consistent use of appropriate hearing aids and well fitting earmolds. Children have been fitted with hearing aids in the first months of life.
3. A parent-caretaker centered approach. Therapy utilizes the natural parent-child bond for the development of interaction and communication between family members and the child with the hearing loss.
4. Individualized therapy. Sessions with children in the clinic focus on the education of the parents to foster successful implementation of the home program.
5. Speech development through the child's hearing sense. Children learn to match their speech sounds to those made by their parents and therapist.
6. The development of spoken language for communication. Sign language is not used in the Auditory-Verbal approach.
7. Teaching children to process language through the habitual and maximal use of residual hearing. Children's hearing aids and FM systems become their link to the hearing-speaking world.
8. Teaching children to function independently in a regular learning and living environment. Mainstreaming with children with normal hearing is usually recommended for the education and socialization of the child with the hearing loss.

(Adapted from the AVI definition of an Auditory-Verbal Clinician which was prepared by the Auditory-Verbal Network Inc.)

Definition of an Auditory-Verbal Therapist

Auditory-Verbal Therapists are professionals who have been trained in one or more of the disciplines of speech language pathology, audiology, and education of the deaf. They recommend an Auditory-Verbal Therapy Plan as the first option for developing a speech, language, and educational program for children with a hearing loss. Using state-of-the art testing equipment, we know that most children once thought of as "deaf" actually have some hearing that can be reached with hearing aids. Auditory-Verbal therapists use the auditory component of any life experience and promote and develop the use of sound for speaking and understanding spoken language. They have expertise in the use of acoustic emphasis of speech sounds and language patterns for the purpose of maximizing the spoken language development of the child with the hearing loss. The guiding principle applied by an Auditory-Verbal therapist is that all therapeutic and educational decisions lead to the maximum participation in the hearing-speaking society of the person with the hearing loss.

We recognize the role of the informed parent in helping to maintain high standards of practice in Auditory-Verbal programs.

Original Material: A Parents Guide to Auditory-Verbal Therapy. The Auditory-Verbal Network Inc., Denver, CO 1988. Adapted for use by the TALK Centre for Hearing-Impaired Children.