Speech Therapy
Auditory-verbal Therapy
AVT is for children that are hard of hearing. This type of therapy teach children listening and spoken language skills with the assistance of their hearing aid or cochlear implant. AVT is different from other types of speech therapy because it emphasises communication with hearing and speech. The goal is to help children mainstream into the regular school environment and learn with other students. It is crucial for the child to focus and put in effort for the therapy sessions to be successful.
Understanding my name
The therapist will help the child understand their name by repeating it often. They may use songs with the child's name in them to help them recognise it. The close people around the child, such as family and friends, also play a role by repeating the name often and using it in everyday conversation. This repetition will help the child become more familiar with their name.
Bus "ba ba ba ba!"
Learning how to hear
The child learns how to hear by interacting with toys. For example, the therapist would hold a cat toy and say "meow meow" or hold a dog toy and say "woof woof".
"Meow meow!"
"Woof
woof!"
Differentiating volume
This involves teaching the child to recognise the difference between loud and soft sounds. For example, a therapist might use the phrase "big apple, small apple" and then say "big apple" in a loud voice and "small apple" in a soft voice. This helps the child to recognise the difference between the two. By repeating this exercise, the child will gradually learn to differentiate different volumes.
Oral motor exercises
Oral motor exercises help the child to train their mouth muscles in preparation for speaking. Examples include blowing bubbles, licking something, , or making specific sounds such as "m", "p" or "b". These activities help children to strengthen the muscles used for speaking, and can help the child to become aware of the different parts of the mouth that are used to produce speech. Regular practice of these exercises can help the child to develop the necessary muscle control for speaking.
Responding to source of sound
AVT involves training the child to respond to the source of a sound. An example of this is with a wooden rainbow stack ring toy. The therapist can make a sound while covering their mouth or standing behind the child. When the child hears the sound they are encouraged to put a ring into the wooden pole. Through repetition of this exercise, the child can gain an understanding of the concept of sound and learn to direct their attention to the source of the sound.
