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Auditory Verbal Therapy

            At Soundbridge, Auditory-Verbal Therapy is an early intervention program for children with hearing loss, from birth through six years of age.  In Soundbridge Auditory-Verbal Therapy, a certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist (AVT) presents individually tailored instruction to the hearing-impaired child and his/her parents, usually once or twice per week for an hour.  The child is accompanied to all sessions by a parent who participates fully in the sessions, and has the responsibility to implement auditory-verbal interacting with their child at home, throughout all of the child’s waking hours.  The Auditory-Verbal focus is on learning to listen, understand, and use spoken language.  Since the aim is to integrate listening into the child’s total personality, the AVT works together with the child’s audiologist to be sure that the child’s hearing aids or cochlear implant(s) are always providing optimal access to sound.  Sessions (1 hour in length) usually take place once or twice per week, with part of many sessions carried out in partnership with the audiologist.

4 Sessions at Soundbridge                                                     
8 Sessions at Soundbridge                                                     
                              
Individual Aural Habilitation Sessions

            When the need for individual instruction is determined by the PPT, the student can be seen by a Teacher of the Hearing-Impaired for any number of sessions per week, from once per week through 5 times per week.  These sessions are focused on the maintenance of auditory, language, speech, and literacy abilities.  Individual sessions can take place at Soundbridge or in the student’s home.  Sessions are 50 minutes in length in summer, and usually occur in the month of July, but can be extended through August, at PPT request. 

8 to 12 sessions at Soundbridge                                                        
8 to 12 sessions at home                                                                              

Summer Preschool (Early Learning Center)
           
The summer preschool program for children with hearing loss is carried out through intensive small group instruction by a teacher of the hearing-impaired.  The focus is on developing each child’s spoken language through listening, using summer themes and age-appropriate activities.  

July 6, 7, 8th, and then Monday-Thursday, July 12-29 from 8:30 to 12:00 PM (15 days)
                
Summer Language and Literacy Institute

The Soundbridge Summer Language and Literacy Institute is designed for students (grades 1-6) who have hearing loss, whose language, vocabulary, reading, and writing skills are below grade level.  These are areas that pose particular challenge for many hearing-impaired children, since literacy abilities depend on spoken language abilities, which in turn depend on listening abilities.  Comprehension of spoken language through listening is thus the crucially important underlying key to literacy achievement for hearing-impaired children.

Instruction in the Institute is structured and intensive.  There are two main areas of focus: Improvement of spoken language abilities (audition, language, speech)
and Improvement of literacy abilities (reading and writing).

Based on their individual objectives, students work in small groups that systematically rotate through instruction by different teachers, to expand their spoken language abilities, listening, their knowledge of the world, vocabulary, their phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and their comprehension of the written word.  This year’s theme is Games: The Language of Games Kids Play.

July 6, 7, 8th, and then Monday-Thursday, July 12-29 from 8:30 to 12:00 PM (15 days)

Language of Science (Grades 7/8 & 9)

Intensive individual or small group instruction focused on preparation of students for the language of science/social studies that they will encounter in the oncoming school year. 

Two days/week, 8:30 – 12:00 for 4 weeks during July 6 – 29.

Summer Assistive Technology Service

Children with hearing loss need to be able to hear summer school teachers and camp counselors, just as much as they need to hear their teachers during the school year.  For students who are enrolled in summer programs outside of Soundbridge our Summer Assistive Technology service includes: use of child’s FM system (rental options available), technology phone support, FM back up provided, return shipping to Soundbridge for repairs and at end of summer use.
                                   
On site workshop with staff (1/2 hour talk plus travel time)

Contact:
Elizabeth B. Cole, Ed.D., CCC-A, Cert. A-VT
Program Director,CREC Soundbridge
123 Progress Drive
Wethersfield, CT   06109
860-529-4260 (voice and TDD)