The Listening and Spoken Language approach to language development teaches infants and young children with hearing loss to listen and talk with the support of hearing technology such as hearing aids, assistive listening devices (such as an FM system) or cochlear implants.
Hearing technology provides auditory stimulation and sets the stage for the development of listening while spoken language therapy teaches the child how to “listen” with the device and to translate what he or she is hearing into spoken language. In nearly every case, a child needs hearing technology that is appropriately fitted and worn 100 percent of his waking hours in addition to listening and spoken language therapy to develop an outcome.
The earlier the infant has access to auditory stimulation, the earlier he or she can take advantage of the benefits of “hearing,” or listening, and learn to talk, thus learning spoken language.
Parents and caregivers receive counseling and support in their role as the child’s most important teacher of language, learning how to stimulate their child’s speech and language production. The goal is for the child to attend his local school and learn in the general (regular) classroom, like other children his or her same age.
Read more about Listening and Spoken Language.