VA Guide By Your Side Guide By Your

VA Guide By Your Side • Guide By Your Side (GBYS) is a trademarked family support program • Connects parents of newly identified children with trained parent guides of children who are deaf or hard of hearing • Guides provide emotional and unbiased information and support 1

Virginia Guide By Your Side Contacts: • Dana Yarbrough, Project Director, (804)828 -0352 or dvyarbrough@vcu. edu • Web Address: www. vcu. edu/partnership/gbys

Hands and Voices • Hands & Voices is a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families and their children who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as the professionals who serve them regardless of method of communication chosen. • "What works for your child is what makes the choice right. "

Virginia’s Hands and Voices Chapter Contact: Tiffany Johnson Acting Executive Director Vahandsandvoices@gmail. com 804 -519 -0417

Remember! All families of infants with any degree of bilateral or unilateral permanent hearing loss are automatically considered eligible for early intervention services.

Virginia’s Support Systems • Hands and Voices • Local A. G. Bell Associations • Partnerships for Persons with Disabilities • Virginia Speech Language Hearing Association 6

National Support Systems • Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing • National Association of Deafness • American Speech Language Hearing Association • DEC Division of Exceptional Children 7

Communication Options

Communication Options • American Sign Language • Total Communication (SEE, Pidgin) • Oral (Auditory-Oral, Aural/Oral) • Auditory-Verbal • Cued Speech 9

Early Communication • • • Facial Expressions Babbling Gestures Eye gazing Crying Jargon 10

Encourage Early Communication Encourage the family to communicate with their child early: • using facial expressions, natural gestures, speech and/or signs • during daily routines using common words like baby, diaper, bath, bottle, eat, sleep, play • in a meaningful, socially interactive way

Strategies for Enhancing Language Acquisition • Use amplification as early as possible • Use visual cues to supplement audition • May be necessary to teach visual strategies to hearing parents – Deaf parents as models of visual communication strategies 12

Strategies for Enhancing Language Acquisition from Learn to Talk Around the Clock © The parent will learn how to do the following: • Position child for easier communication • Recognize child’s signals for wants/needs • Model language and give child words • Name and use in short sentences the child’s things and actions 13

Strategies for Enhancing Language Acquisition from Learn to Talk Around the Clock © The parent will learn how to do the following: • Know which words, phrases and sentences child understands • Use self-talk to describe his/her own actions • Use parallel talk to describe activities of child • Expand child’s words and phrases into complete sentences

Development of Sign Language

Sign Language Development • Like all languages, receptive sign language development occurs before expressive • Sign language development follows the same stage and pace as spoken language development • Early exposure to sign language is essential for language development 16

Receptive Sign Language Development • learn and use everyday routine signs daily when communicating with the baby • use facial expressions and natural gestures when signing *watch videos and use websites as references when learning signs

Expressive Sign Language Development – Crying, Cooing, gurgling (mostly vowels) – Vocal or Manual Babbling – Facial expressions and gestures – Baby signs – True signing Ski-Hi Curriculum 18

Development of Hearing and Speech Skills 19

Auditory Development • 1. Awareness of sound • 2. Sound has meaning . 3. Discrimination 20

Parent Strategies for Enhancing Listening from Learn to Talk Around the Clock © • Demonstrate working knowledge of hearing loss/importance of amplification • Establish hearing aid/cochlear implant use all waking hours • Maintain hearing aid/implant in good working condition and be proactive in maintenance • Minimize auditory distractions and provide best listening environment

Parent Strategies for Enhancing Listening from Learn to Talk Around the Clock © • Provide pleasurable and meaningful experiences with sound • Call the child’s attention to naturally occurring environmental sounds • Know what sounds the child is aware of and those he/she discriminates from other sounds • Associate sounds with meaningful language and concepts

Hear At Home © Top Ten • 1. • 2. • 3. • 4. • 5. Make your Point The Yardstick Keep the yardstick level Radio Commentator The Cheap Hotel 23

Hear At Home © • 6. The 1, 2, 3 • 7. 3 -Ring Circus • 8. Bore Me to Death • 9. The Brass Ring • 10. Where you lead, I will follow

Critical Keys to a Successful Spoken Language Outcome • Access the Auditory Centers of the Brain as Early as Possible; • Then, Practice, Practice Listening and Talking Carol Flexer, Ph. D, CCC-A, Cert. AVT 2007