Any child is the pride and joy of a family. You want to do whatever you can to make sure that they are protected and feeling their best. However, what happens when you have a toddler or child who has hearing issues? One of the best options to consider is listening and spoken language therapy.
What is listening and spoken language therapy?
This is a specialized kind of therapy intended to help toddlers and children make the most out of what they can in both their listening skills and their language skills. This will help sharpen their natural abilities at a young age and promote easier language learning and communication as they grow older. In taking on this therapy, you can expect to focus on the following:
1. Support and guidance for parents
Since parents will often be taking charge of the child’s at-home education relating to speaking and listening, part of this therapy is to equip the parents with the tools and support that they need to help their child find success in school and day to day life as they age.
2. Early testing for children for diagnosis
Taking an early hearing test can help understand just how serious the hearing issue is and how things can get harder for each child as they age. This can help the child focus on the sessions more and parents are able to monitor for further degradation. If you live in Selangor, you are more than welcome to visit our clinic in Shah Alam for a consultation. Our professionals will conduct several test to ensure the best possible result for your child.
3. Teaching in session
There are also group and one-on-one sessions where children will learn how to talk and listen to those around them. This focuses on learning what voices sound like and imitating sounds that they hear. This should be done as young as possible so that the skill of listening and talking can be as natural and as comfortable as possible for parents and child alike.
4. Real-life experiences
When looking at taking that education further, the therapies can focus on real-life exposure to talking and listening in environments outside of the classroom. This includes at home, out in the neighbourhood and other places. Often, this is the second step, especially after getting a hearing aid, as it can be overwhelming for a toddler or child to hear all sorts of noises that are carefully filtered out in a learning environment. This is when parent sessions become very helpful as far as helping toddlers and children navigate the frustrations.
5. Equipment use
Additionally, a hearing aid for use in school and other social environments can be considered for children who respond well to it in therapies. Not all toddlers or children wear hearing aids and some choose to only wear them occasionally. Therapy can help decide when to wear them or not.
Last but not least, bear in mind that those with hearing loss as toddlers or children can still meet all of the milestones, including school and community life. The goal is to get therapies introduced as early as possible and to customize them to the child and parent’s needs as much as possible for the best experience and quality of life. If you still have any doubt unanswered, feel free to get in touch with our friendly and professional specialists.