Overview

Prospects are changing for individuals with hearing loss. Infants and toddlers discovered to be deaf or hard of hearing can be aided or implanted with state-of-the-art technology, and the people in the children’s lives can learn to enrich and accentuate their access to sound and help them learn to listen. These children can learn more than one spoken language and can learn to read, write, sing, and play musical instruments. Deafness in all its audiogrammatic forms can be treated in one way or another. Unless someone chooses deafness for a particular child, no child needs to remain in silence or even in partial sound. This book is about learning to listen and speak in order to learn to read and write. It deals with the evidence of persistent low literacy levels in many individuals with hearing loss and with evidence of higher literacy levels in those with hearing loss who have learned to listen. At a time when technology is racing along to produce ever better access to sound, this book attempts to pull together the dominant literacy research done in the “hearing world” and apply it to the world of the deaf and hard of hearing who can now experience all sorts of sound. The author makes the argument that helping a child learn to listen is the best insurance that he or she will learn to read and write. Based on both research and personal experience, the book is of interest to speech/language professionals, classroom teachers, and parents.

Review

• Susan K. Keenan, EdD (National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology), The Volta Review, (2009):
  "In a book designed for parents, educators, and other professionals in the field of deaf education, the author balances theory and research with both practical approaches and anecdotal evidence to support her premise."

Audience

Primary Subject: Speech and Language Pathology / Literacy
Audience Level: Professional/Textbook - 90 Days

A History of Reading Achievement in People with Hearing Loss
Introduction
A Review of Selected Studies
Higher Scores and Spoken Language
Conclusion

Literacy Theories
Introduction
Theorizing About Reading
Definitions of Reading
Word Identification
Comprehension
An Interactive Theory
Many Disciplines Study Reading
Conclusion

Technology and Listening, by Carol Flexer, Ph.D., LSLS CERT. AVT
Introduction
Neurologic Basis of Listening and Literacy
Practice, Practice, Practice
Computer Analogy for Understanding Amplification Technology
Overview of Amplification Technologies—A New Context
Hearing Aids/Instruments
Personal-Worn FM Technology
Sound Field Technology
Cochlear Implants
Auditory Feedback Loop
Distance Hearing/Incidental Learning
Functional Definitions: Hearing-Impaired, Hard-of-Hearing, and “Deaf”
Conclusion

Spoken Language
Introduction
Learning the Sounds of a Spoken Language
Beyond the Sounds of Language
What About Bridging from American Sign Language?
Learning Spoken Language
Two Extended Studies of Children’s Language Learning and Later Academic Achievement
“Advantaged” and “Disadvantaged” Parents
Conclusion

Hearing, Listening, and Literacy
Introduction
Phonological Awareness
Phonological Processing Capabilities
The Auditory-Verbal Approach
Principles of Listening and Spoken Language Specialist Auditory-Verbal Therapy (LSLS Cert. AVT)
Principles of Listening and Spoken Language Specialist Auditory-Verbal Education (LSLS Cert. AVEd)
Conclusion

Issues in Child Development, by Gina Dow, Ph.D.
Introduction
Sensitivity in the Caregiving Relationship
Part I: Early Identification
Attunement and Early Identification of Hearing Loss
Early Identification and Intervention—How Early Is Early Enough?
Early Identification in the United States
How Screening Is Done
From Screening to Identification to Intervention
How Does Early Identification Contribute to Good Developmental Outcomes?
Development of Theory of Mind
Concluding Remarks and Recommendations

Part II: Typical Development—Birth to Age Five

Learning to Read
Introduction
Constructivism in Action
Shared Book Reading
Establishing a Rich Literacy Environment
Reading Comprehension and the Child
Practical Ideas for Helping Children Learn to Read
Conclusion

Learning to Write
Introduction
Writing and the Auditory-Verbal Approach
A Word About Development
Practical Ideas for Helping Children Learn to Write
Conclusion

Proceeding Through School
Introduction
The “Fourth-Grade Slump”
Comprehension Growth
Academically Successful Young Adults with Hearing Loss
Conclusion

Parents, Therapists, and Teachers Working Together
Introduction
Emotional Connectedness and a Team Approach
IDEA and IEPs
Using Mediation and Mediation Skills
Practical Ways for the Team to Communicate
Conclusion

English Language Learners and Bilingualism
Introduction
Can Children with Hearing Loss Learn More Than One Spoken Language?
Learning to Read in the First Language First
Hearing or Deaf, Language Learning Is Language Learning
Conclusion

Assessment Issues and Approaches
Introduction
Norm-Referenced Standardized Tests
Criterion-Referenced Tests
The Relative Value of Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Tests
Practical Reading Assessments for Teachers to Use
Conclusion

Promising Literacy Programs
Introduction
Four General Suggestions
Before, During, and After Reading
Specific Steps
Reading and Writing as Thinking: The Basis of Good Programs in Reading
Conclusion

Educational Settings for Children with Hearing Loss
Introduction
The Optimum Placement
What if the Optimum Is Not Possible?
Schooling Is Not the Only Source of Education
Some Thoughts About the Role Learning Music Can Play in Learning Language
A Letter to a Mainstream Classroom Teacher
Conclusion

Thoughts From Two Founders of the Auditory-Verbal Approach
Introduction
Foreword, 1990, by Daniel Ling, Ph.D.
An Auditory-Verbal Retrospective: A Personal Account of Individual Effort and International Organization, 1989, by Helen Hulick Beebe, CCC/SP
Appendix A. Knowledge Needed by Listening and Spoken Language Specialists
Appendix B. Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS) Domains Addressed in This Book
Appendix C. Description, Approaches, and Practice of Listening and Spoken Language Specialists
Index

About The Author

Lyn Robertson, PhD

Lyn Robertson teaches in the Department of Education of Denison University, a liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. She began her career teaching seventh grade English where she discovered students achieving at low levels in reading and writing. This led her to extensive study of literacy, particularly within linguistic, cognitive, and social frameworks. Robertson has taught reading and about reading to people from preschool to adulthood. The mother of a daughter with severe-to-profound hearing loss, she has authored one book, Literacy Learning for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, and articles about listening and reading. She also teaches in the A.G. Bell First Years program and serves on the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Academy for Listening and Spoken Language.

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