Most children are able to return to regular schools after some years of AV therapy. "A child who is taught using AV therapy is able to communicate verbally, so his education, profession and marriage will not be different from ours. Because the child is not isolated from society along with other deaf people, he has a chance to become more accomplished," said Wu Hsu-feng (吳淑芳), chief therapist at the foundation.
Building on potential
Since 95 percent of hearing-impaired persons have some potential hearing ability, some hearing can be restored if a hearing aid is used and this remaining ability is exercised through auditory-verbal therapy. By constantly repeating simple sounds to children, auditory-verbal therapists stimulate the auditory nerves and help develop a sensitivity to sound.
Because this stimulation has to be constant, parents play a large role in the process, and are required to attend sessions with the child. In comfortable and colorful classrooms, therapists use toys and other props to help children make a connection between the sounds they hear and common objects. Therapists and parents cover their mouths when speaking to prevent children from lip-reading. When a child starts to repeat sounds, therapists help them refine pronunciation. Themed classrooms, set up like a bedrooms, a living room and a fully equipped kitchen can help children practice speaking and listening in realistic situations.
Auditory-verbal therapy is most effective with young children and infants because the crucial period in language development occurs before the age of six. By the time a deaf child reaches its teens, they have often developed a reliance on other senses, and do not depend on sign language or lip-reading to communicate. The foundation currently has students up to the age of 14.
With more than 150 students and 20 teachers in Taipei alone, the Children's Hearing Foundation continues to train teachers and aims to reach out to deaf children throughout Taiwan. With centers soon to open in Ilan and Taichung, the foundation is searching for alternate sources of funding. With persistence and a lot of patience, the staff at the Children's Hearing Foundation continue to work toward goals like making hearing tests available for newborns in more hospitals and collaborating with different city and county governments. Wu also said that in the long term, "we hope the foundation will become a resource center for deaf children throughout Asia."
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