Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapists®

James G. Watson, MSc, CED
Lea Donovan Watson, MS, CCC

544 Washington St.
Gloucester, MA 01930
978-282-0025
avcc@avcclisten.com  www.avcclisten.com  

Auditory - Verbal
Communication Chronicle

A publication of The Auditory-Verbal Communication Center Gloucester, MA
Volume #2, Issue No. 1 for  January-February, 2004

In this issue:

• www.avcclisten.com New website!
• Auditory-Verbal Workshop in New England
• Ideas to share from Experience Books
• January AVCC Get-Together
• E-mails to the Newsletter
• New Games and Books to Enhance Listening and Talking
• Stargirl
• Motivation
• Idiom of the Week

Greeting

Happy 2004 Everyone! We hope 2004 is going well for all of you. At AVCC kids are busy learning to listen. They are all talking a lot, keeping us very happy.

Please take a few minutes to visit all the sections of our new AVCC website at  www.avcclisten.com! We hope this web-site provides needed information for people curious about what happens here at the Auditory-Verbal Communication Center (AVCC). We want to hear your comments and suggestions about what you want to see on the AVCC website. Please send them to us via e-mail avcc@avcclisten.com or U. S. mail or just call us! ASAP!

                          Always encouraging the Auditory-Verbal Parent Guidance option,

Lea and Jim Watson

Auditory-Verbal Workshop

We want to be sure everyone knows about the upcoming Auditory-Verbal Workshop in New England. We urge all of you to attend. Encourage professionals from your school systems to attend, too. This is a great opportunity. Nancy is a captivating speaker with lots to share about all aspects of Auditory-Verbal Therapy. Anyone who is attending AVCC now will gain lots of knowledge about the Auditory-Verbal process. Anyone who has “graduated” from the regular weekly AVCC schedule, but lives the Auditory-Verbal Principles with their child attending school in a mainstream educational setting will benefit from this presentation as well.

 We hope lots of you can take advantage of this great opportunity to expand your knowledge of the Auditory-Verbal Approach. Please send us e-mails after the conference about what you learned.

The Alexander Graham Bell
Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Connecticut Chapter, Inc.
Presents
Nancy Schenck, M.Ed.,
CCC-A, CED, Cert. AVT
speaking on
“Learning to Listen and Listening to Learn”
Saturday, March 27, 2004
8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
at
The Hartford Marriott Farmington
15 Farm Springs Road
Farmington, CT  06032
860-678-1000
www.marriotthotels.com
     (Exit 37 off I-84)
REGISTRATION BROCHURES ARE AVAILABLE AT:  www.agbellct.org

OVERVIEW

A hierarchy of learning to listen and listening to learn, which incorporates listening, talking, language and cognition, is presented. Videotape demonstrations include children using the auditory-verbal approach or transitioning from auditory-oral or total communication. Videotapes are used to demonstrate techniques, and slides illustrate the process and principles of developing listening in a systematic, yet natural and fun way. Children with hearing aids and those who received cochlear implants at different ages are included,  ranging from babies through older children. Audience participation and questions are encouraged and welcomed.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER 

Nancy Caleffe-Schenck, M.Ed., CED, CCC-A, Cert.AVT
Director, Auditory-Verbal Services, Inc.
6333 S. Annapurna Drive
Evergreen, Colorado, 80439, USA
Phone: 303-881-5292
Fax: 303-670-8715
Email: Ncschenck@aol.com

Nancy Schenck is a certified audiologist, teacher of the deaf, and auditory-verbal therapist. She has had a private practice in Colorado since 1983. She works with families and children of all ages locally and from out of town,  provides services to cochlear implant  programs, consults for schools and organizations, trains university students and professionals, and lectures internationally.

She is the author of several professional publications and videotapes. She worked closely with Doreen Pollack and co-authored with her and Don Goldberg the most commonly used textbook in Auditory-Verbal training programs,  Educational Audiology for the Limited-Hearing Infant and Preschooler, An Auditory-Verbal Program. She is a founding member of Auditory-Verbal International.

Her interest in deafness stems from her parents who were both severely to profoundly hearing impaired since their childhood. Her dad had meningitis when he was 13 months old, and her mom had otosclerosis and Meniere’s disease. When she was growing up, her mom wore two huge body hearing aids to help her hear. Her dad did not get his hearing aids until the 1970’s when Nancy was studying Audiology and learned that even people with sensori-neural hearing loss could benefit from hearing aids. 

Ideas to Share from Experience Books

Kerry Dowling took the song "Aiken Drum" and drew out the lyrics into a very interesting picture in Hadley's Experience Book. Can you imagine? "His hair was made of spaghetti, his legs were made of string beans, his feet were potatoes". I love to see things like this in the Experience Books. It is a good way to stimulate imaginative thought. You can create your own "Aiken Drum" for your younger child, but maybe the older child can listen carefully to the song and create their own portrait of Aiken! The rhythm of this song and the vocabulary make just singing this song a perfect "Auditory-Verbal experience"!

There is a short version of Aiken Drum on the Raffi CD: "Singable Songs for the Very Young". You can have fun making up your own verses.

Kerry also drew out the lyrics to, "Song in my tummy", which is sung by Laurie Berkner on her, "Under a Shady Tree" CD.  That entry in Hadley's Experience book was met with great result.

Amy, mother of new AVCC student, Kailey who listens with a cochlear implant and hearing aid, is off to a great start with Kailey's Experience Book. She drew a picture of Kailey's purse with all the treasures carried in it. This is a great activity for describing objects and telling their use.

Amy also did an abstract depiction of Stravinsky's Firebird Ballet. When Kailey goes to her grandparents' house she loves to watch this video. BUT, on the day that Joe, Kailey's dad, brought her to AVCC, we did not have a clue what a bird flying by the fireplace with ballet slippers meant. Amy clued us in at the next session. I thought, I must hear that music and see that ballet sometime. THEN, I kid you not! The very next day when I turned on WCRB which is the classical radio station here in Boston, I heard some beautiful music that was unfamiliar to me. I said to myself, "I wonder what music this is." It finished.  I heard the announcer say, "And that was a suite from  Stravinsky's Firebird Ballet"! (The video is available from www.amazon.com. Stravinsky's Firebird/Royal Danish ballet, Glen Tetley 1982. The Hartford Connecticut Symphony is performing Stravinsky's Firebird at the end of March.)

January AVCC Family Get-Together

Click on photos to see a larger version. A dozen AVCC families gathered at the Happy Day's Preschool in Gloucester on January 10th for a fun day.

Kerry, 2 year old Hadley's mother, sent a nice e-mail describing some of the fun. "At dinner every night, we ask everyone to share their favorite part of the day. Hadley said, without any hesitation, 'playing with the puzzles on the table at school'. Later she amended it by saying that she also liked building the snowmen and giving them a tight squeeze! We all had fun today. Thanks for making it happen. Hadley will have fun seeing the pictures from the day and choosing one for her Experience Book."

Sandy, mother of Jamie who is now 20 months old and Adam who is now 5 year old, commented that it was great to meet so many other families and have the chance to talk with some "AVCC graduates".

Thanks to Darleen Lane, Nicholas' mother, who helped organize this great AVCC  event.

E-mails to the Newsletter:

#1:Here’s an upcoming outdoor event. I have heard this day is a lot of fun with many AVCC families participating. We encourage you to join in the fun if you feel like a day of skiing!  It was sent to us from one of AVCC’s previous MGH “ graduate student intern” Carrie Ouellette.

Carrie writes: "On this Sunday, March 7th, Shawnee Peak Ski Mountain in Maine is sponsoring a ski race to raise money for Hear ME Now, the oral school for the deaf that I
work for.  We are a preschool that helps children who are deaf/hearing
impaired learn to listen and speak. Since the school is a nonprofit
organization, many of us are planning to ski to help raise money.  The fee
to be on a team is $75."

#3:Cathy Janelle, a SLP who did some A-V training here at AVCC writes; "I was just cruising one of my favorite kid’s websites & saw some things for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which made me think of you.  You had given me some things way back when re: that story.  ANYWAY, I thought you'd like this website a lot.  It’s loaded with good stuff.
dltk-kids.com (no caps) and dltk-teach.com. (I checked this out. It is great. You can print out a calendar, coloring pages, crafts which can be of your favorite characters, such as; Hello Kitty, dinosaurs, Sponge Bob, and many more. You can play concentration games on-line. Every month they have new materials related the seasons and holidays with all the vocabulary our kids need to learn!)

#4:Register now and take advantage of discounted rates for the 2004 Convention of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) in Anaheim, CA, June 25-29, 2004. Early registration has been extended until March 25.

This biennial event offers attendees five days of unique learning experiences featuring the latest information on hearing loss, education and early intervention models, and hearing technology.

Discover new ideas and gain skills at more than 100 short courses, concurrent educational sessions, and poster presentations on deafness and spoken language.

Meet new and old friends at the world’s largest gathering of parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, adults with hearing loss, and education and medical professionals.

Explore the AG Bell Exhibit Hall and attend product demonstrations with a wide range of industry representatives.

Join the fun at Special Events such as the Association Banquet, Association Luncheon, Family Dance, and AG Bell Night at Disney.

Attendees who register by March 25 will receive the early registration rate of $225.00 for members, $325.00 for nonmembers.

#5:The following is from an e-mail from Melissa Chaikof. The Chaikofs came to AVCC when Rachel was just a baby. Rachel received a cochlear implant in 1989. She was the first child in New England at that time to receive a cochlear implant. We had the privilege of participating in Auditory-Verbal Therapy with her for three years before she and her family moved to Atlanta, GA.

 Melissa writes: "Dear Lea and Jim,   Every year, our county schools have a contest, called Reflections, which Rachel has won at the school and county level before for her artwork.  However, this year, the theme was "I am happy when..."  For this, she entered a piece she had written for her website, and, so far, it's won at the school and county level for the writing competition.  Now, she moves on to the state level."

Leaving Silence Behind
By Rachel Chaikof

Without the rigorous but tremendous miracles that I've had, there would be no astonishing sounds traveling through my ears and around me to make my life easier.  I wouldn't have been able to just simply say or hear "Hi!  What's up?" My mouth would have opened and moved as if I were trying to speak, but no words would have come out.  My hand couldn't have been raised up in the air to answer the questions in my own crystal clear voice, like other students in my class, not to mention that I wouldn't have been able to pick up the phone and put it to my ear and my mouth to hear and speak to my long distance grandparents, which would make me miss them even more.  My beautiful long fingers wouldn't have touched the grand piano to play the tunes of magnificent songs. The waiter at the restaurant could come up to me, but all I would have seen is him/her standing there and his/her mouth moving.  What would I do?  How could I communicate with that person?  I wouldn't even have been able to hear the real quality of sounds of my parents saying, "I love you."  Even if I just had a hug meaning, "I love you," it still wouldn't be enough to show the emotions of love.  Sounds are needed to be there for me to understand the expressions of anger, happiness, excitement, and sadness.  Sounds are precious treasures that cannot be kept away from me.  It was almost like having a treasure box with precious sounds inside it, sitting and waiting for me to open it to bring all the real miracles that have come to me.
 
    I can walk in the diversified crowds of people in the halls at school or on the sidewalks in the city with noises surrounding me and seem to be unnoticeably different from each person because I can speak, hear and communicate as though it came as naturally for me.  Although, there is something different and unique about me from the rest of the crowd and even from the other students in my classroom, I can still communicate with other people well.  That's because I learned to listen and speak with a cochlear implant and Auditory-Verbal therapy!

This essay will be published on the AVCC website in the “From AVCC Alumnae” section.

New Games and Books to Enhance Listening and Talking

"Yes, I like Listen & Talk-sort of. The games I played with Sandy are Gramma's Candies, Guess-Who, and other stuff. I don't remember the names of the other games we played. One game had square tiles and you put one of them into a small box. Then the other player asks you yes-and-no questions. For example, I ask you "Is it a toy?" and you have a picture of witch on a tile. You say "no" and give few clues. Like "it is not a toy. It is a person." Got it? The name of the game has something on it: Square. If you don't have this game, then make it for real! You can think of any idea you want."

Jim is all excited about Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, 2000, Scholastic, Inc.  Alex F's 5th grade teacher in Gloucester is reading this book to the class. It is  about how a girl who is very good and kind has a hard time fitting in to the regular school. Alex wants to take the book home and finish it so he can find out what happens. Jim already stayed up all night to finish it. Jim loved this book! Alex is a 12 year old boy who listens with a Nucleus 24 Contour cochlear implant.

Jim and I enjoyed the Gauguin exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. We recommend everyone go and take in this marvelous show. As we drove home, we felt as if we had just visited the island of Tahiti. In the MFA gift shop, we purchased two games by Gamewright which we highly recommend.

Hiss is a snake building game. When a snake is finished, the player says "hiss". When I read the directions to this game, I wondered why this is not handed out with every Speech-Language Pathology degree granted. Sophie and her friends in second grade really loved "combining", "incorporating", and fitting "mid-sections" together before putting them in their individual "snake pits". All the kids just "hissed" freely without being directed by me, the teacher! At AVCC, one and a half year old Jamie also enjoyed making snakes and hissing with her 5 year old brother Adam. "I see snake", "Let's make more snakes", and "Where'd it go?" were some of her comments. Adam and Jamie already owned their own Hiss Snake game.

Jim played Frog Juice with Adam and got some pretty outrageous vocabulary going with that game!

Now, just because we have an overstuffed therapy storage room, it does not mean we have every good game.  I am sure there are families and therapists out there who have good games we do not have, please share these good games with us. We will post them on the website for everyone.

Here is a "must read" for all AVCC parents:

Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim Fay and Charles Fay, Ph.D.2000, Love and Logic Press, Inc. www.loveandlogic.com  or call them at 1-800-338-4065. They offer many books, audiotapes, and videotapes.

This book offers a clear, concise, warm and effective approach for parenting young children. Jim and I recommend this book highly. We suggest parents get comfortable using the Love and Logic philosophy while your kids are little. We love using the Love and Logic principles now that are kids are teenagers and young adults. L & L clarifies "needs" and "wants" and helps one choose their battles with their toddler. Parenting actually can be fun!  Love and Logic really helps maintain parental sanity while offering our kids a great model for living life with respect and accountability for one's choices.

Recommended music

On a visit to Emily’s preschool her teachers recommended  Charlotte Diamond CDs and songs cards. “10 Carrot Diamond” and “Teaching Peace”. I think you have to write and order them at this address: CJ     P. O. Box 426     Hillmar, CA 95324

Heidi, mother of  5 month old Ethan who is learning to listen at AVCC, recommends ChooChoo Boogaloo by Buckwheat Zydeco. This is some great boogie music from New Orleans. It will have the whole family dancing! Purchase it through www.Amazon.com or try your local music store. "Get on board!"

Motivation:

"You will never 'find' time. If you want time, you must make it."

Charles Buxton

"The bigger the dream, the bigger the dream-come-true."

Anonymous

Idiom of the month

the time is right - it feels like a good time to do or say something

Idioms related to time

killing time - waste time; do something unproductive to keep busy while waiting
on the spur of the moment - without planning; a sudden decision
in no time - it seems as though no time had passed; very little time had passed
in the nick of time - at the last moment before something bad happens
to call it a day - after working hard on something, making a decision to stop 
for the time being - for a while, but not forever
high time - it should have been done before now, but you'll do it now
in no time - very quickly