Auditory - Verbal
Communication Chronicle
A publication of The Auditory-Verbal Communication Center Gloucester, MA
Volume #1, Issue No. 6 for November- December, 2003
In this issue:
Greeting
Happy Holidays Everyone! We’d love to see you all in January!
Please join! Become a member! Show your support!
We encouraged people to join AVI, Inc and A G Bell, Inc in previous issues of this newsletter. If for some
reason, you have not yet joined, this is a great time of year to do so. One AVCC
mom told us that she and her husband were buying membership to the two groups as
part of their holiday gifts to each other. Another AVCC mom who is already a
member told us that she and her husband were thinking of joining for next year
as Life Members of the organizations. These conversations really pleased us
because these organizations promote and publicize the auditory-verbal approach.
Through these organizations research and information is made available. A large
strong membership base will make the organizations more effective.
This is a good time to join, Auditory-Verbal International, Inc ®, so you can
read the latest issue of The Auricle in memory of Dr. Daniel Ling. We each wrote
articles that were included. Please call AVI and request a copy of The Auricle.
“Auditory-Verbal International, Inc® (AVI )is a non-profit membership
organization whose principal objective is to promote listening and speaking as a
way of life for children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing. AVI’s goals
are to heighten public awareness of the Auditory-Verbal Approach, to ensure
certification standards for the Auditory-Verbal practitioners, to provide
quality educational opportunities and networking among parents, professionals,
and the lay community.” Please join by calling: 703-739-1049 or emailing:
audiverb@aol.com
Also, we hope everyone is a member of the Alexander Graham Bell Association
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. Call 202-337-5220 or on line at
www.agbell.org. This is a good time to join.
Volta Voices, the bi-monthly
magazine, is full of interesting articles. In the current issue is a great
article about children with two cochlear implants featuring AVCC student Sarah
N. You don’t want to miss that. Look for an important article on reading; “Ten
Books a day” in the spring issue! You might know the authors!
In January we will have an AVCC website where this edition of the newsletter
will be ‘published’ and all future newsletters:
www.avcclisten.com and a new
e-mail address for you to contact us: avcc@avcclisten.com. We will also have a
new AVCC brochure. Jim already has a website for the Gloucester Public School
program. Contact Jim for user name and password.
Always encouraging the Auditory-Verbal option,
Jim and Lea Watson
E-mails to the Newsletter
From AVCC parent Karen W.
Thanks for sending me
the update. I was starting to wonder what happened. How sad to hear Dan Ling
passed away? I will remember him speaking at a conference and asking the
audience if anyone could lip read his lips as he mouthed the words with out
speaking, "Have you ever been to Tiananmen Square?" Of course I did not lip
read, but somehow I got most of it and said, "Have you ever??? Tiananmen Square”
He was amazed that I got that much, and for some reason I have always remembered
him saying that. Funny what we remember isn't it?? Mike will be running
cross-country in the NEC finals in Gloucester in October.
From AVCC adult Paul S.
Great newsletter! Glad to hear you're meeting with
Joanne Travers. We'll be meeting with her and group from Dominican Republic to
talk about the AG Bell Assoc.
AVCC Parent Stories
Phone calls to AVCC received on the answering machine
Barbara and Mitch K. called. They are parents of Max who started AVCC when Max
was age 18 mos. He’s now age 12 years, listening with a CI for just 2 years.
He’s been mainstreamed from the beginning with appropriate support services
including AVCC. Barbara said; “ We were invited to participate in an ASL panel
in Manchester, NH. We did a fine job. We told everyone how great Auditory Verbal
Therapy is. They asked what I think the best way to solve the situation about
teaching children with cochlear implants is. I told them, as long as you have
Early Intervention and auditory-verbal parent guidance therapy, that you could
get the kids implanted at age 6 months, and then you would have naturally
normally developing children and wouldn’t have to worry about all this other
stuff later on in school. I think it went really well. I got my message across.”
Lisa B, “ Hey Lea, I was on my way out of town and I just wanted to tell
you. Taylor and I were driving in the car down then road and saw the clouds and
she said; Hey mom, I know clouds, clouds float.” So she got it! Those are the
things you don’t get see. And it’s just exciting when I see her start to use
what we just did in therapy. I thought it was cute. She found her own way to
understand and use ‘float.’ ”
Faye G. called to relay that she had met some one new and told them that
Patrick was hearing impaired. The man immediately said to his daughter; “Oh, we
know some sign language, let’s show them what we know.” Faye shared the
frustration that always comes up when people you meet immediately assume because
your child is deaf or hard of hearing you do sign language.
Ideas to share from Experience Books
AVCC Dad, Scott W. suggests; “Use your imagination”. In our weekly AVT
session with his 4 ½ year old son, we were playing with the Brio train. There
were two circles of track side by side. Scott asked his son; “What does it look
like?” His son replied; “A butterfly”. Other ideas included; a pair of glasses,
the #8, part of a snowman, handcuffs. This is easy to draw and include in the
experience Book.
Scott also suggests using “Ink blot creations” for encouraging imaginative
thought. Take a plain piece of paper, put a dab of ink or paint in the middle,
fold it, press, them open and ask; “What does it look like?” or just start to
describe what you think it looks like, chances are your child will chime in with
a few ideas. This paper can be glued right in the Experience Book for further
discussion at your next AVT session.
Any more ideas to share? Let’s share some ideas for the next issue.
Babes in Toyland
Jim and I attended a fine performance of Babes in Toyland
presented at our community theatre. AVCC student Evan S. and his older brother
Brendan performed. Evan is in fourth grade at a Gloucester Elementary School. He
and his family started at AVCC when he was 2 ½ years old. Evan sent the
following article.
“On December 12 through 14th, 2003, the Gloucester Stage Company performed
the play Babes in Toyland, directed by Norman Jones. I was chosen to be Peter
Peter Pumpkin eater and perform in the play. My brother Brendan played the part
of Jack Be Nimble. If you are in a play you have to attend rehearsals with the
cast. Some rehearsals lasted six hours! I had to learn where to be on the stage
and when to be there. I had to follow directions called cues. We had to be very
quiet backstage during performances. This play was my first acting experience in
a play. I felt nervous during the first performance. After this I felt
comfortable in front of the audience.” What a great show it was. Of course, for
us, the S. boys were the stars of the show!
New Games and Books to enhance listening and talking
OK, Halloween is over,
but does everyone know Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman? Well, it’s a song and a
book and a favorite of Sophie’s 2nd grade teacher. There is a recording that
comes with the book. We are actually looking to develop a list of books that are
songs for the 2nd grade. Singing and rhymes help with auditory memory
development. If anyone can add to our list, please call AVCC or send suggestions
to avcc@adlephia.net. We’ll publish the list in the next newsletter.
Reminder!
For Kids
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton. This is a great story
about Gloucester! Find it at your library. It’s a little long for us to read in
an AVCC session, so why not read it and then be ready to tell us about it when
we get together?
AVCC Gives Auditory-Verbal Workshop
Joanne Traverse of Partners
for A Greater Voice asked us to share the Auditory-Verbal Approach with teachers
from the Dominican Republic. Visit the partners for A Greater Voice website to
learn more about this interesting organization that helps children who are deaf
and hard of hearing all around the world. (www.greatervoice.com)
On November 6, 2003, eight teachers, one parent, and their Spanish language
interpreter met us at Fuller School in Gloucester to first learn about
mainstreaming. Fifth grader, Alex F. who started AVCC when he was an infant, was
the tour guide. He showed them around his classroom and answered questions about
being the only student who is hearing impaired in the large elementary school.
He demonstrated how well he can hear with his cochlear implant and his classroom
amplification system.
Then everyone squeezed in to the AVCC office for a workshop on the
Auditory-Verbal Approach. The teachers were impressed with the parent
participation aspect of AVCC and how all of the students are mainstreamed from
the start. At the end of the workshop one teacher said very slowly, but in clear
English; “I like Auditory-Verbal.”
Holiday Skate
Parent Connection is having
their annual holiday skate in Cambridge on Sunday Dec 20th! Joanne Traverse
encourages everyone to come. She says; “Please let people know that they do not
have to skate to join us. We have a room that overlooks the ice rink: music,
crafts, face painting, Santa, treats, sweets and more unhealthy appetizers to
cleanse the pallet. Older kids can do what they like best, skate or just hang
out of course.”
Call for details: 978-312-1200 tel.
Motivation / Jokes / Ispiration / Poetry
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by
the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do. So throw off the
bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in you sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain
Idiom of the Week
can't stand (it) -can't tolerate; dislike extremely; hate
Fraser can't stand broccoli. It's his least favorite food.
Many people love to
watch The Sopranos on HBO TV, but some people can't stand to hear all the
swearing.
Teenagers often can't stand it when their parents tell them what they
should or should not wear.
Idioms help children learn about figurative language.
Some words don’t mean what you think they mean. It is important to include
idioms in familiar and meaningful context for our children. Try to use as many
of these as you can in meaningful situations. Have fun!
Idioms from weather:
- break the ice - end the awkward silence and begin talking and enjoying someone's
company
- a breeze - very easy; no problems at all
- come rain or shine - in bad
times and in good; if things are difficult or if they are easy
- a fair-weather
friend - a friend who is there only when times are good and you are having fun
- full of hot air - saying a lot of words, but the words are meaningless or untrue
- to have one's head in the clouds - to be unrealistic (the opposite is to have
your feet on the ground)
- to rain cats and dogs - to rain extremely hard
- to save
something for a rainy day - save it for when life is difficult
- snowed under - a
feeling of having so much work that you feel buried in it; can't get out
- under
the weather - not feeling well; feeling a little sick
- to weather the storm - to
remain strong during difficult times, knowing it is temporary, like a storm
Please send in information for the next ¬AVCC Chronicle! Thank you.
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