Learn and Connect

When you need information about cochlear implantation, turn to CIAF.  In this section of our Web site, you will soon find links to implant-related product info, implant centers, support groups, message boards and private sites dedicated to issues of hearing loss and implantation.

Hearing Pocket for your child's processor

Cochlear Implant T-Shirts for Children

Cochlear Implant Manufacturer Information

Insurance Help and Advocacy

Agencies/Organizations

Web Resources

Web sites that simulate listening through a cochlear implant
U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Cochlear Implants

Cochlear Implant & Hearing Aid Interface Systems

Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation Resources

Suggested Scales of Development and Assessment Tools:

Auditory Perception/Listening Skills

Speech/Intelligibility

Speechreading

Language
            Basic Concepts

Sign Language
Computer Software for Developing Spoken Language Skills 
Curricula/Training Programs
Books
Additional Resources

Manufacturer Information:

Cochlear implant manufacturers offer an abundance of free, promotional materials in various languages, as well as information on candidacy, services, research, and events. In addition, they offer the following videos and resources described below.

Advanced Bionics/Clarion System
Mann Biomedical Park
25129 Rye Canyon Loop
Valencia, CA
800-678-2575 (V)
800-678-3575 (TTY)
E-mail: hear@advancedbionics.com
Web: http://www.advancedbionics.com/

The Guide to Cochlear Implants for Parents and Educators (guide book and CD)
The guide and accompanying CD offers a comprehensive look at the way the cochlear implant functions. It describes ways educators, parents, and other professionals can check the system to ensure it is functioning optimally and how to use its many features effectively in helping a child acquire and use spoken language.

Cecilia's Story (video--open captioned, 47 minutes)
This documentary follows Cecilia and her family from birth through age 8 as they make communication and technology decisions related to Cecilia's deafness. Using Cecilia's story as a vehicle, this video covers many of the issues families face in making decisions for their deaf child related to communication choices and whether or not to consider a cochlear implant, as well as going through the implantation process.

Hearing Your Life (video--open captioned, 34:55 minutes)
This documentary follows the lives of four adults before and after receiving the Clarion HiResolution cochlear implant. Each individual discusses the impact deafness has had on their lives and how much they benefited from getting a cochlear implant. This video describes the process of hearing and impact of hearing loss as well as how the cochlear implant works.

“Loud and Clear” Rehabilitation Newsletter
Issue devoted to the topic of sign language and cochlear implants can be downloaded at: http://www.cochlearimplant.com/printables/L_CV4I2.pdf

Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS)
The IT-MAIS is a parent report checklist to document a young child’s use of sound in the natural environment. Ten questions with an accompanying rating scale are provided addressing such areas as “Is the child’s vocal behavior affected while wearing his/her sensory aid (hearing aid or cochlear implant?” and “Does the child spontaneously respond to his/her name in quiet with auditory cues only when not expecting to hear it?”. The scale helps document the small steps in development of listening skills. This scale is widely utilized and available at no charge through Advanced Bionics.

Tools for Schools: Helping Children with Cochlear Implants Succeed in School
Advanced Bionics created a new division called the Educational Division of the Bionic Ear Association (BEA-E). Their first initiative is The Tools For Schools Launch Kit. The Kit includes:
Tools for Schools literature series

        The Bionic Buddy movie on DVD or VHS

        A poster on how a cochlear implant works
The Educator’s Guide CD Presentations
The Guide for Cochlear Implants for Parents and Educators

        Services handouts
(To order contact: toolsforschools@advancebionics.com)

Online Training & Education Center
Advanced Bionics offers online training courses as well as live courses.  For upcoming and recorded online courses as well as a listing of live courses, go to:

http://www.audiologyonline.com/aointeractive/courses/courses.asp?pid=5

Cochlear Americas/Nucleus System
400 Inverness Parkway, Suite 400
Englewood, CO 80112
800-523-5798 (V/TTY)
303-792-9025 (FAX)
E-mail: info@cochlear.com
Web: http://www.cochlear.com/

Introduction to Cochlear Implants (video--closed captioned, 15 minutes)
This is a videotape developed in 2002 that provides an excellent overview of the anatomy and physiology of the ear, cochlear implants and how they work, the surgical procedure, and the post-surgical hook up. While specific to the Nucleus brand implant, this tape provides a general overview of implants regardless of the manufacturer.

Nucleus 24 Contour: The Shape of Things to Come (video--also available in Spanish)
This promotional/educational videotape highlights three families with an implanted family member: a mother of two teens implanted as an adult, a 3-year-old twin implanted at 15 months, and a 9-year-old boy implanted after having worn hearing aids from age 18 months; it also details Nucleus implant technology, how the implant is fitted, and how it functions.

Twins: A Cochlear Implant Study (video--open captioned, 30 minutes)
This videotape follows the language development of three sets of twins up to 4½ years of age (original tape followed the twins through age 3). Each set of twins has a deaf twin with an implant and a hearing twin.

What to Expect at a Child's Hook-up (video--closed captioned, 60 minutes)
An in-depth explanation of issues integral to fitting the external components of a cochlear implant in the weeks following surgery are included in this videotape. Contents include the initial hookup, programming of the speech processor, including selecting the speech coding strategies and setting levels individual to each child, the child's first listening experiences, expectations for the implant, and troubleshooting of the implant system. This video covers many of the nitty-gritty questions families may have related to what goes into the fitting and the use of an implant.

Start Listening: A Guide to Pediatric Rehabilitation (video--open captioned, 27 minutes)
This video includes a basic, easy-to-follow progression of auditory development narrated by an auditory-verbal therapist. This video provides information and ideas regarding how to facilitate the process of attaching meaning to sound, and provides a framework for developing listening skills, issues for consideration in developing listening skills, and strategies to promote listening regardless of whether a child is using an oral approach or a Total Communication approach. Strategies are provided related to promoting awareness of sound, providing an optimal listening environment, facilitating vocal play, integrating listening with language and cognition, as well as vocabulary and reading development.

Nucleus Accessories and Assistive Listening Devices (closed captioned, 35 minutes)
Narrated by a cochlear implant user, this video discusses the various accessories to maximize listening through a cochlear implant. Devices covered include those used to assist with: a) listening in background noise, b) using a traditional phone and cell phone, c) listening to music, d) troubleshooting the implant device, and e) use of FM systems.

Listen, Learn, and Talk (Auditory Habilitation Program)
See below under Curricula/Training Programs for further information. There is a fee for this product.

Hear We Go (Auditory Habilitation CD)
See below under Curricula/Training Programs for further information. There is a fee for this product.

Cochlear Implant Resource Guide: Meeting Children’s Needs at School
This Guide is for individuals who regularly work with children with cochlear implants regarding their needs in educational settings, including clinicians in cochlear implant centers and educational personnel in school settings. It consists of both new and existing materials that have been compiled and organized to correspond with typical issues relating to children’s needs at school. The guide is organized in a loose-leaf notebook to allow easy removal and copying of specific materials. The contributing authors have given permission for their materials to be copied and used in this fashion, to encourage maximum dissemination to school personnel, parents, and others. Cochlear Americas will update the guide periodically with revised and new content.(To order call Cochlear’s Customer Service at 1-800-523-5798. Part number: FUN528, Price $50.00)

Hear We Go (Individualized rehabilitation workbook for teenagers)
This CD contains an easy to install program that allows the therapist to access rehabilitation exercises and generate an individualized rehabilitation workbook for the Nucleus recipient. The workbook is built around 24 different topical interests for older children and teenagers and 3 different auditory skill levels within each topic. It also contains additional topics like Active Listening, Telephone Training, Communication Strategies, and more. It can either be printed or emailed to the recipient it has been designed for.

(To order call Cochlear's Customer Service at 1-800-523-5798. $25.00)

Sound and Beyond (interactive listening rehabilitation for adults)
This CD is a self-paced, interactive computer listening tool that offers: Pure Tone Discrimination, Environmental Sounds, Male/Female Identification, Vowel Recognition, Word Discrimination, Everyday Sentences and Music Appreciation. There are 5 different skill levels within each topic and over 10,000 sounds, words, and sentences. It reports tracking progress to view and share. One lisence can be shared with up to 3 different users at a time.
(To order call Cochlear's Customer Service at 1-800-523-5798. $290.00)

HOPE (Habilitation Outreach for Professionals in Education)

A comprehensive collection of products and services designed to assist educational personnel in addressing the unique needs of children with cochlear implants. HOPE includes online training for professionals, Cochlear products for professionals and parents, HOPE services, and workshops and seminars. For more information:
http://www.cochlearamericas.com/americas/support/291.asp.

MED-EL Corporation
2222 East Highway 54
Beta Building, Suite 180
Durham, NC 27713
888-633-3524
919-572-2222 (V/TTY)
919-484-9229 (FAX)
E-mail: implants@medelus.com
Web: http://www.medel.com/

How a Cochlear Implant Works (video--closed captioned, 15 minutes)
In addition to providing basic information about the MED-EL device and the testimonials of two adults and a parent of a deaf child discussing their choice to obtain a cochlear implant, this video provides a clear, animated segment on how a cochlear implant works.

Listening Is Fun Video Kit (guidebook and video)
This is a guide for parents and families of cochlear implanted children. The theme of the guidebook is learning to listen through everyday activities. There is a suggested range of activities which are designed to encourage the child to listen and have fun at the same time. Activities are grouped and color-coded. Each color group activity covers different levels of listening skills. The price is $25.00/set.

MED-EL hearLIFE Educator CD
This CD contains the following: Handbook for Educators; Handling and Troubleshooting the TEMPO+; HearSay Newsletter; Communication Options; FM Guide; and How a Cochlear Implant Works video. There is a Glossory of Terms and a dynamic table of contents in both the Handbook for Educators and Troubleshooting the TEMPO+. The video clips in Handling and Troubleshooting the TEMPO+ demonstrate some of the information presented in the guide. To obtain the Educator CD, contact, MED-EL Corporation at (888) 633-3524 or http://www.medel.com/.

Insurance Help:

www.ciafonline.org/insurance.html

Agencies/Organizations:

Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
3417 Volta Place, NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-337-5220 (V)
202-337-5221 (TTY)
866-337-5220 (Toll Free)
E-mail: info@agbell.org
Web: http://www.agbell.org/

Helps families, health care providers and education professionals understand childhood hearing loss and the importance of early diagnosis and intervention. Offers a bimonthly magazine, financial aid and scholarship programs, publications and educational workshops on childhood hearing loss.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
10801 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852
800-638-8255 (V/TTY)
E-mail: actioncenter@asha.org
Web: http://www.asha.org
Information on cochlear implants can be found directly at:
http://www.asha.org/press/cochlear_facts.cfm and http://www.asha.org/press/cochlear_quickfacts.cfm.

An article on cochlear implants and Deaf identity by Phil Aiello can be found at: http://www.asha.org/hearing/rehab/Aiellos.cfm.

Cochlear Implant Association, Inc. (CIAI)
5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 440
Washington, DC 20015-2003
202-895-2781
Fax: 202-895-2782
E-mail: lasinger@mindspring.com
Web: http://www.cici.org/

CIAI is a nonprofit organization for cochlear implant recipients, their families, professionals, and other individuals interested in cochlear implants. The association provides support and information to anyone interested in information about cochlear implants.

National Association of the Deaf
814 Thayer Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-587-1788
E-mail: nadinfo@nad.org
Web: http://www.nad.org/

The NAD position paper on cochlear implants can be downloaded from this site. This paper subscribes to the NAD's philosophy of the wellness model upon which "the physical and psychosocial integrity of deaf children and adults is based." Also available from this site is a special issue of the NAD newsletter, The NAD Broadcaster, January 2001, Vol., No. 1, that is dedicated entirely to the topic of cochlear implants.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
1 Communication Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20892
800-241-1044 (V)
800-241-1055 (TTY)
E-mail: nidcdinfor@nidcd.hih.gov
Web: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/

A cochlear implant information packet can be obtained through this organization's Web site. Information can be directly downloaded on the topic of cochlear implants and many other topics specific to hearing loss.

Network of Educators of Children with Cochlear Implants (NECCI)
Dr. Mary Ellen Nevins, Cochlear Implant Center
Lenox Hill Hospital
186 East 76th Street
New York, New York 10021
212-434-6650 (V)
Web: http://www.childrenshearing.org/custom/necci.html

NECCI is an organization primarily composed of educators, audiologists, and speech- language pathologists. It publishes a newsletter several times a year. NECCI provides a curriculum workshop about cochlear implants for professionals that also includes a special parent component of the program.

Educational Audiology Association (EAA)
13153 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 105
Tampa, Florida 33618
800-460-7322
E-mail: EAA@L-TGRAYE.COM
Web: http://www.edaud.org

The Educational Audiology Association is an international organization comprised of audiologists and related professionals who deliver a full spectrum of hearing services to all children, particularly those in educational settings.

Hands & Voices

http://www.handsandvoices.org

Hands & Voices is a nationwide, parent driven, non-profit organization that provides unbiased support to families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Support activities and information may include, outreach events, educational seminars, advocacy, lobbying efforts, parent to parent networking and a newsletter.

National University Center for Human Advancement
Institute for Persons Who Are Hard of Hearing or Deaf (IHHD)

http://www.cha.nu.edu/IHHD.html

Affiliated with the National University for Human Advancement, the IHHD serves the hard of hearing and deaf community, early childhood and regular educators, related professionals, vocational rehabilitation counselors, employers, advisors, and administrators who provide education, healthcare, and service delivery for persons who are hard of hearing and deaf and their families. The IHHD is funded by the U.S. Congress to provide personal preparation, education, career, and leadership training opportunities for the 28 million children and adults who are hard of hearing or deaf.

Web Resources:

Cochlear Awareness Network
http://www.c-a-network.com

The Cochlear Awareness Network is a group of Volunteers each of whom have lived deaf but have had their hearing returned through technology. They have chosen to be members of the Network to tell their stories, raising awareness for these wonderful changes in their lives. All members are available to discuss their experiences.

Live, Love, Hear

http://live-love-hear.org

Live, Love, Hear was created to help raise COCHLEAR IMPLANT AWARENESS in the Berks and Lehigh County area in Pennsylvania.Their mission is to help raise funds for the Cochlear Implant Awareness Foundation.  This foundation provides information, resources, support and financial assistance to persons who may be eligible for this life changing technology.

The Children's Hearing Institute
http://www.childrenshearing.org/home.html
The Institute provides funding for research, educational support, and other programs related to the restoration of hearing for infants and children with hearing loss or profound deafness.

Hands and Voices Web site
http://www.handsandvoices.org/
Hands and Voices is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families and their children who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as the professionals who serve them.

Illinois Families for Hands and Voices Web site
http://www.ilhandsandvoices.org/
This is a state chapter of the Hands and Voices National.

The Listen-Up Web site
http://www.listen-up.org/

The Listen-Up Web is an excellent Web site with extensive links to other sites about cochlear implants.

Sound and Fury Web site
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/soundandfury/index.html

This is a Web site surrounding a documentary on cochlear implants called Sound and Fury.This film addresses the decision and struggle of two branches of a family as they decide whether or not to implant their children. This site includes discussion of the debate surrounding implantation of young children and the Deaf cultural perspective on cochlear implants. Lesson plans are provided to teach middle and high school students about hearing, cochlear implants, and communication. Links are provided to a variety of resources on cochlear implants, Deaf culture, and sign language.

Navigating a Forest of Information: One Tree At a Time…
http://clerccenter2.gallaudet.edu/KidsWorldDeafNet/e-docs/CI/index.html

This E- document is designed to assist parents and educators in navigating the extensive forest of information available on cochlear implants. The site is divided into modules on specific topics related to cochlear implants. It provides information within each topic and directs the reader to additional resources. This site is easy to navigate and provides information on topics often not covered via other websites (education and communication, role of sign language). The site is also available in Spanish.

Children with Cochlear Implants Who Sign: Guidelines for Transitioning to Oral Education or a Mainstream Setting

http://web1.tch.harvard.edu/cfapps/oto/transition.pdf

This E-document contains guidelines that were developed from round table discussions among audiologists, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, and teachers of the deaf who were convened by the Boston Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and the Cochlear Implant Center of Children’s Hospital of Boston, MA. These guidelines are intended to facilitate discussion and decisions by families and professionals regarding appropriate educational settings for children with cochlear implants. It provides checklists for two age groups: young children under 5 years of age and students 5 years of age and older to evaluate competencies for transition from manual to oral instruction.

A Website For Teenagers
http://www.ci-4teenz.com/

This interactive and fun website is designed for teenagers. It offers teen testimonials as well as useful information on hearing loss and cochlear implants.

Web sites that simulate listening through a cochlear implant:
http://www.bsos.umd.edu/hesp/zeng/simulations.html
http://www.utdallas.edu/~loizou/cimplants/
http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/hesp/Simulations/simulationsmain.htm
http://hei.org/research/depts/aip/audiodemos.htm

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Cochlear Implants:
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/cochlear/

The FDA regulates manufactures of cochlear implants. The purpose of this website is to describe cochlear implants, link to FDA approved implants, tell the benefits and risks of cochlear implants, and provide news about cochlear implant recalls and safety issues. There is also information on what educators of implant users need to know, what happens before, during, and after surgery, and where to report problems.

CI HEAR
http://www.cihear.com

CI Hear began as an internet listserv created to support anyone interested in cochlear implants. The website still provides a listserv but also offers links to CI Stories, Bilateral CI information, Medical Information, Implant Manufacturers, Auditory Therapy, Resources, Support, and Surgery.

ADA and Cochlear Implants
http://www.cochlear.org/sys-tmpl/adaandcochlearimplants1/

This website provides individuals with a free resource for questions about third party health insurance reimbursement for cochlear implants and related services. It is a privately-owned site and the owners receive no compensations from manufacturers or providers.

Cochlear Implant & Hearing Aid Interface Systems:

Company that manufactures cochlear implant accessories (custom cables, telephone adapters, microphone systems, stethoscopes, and FM interface). To order contact:
Robert Mendoza
4404 Hollingsworth Ct.
Rohnert, CA 94928
Phone: 707-585-0609
E-mail: robm_94928@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.cihais.com

Help Kids Hear.org
http://www.helpkidshear.org/resources/devices/cochlear.htm

This website was founded by Tony & Alisa Hake, the parents of two hard of hearing children. It is designed to help parents of hard of hearing and deaf children by providing users with the latest news, commentary, and resources. There is also a discussion forum where parents can read and post questions about hearing loss across a wide variety of categories. The section on cochlear implants provides information on how a cochlear implant works, getting a cochlear implants, and links.

Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation Resources:

http://www.cochlearrehab.com/resources.htm

Provides resource links to Manufacturers, Organizations, Informational Sites, Email Groups, Assistive Devices, Hearing Dogs, and Accessories/Miscellaneous.

The Children's Hearing Institute (CHI)

http://www.childrenshearing.org/home.html

The Children's Hearing Institute (CHI) is a private, non-profit foundation that was established in 1983 by Simon C. Parisier, MD, a pioneer in hearing loss and cochlear implant research and surgery. The CHI web site is available in English and Spanish. It features information on cochlear implants and hearing loss, an In The News section, and an extensive Patient and Family Resource Guide highlighting organizations, web sites, educational resources, emotional/social development, support groups, insurance information, online articles, advocacy resources, recommended books/videos/CD's, online tools, annotated research articles, and online forums related to cochlear implants and hearing loss.

Cochlear Implant Awareness Foundation (CIAF)
http://www.ciafonline.org/index.html
The Cochlear Implant Awareness Foundation provides information, resources, support, and financial assistance to individuals who may be eligible for a cochlear implant. The financial assistance program is not intended to cover the medical procedure itself, but rather to assist families with costs that are not traditionally covered by insurance (i.e., hotel or other travel expenses, childcare, etc.) or expenses which exceed the limits of health care coverage. For more information visit the CIAF website.

Hearing Loss Association of America

http://www.hearingloss.org/
The Hearing Loss Association of America is the nation’s largest organization for people with hearing loss. HLAA exists to open the world of communication for people with hearing loss through information, education, advocacy and support.

League for the Hard of Hearing
http://www.lhh.org/

The League for the Hard of Hearing was founded in New York in 1910 and is the oldest and foremost hearing rehabilitation and human services agency in the world for infants, children, adults and seniors who are hard of hearing, deaf and deaf-blind, and their families. Over the years we have seen to the needs of over 1,250,000 people with hearing loss.

Deaf Resouce Center

http://www.deafbiz.com/

This site has multiple resources for the Deaf and hearing-impaired.

Suggested Scales of Development and Assessment Tools:

The following scales of development and assessment tools are provided as a reference. They have been categorized by Auditory Perception/Listening Skills, Speech/Intelligibility, Speechreading, Language, Basic Concepts, and Sign Language. A brief description of each scale/tool and information on availability is provided.

Auditory Perception/Listening Skills

Auditory-Verbal Ages and Stages of Development (Levels I-VIII) in Cochlear Implants for Kids
Available through: Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This checklist outlines the development of listening from sound awareness to auditory comprehension including; discrimination, identification, localization, auditory memory and sequencing, listening from a distance, and listening in noise.

St. Gabriel’s Curriculum for the Development of Audition, Language, Speech and Cognition
Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This program contains a hierarchical order for the development of auditory awareness and auditory memory progressing from closed set to open set.

Cottage Acquisition Scales For Listening, Language, and Speech
Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This developmental checklist is for assessment and planning for diagnostic therapy. The listening section progresses from sound awareness to comprehension of paragraphs including phonetic listening skills.

Early Speech Perception Test (ESP) for Profoundly Hearing-Impaired Children
Available through Central Institute for Deaf (CID). Contact Dianne Gushleff at dgushleff@cid.edu or 314-977-0133 or 314-977-0016 (fax)

The ESP test battery is a test of speech perception for profoundly deaf children as young as 3 years of age. The ESP may be used to establish objectives and to measure the effects of a hearing aid or cochlear implant in terms of their impact on the child’s speech perception ability. The kit includes a manual, response forms, box of toys, full-color picture cards and audiocassette.

Functional Auditory Performance Indicators (FAPI): An Integrated Approach to Auditory Development
Available on line at: http://www.csdb.org/chip/resources/docs/fapi6_23.pdf

The FAPI assesses the functional auditory skills of children with hearing loss. It examines seven categories of auditory development: sound awareness, sound is meaningful, auditory feedback, localizing sound source, auditory discrimination, short-term memory, and linguistic auditory processing. A profile of a child’s functional auditory skills is generated after administering all items on the profile. The categories are hierarchical; however, it is appropriate for a child to be working on many skills at the same time. By working on multiple skills from different categories, the child will be learning an integrated approach to auditory skill development.

Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS)/Infant-Toddler: Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS)
Available through: Advanced Bionics Corporation, 12740 San Fernando
Road, Sylmar, CA 91342, 800-678-2575 (V) or 800-678-3575 (TTY)
E-mail: info@advancedbionics.com Web: http://www.cochlearimplant.com

These scales were developed for children who have a profound hearing loss and designed to be administered to parents by an audiologist. The parent is asked questions regarding use of amplification/cochlear implant and auditory behaviors regarding environmental and speech sounds.

Test of Auditory Comprehension (TAC)
Available through: Foreworks Publications, Box 82289 Portland, OR 97282, 503-653-2614

The TAC is designed to test the speech reception skills of young children on a linguistic rather than phonetic level. It provides information about the following hierarchical auditory skills: ability to discriminate between linguistic and non-linguistic sounds, word identification, comprehension of speech phrases varying in complexity, comprehension of stories in quiet, and comprehension of stories against competition. Test stimuli are on an audiocassette. The child must fail two consecutive subtests to stop testing.

Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language-Third Edition (TACL-3)
Available through: AGS Publishing, 4201 Woodland Road, Circle Pines, MN 55014-1796 phone 800-328-2560
Order and inquiries: customerservice@agsnet.com

The TACL-3 measures a child’s auditory comprehension skills including word classes and relations, grammatical morphemes, and elaborated sentences. The child is presented with a picture and points to the phrase or sentence that matches what he/she hears.

The Screening Instrument for Targeting Educational Risk (S.I.F.T.E.R.) /The Preschool S.I.F.T.E.R.
Available through: The Educational Audiology Association, 13153 N. Dale Mabry, #105, Tampa, Fla. 33624/ 800-460-7322 Web: http://www.edaud.org

The S.I.F.T.E.R. is used by the teacher to rate the child in comparison to other children in the classroom on 15 items. The responses are plotted on a chart which indicates pass, marginal or fail for each of the five areas of academics, attention, communication, classroom participation, and school behavior. If a child fails in a specific area, they should be referred for further evaluation. The Preschool S.I.F.T.E.R. was developed to be used with preschool children and is similar to the S.I.F.T.E.R.

The Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT) and the Multi-syllabic Lexical Neighborhood Test (MLNT)
Available through: AUDIOTEC of St. Louis, 2515 South Big Bend Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63143/ 800-669-9065 or 314-781-8890/ 314-781-4946 (fax) Web: http://www.auditec.com

The Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT) and the Multi-syllabic Lexical Neighborhood Test (MLNT) were developed by Indiana University in 1995. The LNT and MLNT are two new open-set tests of word recognition. These tests include words that the child repeats, and have been used to assess recognition of individual words and phonemes in children who are cochlear implant candidates. The LNT and MLNT are based on the lexical characteristics of word frequency and neighborhood density, and include words found in the vocabularies of children age three to five. Results from these tests with pediatric cochlear implant users have shown that their lexicons appear to be organized into similarity neighborhoods, and these neighborhoods are accessed in open-set word recognition tests. Studies have shown that normal hearing three- and four-year old children are able to recognize all the words from these two open-set speech perception tests at very high levels of performance. Therefore, these results have been used as a benchmark for children with hearing impairments.

The Listening Inventory for Education: an Efficacy Tool (L.I.F.E.)
Available through: The Educational Audiology Association, 13153 N. Dale Mabry, #105, Tampa, Fla. 33624/ 800-460-7322 Web: http://www.edaud.org

The L.I.F.E. is designed to determine amplification benefit and considers input from both the student and the teacher. The protocol also provides suggestions for intervention accommodations designed for the specific situations that are identified as problems.

Speech/Intelligibility:

The Arizona Articulation Proficiency Scale-Third Edition
Available through: Pro Ed, Inc. 8700 Shoal Creek Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78757-6897, 800-897-3202 or 800-37-7633 (fax) Web: http://www.proedinc.com

The Arizona-3 is a tool designed to identify misarticulations and total articulatory proficiency. The stimulus pictures show children in more current clothing styles and activities. The test materials also include more ethnic diversity. The instrument has been restandardized on a sample of over 5,500 individuals, representative of the U.S. population according to geographic region, ethnicity, and parents' education level. Gender-specific norms are provided for the early childhood years. The kit includes an examiner’s manual, picture cards, and 25 test booklets.

The Goldman Fristoe: Test of Articulation 2
Available through: AGS Publishing, 4201 Woodland Road, Circle Pines, MN 55014-1796 phone 800-328-2560
Order and inquiries: customerservice@agsnet.com

This test assesses a child’s articulation ability by sampling both spontaneous and imitative speech production. Pictures and verbal cues are used to elicit single word answers that demonstrate common speech sounds. It measures the articulation of speech sounds and identifies and describes the types of articulation errors produced by the child.

The Phonetic-Phonologic Speech Evaluation Record: A Manual
Available through: Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This tool is used to assess the segmental and nonsegmental aspects of speech at both the phonetic and phonologic levels. The phonetic level responses are obtained through imitation. Phonologic level responses are obtained from spontaneous language samples.

Identifying Early Phonological Needs in Children with Hearing Impairment
Available through: Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This is a standardized test used to assess how young children with hearing loss spontaneously use first-level phonological patterns. It numerically rates whether the child’s patterns are missing, emerging, or mastered.

St. Gabriel’s Curriculum for the development of Audition, Language, Speech and Cognition
Available through : Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This curriculum outlines the development of early speech, the development of early auditory feedback skills, and an order for the acquisition of vowels, diphthongs, and consonants. It also provides a developmental checklist of phonological processes.

Cottage Acquisition Scales For Listening, Language, and Speech
Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This curriculum provides a developmental checklist for assessment and diagnostic planning for therapy. The speech section tracks objectives from Phonetic-Phonologic Speech Evaluation Record and also links these objectives to phonetic listening development.

Spoken Communication for Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: A Multidisciplinary Approach
Available through: Butte Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 1328, Hillsboro, OR 97123-1328, 866-312-8883 (V/TTY), 866-412-8883 (FAX), 503-693-9526 (Direct) E-mail: service@buttepublications.com Web: http://www.buttepublications.com

This curriculum includes a Student Speech Record (SSR) which is used to evaluate the following: non-verbal communication (attention, turn taking, eye contact, and breath support) and suprasegmentals, vowels and diphthongs, and consonants at the phonetic, phonologic, and pragmatic levels. The SSR also includes an oral peripheral examination form.

The Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) Picture Speech Intelligibility Evaluation (SPINE)
Available through: Central Institute for Deaf (CID). Contact Dianne Gushleff at dgushleff@cid.edu or 314-977-0133 or 314-977-0016 (fax)

The SPINE uses colorful pictures to evaluate speech intelligibility in children as young as 6 years of age. The assessment package includes 300 full-color picture cards, a test manual, and 25 response forms.

Paden-Brown Phonological Kit
Available through Med-El. Contact Linda C. Johnson at ljohnson@medelus.com, 919- 314-1272 or 888-633-3524

This tool is designed to assess spontaneous use of first level phonological patterns in children with hearing loss. It utilizes a list of 25 words that are typically within the speaking vocabulary of young children with hearing loss. The word list provides at least five opportunities for the child to demonstrate how well he/she spontaneously targets each basic consonant feature, such as manner, place, and voicing, as well as each of the primary vowel areas, diphthongs, and basic word patterns. Numerical scoring o f the test reveals whether the child’s patterns are missing, emerging, or mastered. Results can be used for developing auditory and speech goals for the child. The test kit includes an instructional manual, 10 score sheets, and 25 picture cards.

Speechreading:

Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) Preschool Auditory and Speechreading Skills Inventory
Available through: The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, Gallaudet University, Office of Support Services, KDES 800 Florida Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002-3695 (202) 651-5045
Web: http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu

This inventory is used to informally assess a child’s listening (speech & environmental sounds) and speechreading readiness and ability to understand words and phrases (familiar/functional and phrases containing 2 and 3 critical elements).

Language:

The Bzoch-League Receptive-Expressive-Language Test (REEL-2), 2nd. Ed.
Available through: Pro Ed, Inc. 8700 Shoal Creek Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78757-6897, 800-897-3202 or 800-37-7633 (fax) Web: http://www.proedinc.com

The REEL-2 is a scale designed for infants and toddlers up to 3 years of age. It measures and analyzes emergent language for intervention planning. Results are obtained from a parent interview and are given in terms of an Expressive Language Age, A Receptive Language Age, and a Combined Language Age.

The Rynell Development Language Scales III (RDLS III), 3rd Ed.
Available through: Super Duper Publications, P.O. Box 24997 Greenville, SC 29616-2497, 800-277-8737 or 800-978-7379 (fax) Web: http://www.superduperinc.com

The RDLS III assesses receptive and expressive language using real objects rather than pictures for the child to interact with. It is designed for children from 15 months to 7 years of age. The comprehension scale comprises sections such as agents and actions, attributes, locative relations, vocabulary and complex grammar, and inferencing, etc. The expressive scale comprises sections such as verb phrases, auxiliaries, clausal elements, inflections, etc.

The Preschool Language Scale-4 (PLS-4)
Available through: Harcourt Assessment, Inc. 19500 Bulverde Road, San Antonio, Texas 78259, 800-211-8378
Web: http://marketplace.psychcorp.com

The PLS-4 is a standardized test of auditory comprehension and expressive communication for infants and toddlers. The auditory comprehension subscale assesses basic vocabulary, concepts and grammatical markers in preschool and higher-level abilities such as complex sentences, making comparisons and inferences, etc. in older children. The expressive communication subscale asks preschoolers to name objects, use concepts that describe objects, express quantity, use grammatical markers, etc. For older children it includes word segmentation, completing analogies, telling a short story in sequence, etc. This test also includes an articulation screener and a language sample checklist.

Preschool-Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-P)
Available through: Harcourt Assessment, Inc. 19500 Bulverde Road, San Antonio, Texas 78259, 800-211-8378
Web: http://marketplace.psychcorp.com

The CELF-P evaluates expressive and receptive language ability. It focuses on word meanings, word and sentence structure, and recall of spoken language. This tool was standardized for children ages 3 years, 0 months to 6 years, 11 months and uses pictures as stimulus for all three areas of language development. The linguistic concepts subtest evaluates the child’s knowledge of modifiers and his/her ability to interpret one-level oral directions. The sentence structure subtest evaluates comprehension of early acquired sentence formation rules and the child’s ability to comprehend and respond to spoken sentences. The recalling sentences in context subtest evaluates recall and repetition of spoken sentences. Formulating labels assesses the child’s ability to name pictures. The word structure subtest assesses the child’s knowledge and use of early acquired morphological rules and forms.

The MacArthur Communication Development Inventory: Words, Gestures, and Sentences
Available through: Singular/Thompson Learning 401 West “A” Street, Suite 325, San Diego, CA 92101-7904, 800-730-2214

These questionnaire/checklists ask parents to identify various words that their child either says or signs. It includes vocabulary relating to: things in the home, people, action words, description words, pronouns, prepositions, question words, as well as sentences and grammar.

The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale: A Measure of Communication and Interaction
Available through: Linguisystems 3100 4th Avenue, East Moline, IL 61244, 800-PRO-IDEA
Web: http://www.linguisystems.com

This scale assesses preverbal and verbal areas of communication and interaction including: Interaction-Attachment, Pragmatics, Gesture, Play, Language Comprehension and Language Expression. The examiner can directly observe or elicit a behavior from the child or use the caregiver’s report to equally credit the child’s performance. Results reflect the child’s mastery of skills in each of the areas assessed at 3 month intervals. A parent questionnaire with guidelines for parent interview is also included.

Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT)
Available through: Language Analysis Lab, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Waisman Research Center, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison,WI 53705-2280, 888-440-SALT http://www.languageanalysislab.com/salt/ordering/index.htm

A 30 minute play session is videotaped and every spoken and signed language utterance is transcribed. This analysis includes information regarding the number and types of spontaneous utterances that the child and caregiver produce. This analysis is intended to provide a portrait of the child’s language, as well as the type of language the caregiver uses while communicating with the child. In order to measure the child’s growth a videotape is made every six months.

SKI-HI Language Development Scale
Available through: Hope Publishing, Inc 1856 North 1200 East, North Logan, UT 84341; phone/fax: (435) 245-2888; e-mail: hope@hopepubl.com; Web Site: http://www.hopepubl.com

This scale is developmentally ordered and contains a list of communication and language skills in varying intervals for different ages. Each age interval is represented by enough observable receptive and expressive language skills to obtain a good profile of a child’s language ability.

Test Of Semantic Skills-Primary (TOSS-P) (update of former test, Assessing Semantic Skills Through Everyday Themes (ASSET))
Available through: Linguisystems 3100 4th Avenue, East Moline, IL 61244
(800) PRO-IDEA Web: http://www.linguisystems.com

The TOSS-P is a receptive and expressive diagnostic test designed to assess a child’s semantic skills. Comprised of twenty realistic line-illustrations depicting natural, real-life scenes, the test is built around six common themes: Learning and Playing, Shopping, Around the House, Working at School, Eating and Health and Fitness. Test items emphasis vocabulary that is meaningful and relevant to the experiences of young children. The TOSS-P surveys ten semantic and vocabulary tasks through five receptive subtests and five expressive subtests.

St. Gabriel’s Curriculum for the development of Audition, Language, Speech and Cognition
Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This curriculum provides a developmental sequence for the structure of English from birth to 6 years of age. It outlines the receptive and expressive skills in three month intervals from birth to 12 months and then in six monthly intervals to 6 years. Grammatical structures are included.

Cottage Acquisition Scales For Listening, Language, and Speech
Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This curriculum includes a developmental checklist for assessment and planning for diagnostic therapy. The language section includes steps from pre-verbal through to complex sentences including pragmatic development.

Oral and Written Language Scales (OWLS)
Available through: Super Duper Publications, P.O. Box 24997 Greenville, SC 29616-2497 800-277-8737 or 800-978-7379 (fax) Web: http://www.superduperinc.com

The OWLS assesses higher order thinking, semantics, syntax, vocabulary, and pragmatics. It includes a Listening Comprehension Scale (picture pointing), an Oral Expression Scale (answering questions, and sentence completion) and a Written Expression Scale (use of conventions, syntactical forms, and ability to communicate meaningfully).

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)
Available through: American Guidance Service, 4201 Woodland Road, Circle Pines, MN 55014-1796, 800-328-2560 Ext, 7717 Web: http://www.agsnet.com/

The PPVT measures a child’s understanding of individual words (receptive vocabulary). It is designed for children 2 years 6 months to 18 years of age. Raw test scores are converted into standard cores, percentile ranks and age equivalents.

Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT)
Available through: Super Duper Publications, P.O. Box 24997 Greenville, SC 29616-2497, 800-277-8737 or 800-978-7379 (fax) Web: http://www.superduperinc.com

The EOWPVT assesses a child’s English speaking vocabulary by asking the child to name objects, actions and concepts pictured in illustrations. The test ends on 6 consecutive incorrect responses

Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (ROWPVT)
Available through: Super Duper Publications, P.O. Box 24997 Greenville, SC 29616-2497, 800-277-8737 or 800-978-7379 (fax) Web: http://www.superduperinc.com

The ROWPVT assesses a student’s knowledge of vocabulary by asking the child to point to the object being named. The test ends when the child cannot correctly identify the pictured meaning of the word in 6 out of 8 consecutive items.

Grammatical Analysis of Elicited Language, Pre-Sentence Level (GAEL-P)
Available through: Central Institute for Deaf (CID). Contact Dianne Gushleff at dgushleff@cid.edu or 314-977-0133 or 314-977-0016 (fax)

This test contains three sections: readiness skills, single words, and word combinations. The examiner uses structured play and pictures to elicit language specific to these three areas. The test was developed for children with hearing loss and can be administered in spoken or signed English.

Teacher Assessment of Grammatical Structures (TAGS)
Available through: Central Institute for Deaf (CID). Contact Dianne Gushleff at dgushleff@cid.edu or 314-977-0133 or 314-977-0016 (fax)

The TAGS consists of rating forms to be completed by the therapist regarding the child’s understanding of grammatical structures in sentences of at least four words that contain a subject and a verb. The grammatical categories are noun modifiers, pronouns, prepositions, adverbs, verbs, and questions.

Test of Early Reading Ability-3rd ed (TERA-3)
Available through: Pro Ed, Inc. 8700 Shoal Creek Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78757-6897, 800-897-3202 or 800-37-7633 (fax) Web: http://www.proedinc.com

The TERA-3 measures reading ability of young children ages 3-6 through 8-6. Rather than assessing a child’s reading readiness it assesses their mastery of early developing reading skills. The three subtests include: Alphabet (knowledge of the alphabet and its uses), Conventions (knowledge of the conventions of print), and Meaning (measuring the construction of meaning from print). An overall Quotient is computed using all three subtest scores.

Basic Concepts:

Boehm Test of Basic Concepts-Revised (BTBC-R)
Available through: Harcourt Assessment, Inc. 19500 Bulverde Road, San Antonio, Texas 78259, 800-211-8378
Web: http://marketplace.psychcorp.com

The BTBC-R is administered to children in Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade (and older children who are deaf or hard of hearing) and tests basic concepts of comparison, direction, position, quantity, and time.

Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised (BBCS-R)
Available through: Harcourt Assessment, Inc. 19500 Bulverde Road, San Antonio, Texas 78259, 800-211-8378
Web: http://marketplace.psychcorp.com

The BBCS-R measures basic concept acquisition and receptive language skills of children from 2 years, 6 months to 8 years of age. It includes eleven conceptual categories-colors, letters, numbers, counting, sizes, comparisons, shapes, direction/position, self/social awareness, texture/materials, quantity, and time/sequence.

Sign Language:

Checklist of Emerging ASL Skills
Available in: Easterbrooks, S & Baker, S. Language Learning In Children Who Are Deaf And Hard Of Hearing: Multiple Pathways. (2002) Allyn and Bacon, Boston, Mass.

This checklist provides a series of indicators to judge whether a deaf child has components of ASL in his or her communication system. The evaluator should not judge a child’s skills based on English ability. The focus should be on ASL. The checklist should be filled out by at least three different evaluators who are familiar with the child and who are proficient in ASL.

ASL Development Observation Record
Available through: ASL Resource Teacher, Early Childhood Education Program, California School for the Deaf, Freemont (CSDF), 39350 Gallaudet Drive, Fremont, CA 94538 (510) 794-2536

This tool was developed by the Early Childhood Education program at the CSDF to document the ASL language development of deaf children from the time they entered the program to Kindergarten. The goal of the observation record is to identify the language strengths and needs of each child and to document the progress made over the time spent in the Early Childhood Education program. This record also serves as a guide for teachers in assessing their role as language models and how they use language with the children.

The American Sign Language Proficiency Assessment (ASL-PA)
Available by contacting: Dr. Sam Supalla, Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and School Psychology, College of Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 520-621-9466 (TTY) E-mail: ssupalla@u.arizona.edu

The ASL-PA globally assesses the expressive ASL skills of children ages 6-12 years of age. Items/target features are based on ASL acquisition studies. Language samples are elicited from varied discourse contexts. There are no sample norms presently available.

Test of American Sign Language (TASL)
Available by contacting: Dr. Philip Prinz, Department of Special Education and Communicative Disorders, San Francisco State University, 415-338-7655 E-mail: pm@sfsu.edu

The TASL consists of two production measures (Classifier Production Test, and Sign Narrative) and four comprehension measures (Story Comprehension, Classifier Comprehension Test, Time Marker Test, and Map Marker Test). It is designed to be used with deaf students ages 8-15 years.

Computer Software for Developing Spoken Language Skills:

Earobics (Step 1, Step 2, Adolescent/Adult version)

Available through: Technology for Education, 1870 East 50th Street, Suite 7, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077, 651-457-1917, http://www.tfeinc.com, or Super Duper Publications, Dept. SD 2002, PO Box 24997, Greenville, SC 29616-2497, http://www.superduperinc.com

Earobics are colorful, interactive games to train listening skills. The games provide immediate feedback and are motivational. Step 1 provides six games focused on a range of fundamental listening and sound awareness skills. The games can be modified to work on beginning, intermediate, or advanced tasks. Step 2 provides more advanced listening activities to address phonics and language skill development. There are clinical and home versions of the software. The clinical versions provide greater flexibility in modifying activities.

Exploring First Words (I and II)

Available through: Laureate Learning Systems, Special Needs Software, 110 East Spring Street, Winooski, VT 05404-1898, 800-562-6801, http://www.laureatelearning.com/

Exploring First Words provides activities to promote basic vocabulary development. The program is designed to give the instructor control over the content and presentation of the lesson. Levels I and II are similar in difficulty, varying only in the content of the vocabulary addressed. They each provide opportunities for students to listen for vocabulary associated with ten categories, including animals, body parts, clothing, common objects, food, household items, outside things, toys, utensils, and vehicles.

The Great Action Adventure

Available through: Super Duper Publications, Dept. SD 2002, PO Box 24997, Greenville, SC 29616-2497, http://www.superduperinc.com

The Great Action Adventure is a software program designed to teach more than 100 verbs through listening and sign language. The program provides the opportunity to listen to a word and then see the associated sign via a brief video clip. Appropriate for ages 2 and up.

IBM SpeechViewer III

Available through: Edmark, PO Box 97021, Redmond, WA 98073-9721, 800-362-2890, http://www.riverdeep.net/, or Psychological Corporation, 800-872-1726, http://www.psychcorp.com/

IBM SpeechViewer III is an interactive computer program that proceeds from simple to advanced exercises providing visual feedback to support development of voice and speech production skills. The system includes the games from Visual Voice Tools as well as more advanced activities that focus on phonological development as well as pitch and loudness patterning. Purchase of the program includes a microphone and a clinical tracking system. It is intended for therapy/school use.

Intelli-Talk II

Available through: Intellitools, Inc., 1720 Corporate Circle, Petaluma, CA 94954, http://www.intellitools.com, 800-899-6687

Intelli-Talk II is a word processing program that combines text, speech, and graphics. Students can listen to spoken production of letters, names, words, and sentences as they type. Text voicing is possible for letters, words, sentences, or a whole page at a time. Speech pronunciation can be modified for unusual spelling. The program comes with numerous pictures and pre-designed templates to develop individualized programs for each student. Activities can be modified for pre-readers utilizing an included picture library.

Listen-Hear

Available through: Avaaz Innovations Inc., PO Box 8040, 1225 Wonderland Road North, London, Ontario N6G 2B0, 519-472-7944, http://www.avaaz.com

This software is divided into three sections: Sound Discrimination, Vocabulary Development, and Language Concepts. Each section can also be purchased individually. The Ling 6-sound test is included via a game that develops awareness and identification of these sounds. The progression through each level includes the option to "familiarize" the child with the specific targeted sounds for each unit prior to initiating the unit. The program also provides options for choosing which sounds/words to include in each activity. After participating in the familiarization portion of the software, the progression through the activity is pre-set and must be completed before moving to another activity.

Locu-Tour Literacy CD-Rom: Phonemic Awareness (pre-kindergarten to adult)

Available through: Super Duper Publications, Dept. SD 2002, PO Box 24997, Greenville, SC 29616-2497, http://www.superduperinc.com, or Technology for Education, 1870 East 50th Street, Suite 7, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077, 651-457-1917, http://www.tfeinc.com

Software includes seven activities to develop letter identification, word identification, lipreading, spelling, and memory for sounds. The lipreading component is especially useful for deaf/hard of hearing students. Each activity includes options to modify the difficulty level. The software is easy to use and can be modified for a variety of ages and listening/phonemic levels. (See other LocoTour software including Phonology, Articulation, and Look, Listen, and Learn.)

Nouns and Sounds

Available through: Laureate Learning Systems, Special Needs Software, 110 East Spring Street, Winooski, VT 05404-1898, 800-562-6801, http://www.laureatelearning.com

Nouns and Sounds is an easy-to-use program that helps children discriminate and identify 100 environmental sounds. Users can select specific sounds and pictures to modify for individual listening levels. A variety of games is offered within the software. Photographs are used.

Otto’s World of Sounds

Available through Oticon, Inc. 1-800-526-3921 or http:// www.otikids.com

Games revolving around listening for sounds in ten varied environments (i.e. house, kitchen, farm, beach, etc…) Each environment contains 10 different sounds common to that environment ( i.e. doorbell, telephone, blender, farm animals, waves). A variety of activities are offered for each environment to help students identify and remember these sounds. The activities are easy for students to navigate, and the sound quality for the varied sounds is very good.

Seeing and Hearing Speech (lessons in lipreading and listening)

Available through Sensimetrics at http://www.sens.com

Seeing and Hearing Speech: Lessons in Lipreading and Listening is a software program for established language users to train and practice lip-reading at their own pace and at home. This new interactive CD-ROM from Sensimetrics Corporation contains carefully planned lessons that help people combine what they see with what they hear to understand speech better.

Hear We Go (Individualized rehabilitation workbook for teenagers)

Available through Cochlear Americas at http://www.cochlearamericas.com/index.asp

This CD contains an easy to install program that allows the therapist to access rehabilitation exercises and generate an individualized rehabilitation workbook for the Nucleus recipient. The workbook is built around 24 different topical interests for older children and teenagers and has 3 different auditory skill levels within each topic. It can either be printed or emailed to the recipient it has been designed for. It also contains additional topics like Active Listening, Telephone Training, Communication Strategies, and more. It can either be printed or emailed to the recipient it has been designed for.

Sound and Beyond (interactive listening rehabilitation for adults)

Available through Cochlear Americas at http://www.cochlearamericas.com/index.asp (retail price is $290.00)

This CD is a self-paced, interactive computer listening tool that offers: Pure Tone Discrimination, Environmental Sounds, Male/Female Identification, Vowel Recognition, Word Discrimination, Everyday Sentences and Music Appreciation. There are five different skill levels within each topic and over 10,000 sounds, words, and sentences. It reports tracking progress to view and share. One lisence can be shared with up to three different users at a time.

Talk Time with Tucker

Available through: Laureate Learning Systems or Technology for Education, 1870 East 50th Street, Suite 7, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077, 651-457-1917, http://www.tfeinc.com

Talk Time with Tucker is a set of voice-activated programs for young children; a variety of activities are included, all with the goal of facilitating use of voice.

Visual Voice Tools

Available through: Edmark, PO Box 97021, Redmond, WA 98073-9721, 800-362-2890, http://www.riverdeep.net/, or Technology for Education, Inc. 1870 East 50th Street, Suite 7, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077, 651-457-1917, http://www.tfeinc.com/

Visual Voice Tools is a software that includes seven child-centered games from IBM Speechviewer III to help students develop control of voicing and the suprasegmental aspects of speech production. Activities are provided to promote practice with: sound presence, loudness, voice onset, voice timing, pitch range, and pitch control. These games are appropriate for children of all ages. This software can also be used at home.

Words Around Me

Available through: Laureate Learning Systems, Special Needs Software, 110 East Spring Street, Winooski, VT 05404-1898, 800-562-6801, http://www.laureatelearning.com, or Technology for Education, Inc., 1870 East 50th Street, Suite 7, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077, 651-457-1917, http://www.tfeinc.com

The Words Around Me software program associates common vocabulary words with associated pictures. The students have the opportunity to listen to a word and see a variety of associated pictures. They can work independently and practice their listening for specified words while building a broader vocabulary.

Hear We Go (individualized rehabilitation workbook for Nucleus recipient)

Available through: Cochlear Americas, http://www.cochlear.com/

This CD contains an easy to install program that allows the therapist to access rehabilitation exercises and generate an individualized rehabilitation workbook for the Nucleus recipient. The workbook is built around 24 different topical interests and 3 different auditory skill levels. It can either be printed or emailed to the recipient it has been designed for.

Sound and Beyond (interactive listening rehabilitation for adults)

Available through Cochlear Americas, http://www.cochlear.com/ (retail price is $290)
This CD is a self-paced, interactive computer listening tool that offers: Pure Tone Discrimination, Environmental Sounds, Male/Female Identification, Vowel Recognition, Word Discrimination, Everyday Sentences, and Music Appreciation. There are five different skill levels within each topic and over 10,000 sounds, words, and sentences. It reports tracking progress to view and share. One license can be shared with up to three different users at a time.

Curricula/Training Programs:

Ausplan (Auditory Speech Language): A Manual For Professionals Working With Children Who Have Cochlear Implants Or Amplification (2003)

Available through: http://www.ausplan.com/

Manual developed by Adeline McClatchie and Mary Kay Therres, members of the pediatric cochlear implant team at Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland California to guide professionals in developing a communication therapy plan for children with cochlear implants and/or hearing aids. The manual includes a useful framework for rating a child’s potential to use a cochlear implant as well as performance outcomes. The manual is clearly organized and presents many tools to guide planning and training in the separate yet connected areas of auditory, speech, and language development.

Bringing Sound to Life: Principles and Practices of Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation

Available through Advanced Bionics: http://www.bionicear.com/professionals/rehabmaterials.asp

This program provides a systematic approach to spoken language habilitation for children of all ages. It includes a video training series, a manual, and a program to develop phoneme perception and a production called Word Associations for Syllable Perception (WASP). The video training series includes four videotapes: 1) Building Blocks of Spoken Language; 2) Understanding Hearing and Hearing Loss; 3) Cochlear Implants and Children: An Opportunity, Not a Cure; and 4) Principles and Practices of Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation. The videos are an excellent resource for family education and/or teacher training. The manual provides insights, strategies, and tools integral to the spoken language habilitation process. The WASP program includes a laminated set of picture cards. This program can be purchased as a package or as individual components.

CHATS :The Miami Cochlear Implant, Auditory and Tactile Skills Curriculum

Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

The guide provides a sequence of goals to facilitate auditory development for students of all ages using a variety of technologies including cochlear implants. There are receptive and expressive goal categories. The focus of the receptive goals is perception while the focus of the expressive goals is production. The objectives within each category follow a developmental sequence. Activities are provided to support the goals in each category.

Classroom Goals: Guide For Optimizing Auditory Learning Skills

Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This guide was designed to support development of auditory learning regardless of hearing level, type of amplification device used, grade level, or mode of communication. The guide describes practical ways for teachers to create situations to encourage development and use of residual hearing in the classroom. Lessons are suggested to demonstrate how to incorporate auditory experiences into learning. While the activities described are content specific, the strategies incorporated can be applied to any content area or book.

Contrasts for Auditory and Speech Training (CAST)

Available through: Linguisystems, 3100 4th Avenue, East Moline, IL 61244-9700, 800-776-4332 (voice), 800-577-4555 (FAX), http://www.linguisystems.com/custom.php

CAST is an analytic auditory training program for children with cochlear implants or hearing aids. CAST includes pre-test, step-by-step procedures for analytic auditory training and a progress log. It also provides 600 full-color stimulus pictures for listening practice.

Cottage Acquisition Scales For Listening, Language, and Speech

Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

A product to help assess, select objectives, and plan instruction to document and facilitate language acquisition in children with hearing loss. It is based on many of the language development beliefs of researcher Christie Yoshinaga-Itano (Language assessment of infants and toddlers with significant hearing loss, Seminars in Hearing, 1994) It includes a set of scales (pre-verbal, pre-sentence, simple sentence, complex sentence, sounds and speech) that follow the development of language, listening, cognition, and speech. The assessment component is based on language sampling. It also provides suggestions for using the tool to promote instruction in the addressed areas.

Learn To Talk Around The Clock

Available through: Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This oral early intervention program is designed for professionals who work with families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. It focuses on language learning in the child’s home environment. It provides a toolbox for professionals to maximize the caregiver’s language development techniques by encouraging interactions during everyday activities. The premise is that providing opportunities for interaction in everyday life provides the groundwork for auditory and language development. The curriculum includes a toolbox and VHS cassette.

Listen, Learn, and Talk

Available through: Cochlear Corporation, 61 Inveness Drive East, Suite 200, Englewood, CO 80112, 800-523-5798 (V/TTY), 303-792-9025 (FAX), E-mail: info@cochlear.com Web: http://www.cochlear.com/

An auditory habilitation program for young deaf and hard of hearing children who are learning to listen and talk. It consists of a manual and three videotapes (Babies Babble, Toddlers Talk, and Children Chatter). The videos provide practical ways that families can provide spoken language enhancement in their home. The manual provides information on the importance of parent participation in the habilitation process, theory behind auditory development, strategies for facilitating spoken language development, and integrated scales for monitoring/documenting development in listening, language, speech, cognition, and social communication.

Listen Little Star (A Listening Program)

Available through Auditory Verbal International at: http://www.auditory-verbal.org/llstar.asp

Manual and activity guide available through Auditory Verbal International, Inc (AVLI) to facilitate spoken communication with deaf and hard of hearing infants. Developed by Dimitry Dornan a Speech Pathologist and Certified Auditory-Verbal therapist. The techniques described are based on Auditory Verbal techniques. The program includes a manual with handouts about hearing loss and a step by step plan of sequential activities for the child, family and professional.

My Baby and Me

Developed by: Betsy Moog Brooks. The Moog Center for Deaf Education, 12300 South Forty Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141. Available through: http://www.hearingexchange.com/store/

My Baby and Me is a notebook-style resource for parents (and professionals working with them) that provides strategies and tips for helping a child learn to listen and talk in an easy-to-use "baby book" format that is personalized for each child and family. This resource provides detailed information and resources about language learning and hearing loss and provides space for families to document their child's individual development. While developed for families using an "oral only" approach to communicating with their deaf child, the information detailed is beneficial for any family interested in developing/documenting their child's spoken language skills regardless of the communication methodology chosen.

Phono-Graphix

Available through: Read America, 352-735-9292, http://www.readamerica.net

This program is intended to support phonemic development and reading and includes an instructional manual and materials. The program can be used as part of a reading and/or speech development program. It addresses skills to support children in "breaking the reading code." It teaches children that letters are pictures of sounds, that sound pictures can be one or more letters, that there is variation in the code, and that there is overlap in the code.

St. Gabriel’s Curriculum for the Development of Audition, Language, Speech and Cognition

Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

A guide for professionals working with children with hearing loss from birth to 6 years. The guide provides a developmental sequence for the areas of audition, language, speech and cognition. The audition component describes auditory awareness, the 7-sound test, and auditory memory, The language component describes expressive and receptive developmental sequence for the structures of English. The Speech section follows the developmental stages of early speech, the development of auditory feedback skills, and an order for the acquisition of vowels, diphthongs and consonants. It also provides a developmental checklist of phonological processes. The cognitive section details a hierarchical order for the development of critical thinking skills. While the guide was developed for a center utilizing the Auditory Verbal approach, its sequences can be applied to students using a range of communication methodologies and educational approaches.

See-the-Sound Visual Phonics

Available through: International Communication Learning Institute, See the Sound Visual Phonics, 10712 308th Avenue, Princeton, MN 55371, 763-389-4875, riggsll@msn.com

This program uses a combination of visual, tactile, kinesthetic, and auditory feedback cues to assist in developing phonemic awareness, speech production, and reading skills. It provides a system to help deaf children "see" and internalize English phonemes. The system includes 45 hand movements for phonemes that relate to how a sound is produced. You must participate in a formal training session provided by a certified Visual Phonics trainer prior to purchase and use of this program.

SMILE

Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY), http://www.agbell.org/

SMILE is a multi-sensory program that teaches speech, reading, and writing to children with severe language and communication delays, including those with hearing loss, dyslexia, or autism. Unique in its engaging yet simple focus, SMILE uses expressive and receptive modalities to improve the reading skills of target and general populations.

SPICE (Speech Perception Instructional Curriculum Evaluation)

Available through: Central Institute for the Deaf, 4560 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, 314-977-0000 (V), 314-977-0001 (TTY), http://www.cid.edu/

SPICE is a curriculum kit for developing speech/listening skills/processing skills in children who use either cochlear implants or hearing aids. The kit includes a manual, a set of accompanying toys and picture cards, and a demonstration video. The program provides a sequence of lesson objectives and suggests a variety of activities for each objective. The activities are designed for children ages 3 through 12 and can be adapted to a variety of language levels. Goals for the curriculum are listed in four categories: detection, supra-segmental perception, vowels and consonants, and connected speech.

Spoken Communication for Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Available through: Butte Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 1328, Hillsboro, OR 97123-1328, 866-312-8883 (V/TTY), 866-412-8883 (FAX), 503-693-9526 (Direct) E-mail: service@buttepublications.com Web: http://www.buttepublications.com

A speech text that supports the instructional best practice of using a multidisciplinary team approach to develop spoken communication skills regardless of the type and degree of hearing loss or the educational philosophy. This habilitative program allows for teachers, speech therapists, parents and school personnel as well as the student to work together within the classroom setting to establish, develop and support spoken communication skills. The test is user-friendly and provides pictures, forms, springboard discussions, experiments, and practical ideas for use in school or at home.

Top Ten Strategies for Parents (Parent manual, professional manual, videotape)

Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

Developed by Jill Bader, Founding Director of the Hear At Home program in Colorado (303-841-7987, jbaderconsultant@aol.com). The manuals (one for families and one for professionals working with families) include clearly written descriptions of ten strategies to facilitate a child’s learning to listen and speak. With catchy names for strategies such as “Three Ring Circus”, “Bore Me To Death” and “Make Your Point”, this resource provides the important premises and foundations for promoting development of spoken language skills in terms that anyone will understand. The described strategies remove the professional jargon and help make sense of the information for families. The accompanying videotape demonstrates each of the 10 strategies.

Books:

Christiansen, J., & Leigh, I. (2002). Cochlear implants in children: Ethics and choices. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Written by two deaf professionals (one with a cochlear implant), this book provides a balanced look at many of the issues surrounding cochlear implants. Much of the information discussed was gathered from the findings of a 1999 Gallaudet University research survey of several hundred parents of children with implants, as well as information from interviews of Dr. Leigh and Dr. Christiansen with several dozen parents of implanted children. The book also includes an excellent chapter, "The Deaf Community: Perceptions of Parents, Young People, and Professionals," as well as an excellent chapter on language development of children with cochlear implants written by Patricia Spencer.

Chute, P., & Nevins, M. E. (2002). The parents' guide to cochlear implants. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Written by respected professionals in the field of deaf education and the authors of Children with Cochlear Implants in Educational Settings, this book provides a guide for parents that reflects authors with many years of experience working with implanted children and their families. The book addresses many issues that families may or may not have thought about related to the process of obtaining an implant. The book is honest in highlighting the limitations as well as the benefits of implants, and the controversies related to communication, language, and Deaf cultural issues for children with implants. One chapter is dedicated to quotes from families and provides valuable insights into parent perspectives related to their decision to obtain a cochlear implant for their child.

Easterbrooks, S. & Baker, S. (2002). Language learning in children who are deaf and hard of hearing: Multiple pathways. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

This book provides comprehensive insights and tools related to evaluating and planning for language learning with deaf and hard of hearing children. The book acknowledges that deaf/hard of hearing children are diverse and use multiple pathways for language learning based on their residual hearing and learning styles. Included in this book are many useful resources including a checklist of emerging ASL skills and a list of available language tests.

French, M.M. (1999). Starting with assessment: A developmental approach to deaf children's literacy. Washington, DC: Pre-College National Missions Programs, Gallaudet University.

This book, including the separately bound appendices in The Toolkit, is about assessing the literacy development of children who are deaf. The book examines assessment philosophies and tools that can be used to guide educational planning during the preschool and elementary years. It describes a model of assessment for written language--reading and writing--that covers multiple areas of learning and stresses the importance of conversational language to literacy development. An important premise for this model is that assessment should guide instruction according to the developmental needs of individual children.

Mahshie, J., Moseley, M.J., Scott, S., & Lee, J. (2006). Enhancing communication skills: Deaf and hard of hearing children in the mainstream. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson-Delmar Learning.

This book is designed to help clinicians who may have little or no experience working with deaf and hard of hearing students (including students with cochlear implants) to understand their unique communication needs and develop clinical skills for working with them. This book provides a useful framework for viewing and assessing children's communication abilities and goals at all stages of language development. It also includes specific assessment and treatment techniques to help develop and improve communication skills and maximize learning.

Oliva, G.A. (2004). Alone in the mainstream: A deaf woman remembers public school. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Gina Oliva writes about her experiences being the only hard of hearing student in the entire school; she refers to it as a "solitary." She felt alone because she couldn't communicate easily with her classmates, but also because none of them had a hearing loss like hers. Years later at Gallaudet University, Gina discovered that she wasn't alone and that her experience was common among mainstreamed deaf students. This book recounts Gina's story, as well as those of many other solitaires.

Seal, B.C. (2003). Best practices in educational interpreting. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

This book is a comprehensive overview of the process of interpreting in educational settings. It is a practical guide to the many issues and practices required to provide optimum access to the over 22, 000 deaf and hard of hearing students enrolled in local schools who are dependent upon an interpreter. It emphasizes the changing needs of deaf and hard of hearing students as they move from primary school through college. It is applicable for interpreters who use sign language, cued speech, and oral interpreting. This book is an excellent resource for anyone working with deaf and hard of hearing students including, interpreters, regular teachers, parents, speech-language pathologists, and deaf educators.

Romoff, Arlene (1999). Hear Again: Back to Life with a Cochlear Implant.
Arlene Romoff began losing her hearing during her college years. It continued to decline gradually until, almost thirty years later, she was left profoundly deaf. When hearing aids no longer worked for her, she elected to get a cochlear implant, a computerized device that stimulates the auditory nerve directly.

Additional Resources:

Dolch Bridge List

Available through: http://www.fairviewlearning.net/products/product_catalog.php

The Dolch word list and Bridge List are designed specifically to support the language and reading development of deaf students. The lists provide commonly used English words and phrases and correlate them to American Sign Language. The lists assist students with the process of linking English and ASL. In addition to the lists, videotapes are also available to demonstrate the bridges between ASL and English.

Animusic

Available at: http://www.animusic.com/

Animusic is a visual display of musical instruments playing a range of music. An engaging video/DVD, it provides an opportunity to visually experience music.

Listening Games for Littles

Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

Developed by Dave Sindrey, Certified Auditory Verbal Therapist, the book is designed for parents and professionals working with children age 4 and under. Practical, fun ideas for integrating listening into the learning of a young child are provided. The book is divided into sections on listening, hearing, listening tips, and listening ideas.

It Takes Two to Talk: A Parent’s Guide To Helping Children Communicate

Available through :Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-337-5220 (V/TTY) Web: http://www.agbell.org/

This book provides strategies for families to use in their daily life to facilitate early communication. It provides ideas to help families see their child as communicators and include their child in the communication process.

Sign with your Baby

Available through http://www.sign2me.com

This video and manual train families on how to teach sign language to hearing babies. Based on research related to early language development, this program provides the materials for families to learn basic signs to use with their baby to facilitate signed language as an avenue to promote communication prior to the emergence of spoken language.

Summer’s Story—Coming of Age with the Cochlear Implant

(VHS 27 minutes, ASL and voice, open captioned)
Written by Summer Crider; Produced by Michael Munroe
Available through: Monroe Multimedia (m2media@alltel.com)

This is the story of Summer Crider, who is profoundly deaf and uses a cochlear implant, from birth to the time she entered college. The story is primarily Summer’s own, but includes interviews with her family, friends, and teachers. Summer became deaf at the age of three from spinal meningitis. The video describes her educational journey prior to receiving a cochlear implant and after, from a school for the deaf, to a regular mainstream school, and back to a school for the deaf where she finds peer support within the Deaf community. Summer describes her love/hate relationship with her cochlear implant and how she came to accept it as a “tool” instead of a stigma. She states that she hopes to become the bridge between the “Deaf” and the “Hearing” communities, as she grew up in both.

Sound or Silence: Discovery Health Channel Video

(VHS 52 minutes, open captioned)
Available through: Discovery Health Channel at: http://www.discovery.com/health

This video is a compilation of a Discovery Health Channel series about cochlear implants. It provides information about the history of cochlear implant technology. It describes how the normal ear processes sound and the impact of deafness. Through a series of interviews, the video provides insight into varied perspectives about the implant. It discusses the deaf culture/community’s perspective regarding implanting children as well as interviews with adults (culturally deaf and late deafened) who received implants. Parents (hearing and deaf) discuss their views and decisions to implant or not to implant. Overall, this video provides comprehensive information about cochlear implants, the complexity of the decision making process, and the perspective of the deaf community.

ASL Songs For Kids

Available through: Institute for Disabilities, Research and Training Inc at: http://www.idrt.com/

A CD that provides six songs typically learned by young children. The songs presented in both spoken language and American Sign Language are: The Wheels on the Bus, Happy Birthday, The Ants Go Marching, The Green Grass Grows All Around, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. As the songs are sung, Paws the dog signs, and graphics convey the lyrics, as well as information about the notes and volume.

Keys to English print: Phonics, Signs, Cued Speech, Fingerspelling, and Other Learning Strategies; Programs & Insights. Odyssey. Vol. 5, Issue 1. Fall 2003

Odyssey is published three times a year by the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center (Clerc Center), Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Ave. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002-3695. Odyssey is distributed free of charge to members of the Clerc Center mailing list. To join the list contact 800-526-9105 or 202-651-5340 (V/TTY) or find it online at: http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/Odyssey/index.html

This issue of Odyssey reviews a number of tools that educators are using to facilitate the literacy skills of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Several of the tools/strategies discussed are based on ways to develop phonemic awareness. The tools discussed include, Visual Phonics, Cued Speech, and Fingerspelling. Additionally, strategies to build pre-reading skills, such as memory and focusing are also described. This issue is also available as a KidsWorld e-document: Keys to English Print...

Many thanks to our friends at Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center for allowing us to utilize this wonderful list resources!

Compiled by: Brenda Seal, JMU; Kelly Clingempeel, JMU; Debra Nussbaum, Clerc Center; Susanne Scott, Clerc Center; Bettie Waddy-Smith, Clerc Center

This is a reference list of articles related to the following topics: Predictors of Success: Child, Family, & Implant Predicotrs; Habilitation & Education: Intervention Strategies & Placement Issues; Age At Implantation: Favors Young Children; and Diverse Outcomes: Users of Spoken Language, Sign Language, & Both.