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What To Know This Month

Summer days are officially upon us, providing so many great opportunities for play and LSL learning! Make the most of your time in the sun with our Passport to Fun! It's your one-stop guide for affordable and easily achievable LSL activities to enjoy from home with the kiddos. Here's how it works:

• Screenshot the image above and save it to your phone. Talk with your child about each summer destination and the different activities each brings to mind.  
• Be sure to follow our Facebook and Instagram pages and follow along with the #PassportToFun hashtag. 
• Each week, we'll share a list of simple activities you can do inside, or outside, of the house. Be sure to follow along to collect your "stamp!"
• By the end of the month, you will be able to look back on your Passport to Fun stamps and all the fun times you had along the way!

 

You Don''t Want To Miss

If you're the parent of a baby 18 months old or younger (or a professional working with babies), our upcoming learning experience is for you! Tamara Elder, M.S. CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT, is teaching Child Development: Pre-Birth to 18 Months in LSL Intervention beginning August 4!

 

Here's What You'll Learn

• What's happening in a child's brain from pre-birth - 18 months and what has the biggest impact on their development during this important time frame.
• Important developmental milestones and how to best navigate them.
• Tips and takeaways for enhancing your child's listening and spoken language skills by working to stay one step ahead.

 

 

Quick Tip!

Beat the heat and turn up the fun by breaking out the kiddie pool, hose, or sprinkler this summer and practicing "audition first." This is easily done by using your words FIRST before you spring into action. For example, say "splash-splash" before splashing the water. If your baby imitates you, be sure to describe it: "You're splashing! Splash-splash!"

 

 

Mark Your Calendar

World Emoji Day (July 17) ??
Last year we celebrated with Apple's addition of the hearing aid emoji. This year, we've got something of our own in store! Be sure to follow us on Instagram for the fun announcement!

 

National Parents' Day (July 26) ???????????
National Parents' Day is a day to recognize, uplift, and support the role we play as parents in the lives of our children. To find more parents on a similar journey, check out our Family Support Community.

What To Know This Month

Did you know that your child who is deaf or hard of hearing should hear at least 40 million words by the time they're four? This will help them develop important life skills such as reading and conversation. That's a whole lot of chit-chat! With the right hearing devices, LSL strategies, and intentional conversations, your child will be right on track and ready for a life full of learning and adventure!

Follow these 3 easy tips to help reach your goal:

• Read aloud to your child every day. Aim for 15 minutes of daily reading together.

• Talk to your child in phrases and full sentences. This provides more meaning to what you tell them.

• Explore and talk about all the details. Think through the endless connections and tell them all about it.

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You Don''t Want To Miss

Join us in a private group on Facebook dedicated to families of children with hearing loss. Connect with other parents, discover LSL resources and ideas, find inspiration and guidance, and more. 

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Upcoming Learning Experiences

We've got a lineup of learning with something for everyone this month! Here's what to look forward to:

• Speech Acoustics: Detective Work *Registration closes next week!
• Reviews the basics of speech acoustics, its relationship to the audiogram, and how speech acoustics are applied in LSL intervention. 
• Child Development 18 - 36 Months in LSL Intervention *Registration closes next week!
• Focuses on areas of typical development for ages 18 - 36 months and answers important questions such as, "What's happening in the brain during this critical time period?" and "What has the biggest impact on developing brains?" 
• Parent Guidance and Coaching in LSL Intervention
• Uses videotape excerpts and interaction to discuss strategies designed to build highly effective parent-professional partnerships and expand families' abilities to promote their child's LSL skills during their daily, play, and social routines.

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Quick Tip!

A simple list of conversation starters will help your little one not only reach their 40 million word goal, but will also help them develop Theory of Mind. What's Theory of Mind? It's the ability to recognize and put our own unique thoughts, feelings, and beliefs into words. Theory of Mind also involves understanding that others have their own unique thoughts and beliefs. Here are a few simple conversation starters to help build that little mind!

• "If she had a thought bubble above her head, what would it say?"
• "Help me remember.."
• "What do you think he meant by..?"

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Mark Your Calendar

National Read a Book Day (September 6) ??
In honor of National Read a Book Day, set a goal to read aloud to your child for 15 minutes each day. Every word counts in building their growing brain!

National Grandparents Day (September 13) ??

Sometimes grandparents serve ice cream for breakfast or make their own set of rules! They can also play an important role in helping their grandchildren learn to listen and talk. Tell your child's grandparents how thankful you are to have them on this journey with you. Read what another parent said about the role her daughter's grandparents played in her LSL journey.

What''s Happening This Month

Did you know October is our birthday month? And this year, Hearing First is turning five! Over the past five years, we've come together as a community of families and professionals with a shared goal: to empower children with hearing loss through LSL so they can reach their full potential. We'll be celebrating all month long on social media, where we'll feature families and professionals who have been on this journey with us. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook so you can join the celebration! 

 

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You Don''t Want To Miss This

This month has two learning opportunities focused on LSL intervention. Here's what's ahead:

• Child Development 36 - 60 Months in LSL Intervention *Registration closes October 19
  • Focuses on areas of typical development for 36-60 month olds and answers important questions such as, "What's happening in the brain during this critical time period?" and "What types of language structures and conversational skills are emerging during this time?"

• Special Considerations in LSL Intervention *Registration closes October 25
• Teaches special considerations in LSL for children who use multiple languages, older children who are new listeners, children with concurrent diagnoses, children with hearing loss who are also diagnosed with autism or auditory neuropathy, and more.  

 

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Quick Tip!

Hearing First has hit some big milestones in our first five years and your child will too! In the first few years of life, milestones build on each other and help your child grow and thrive. If your child has hearing loss, hold high your expectations for them to reach their milestones on track with their hearing friends. 

Here are a few tips to help you dream big:

• Be aware of normal developmental milestones so you can understand what skills your baby needs at each stage and how to help them surpass each milestone.
• Address any developmental concerns as soon as you notice them-the sooner, the better.
• Remember, as a parent you are your baby's first and most important teacher. You empower them and help them reach their full potential!

 

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Mark Your Calendar

October is Audiology Awareness Month ??
Every day is audiology awareness day for us, but thanks to the American Academy of Audiology, there's an entire month dedicated to all that's possible with access to sound. Learn more about the audiology fruit and string bean! You can also get involved by following us on Facebook and sharing with your friends.

Halloween (October 31) ??
We're heading into the holiday season, which gives us so many opportunities to practice listening and language with our children while we bake, decorate, and share special treats! Here's how to "Fall into LSL learning" this season to help you make the most out of your everyday conversations.

What''s Happening This Month

This holiday season, we're celebrating the 12 Days of Listening and Spoken Language (LSL). And today's the first day! Join us as we highlight a different aspect of LSL each day and celebrate why LSL is important for children with hearing loss and their families. Follow #12DaysOfLSL on our Facebook and Instagram to join the holiday LSL fun! 

 

 

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You Don''t Want To Miss This

If you're like us, you're looking ahead to the new year with excitement for all of the possibilities ahead! Along with a new year often comes new goals and opportunities for learning and improving. The Fundamentals of LSL learning series offers 12 online courses that teach you everything you need to know about LSL early intervention - a perfect way to start the new year off strong. This series of courses has something for every learner, making it great for parents and professionals alike. Sign up to be notified when the next round of courses open for registration.

 

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Quick Tip!

The holiday season brings special moments and family traditions. It's the perfect time to expand your child's language and development! Even if this year looks a little different, you can turn holiday activities like decorating, cooking, and reading stories into holiday memories and fun LSL learning moments. 

Here are a few ways to encourage listening and learning this holiday season:

• If you have holiday decorations in your home, consider what makes them unique or special and talk about it with your little one.
• While baking tasty treats, work with your child to come up with a plan from beginning to end.
• Don't forget to practice repetitive vocabulary words and following directions while you're baking up something sweet!
• Whether you're seeing family in person or virtually, use this as an opportunity to talk to your child about your family tree. Discuss how they're related to whom and talk about aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and more! Making a family tree on paper can be a fun activity to do together. 
• What are your family traditions? Talk with your child about how your family celebrates the season. Discuss how other families may celebrate differently. Practice some new vocabulary words as you talk together.
  
  

 

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Read Together, Learn Together

The holidays are the perfect time to cuddle up and start a family reading routine. Try reading some books related to the season to get into the festive spirit! Did you know that reading together creates meaningful connections in your child's brain that help them become a lifelong learner? You can find strategies to help your child learn to listen, talk, read, and reach for the stars in our online learning page for families.

 

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Mark Your Calendar

First Day of Winter Solstice (December 21) ??

Celebrate the longest night of the year by singing loud for all to hear! Here are some great winter songs for language and literacy. Our tip: Make some hot cocoa to enjoy as you sing the hot chocolate song! 

 

New Years Eve (December 31) ??

What a year it has been! As you look ahead to 2021, think about your intentions and resolutions for the new year. Consider how to freshen up your LSL habits and daily routines. 

What''s Happening This Month

The air is crisp and leaves are falling. We're enjoying autumn and the start of the holidays with music and songs! Singing is a wonderful way to help your child with hearing loss develop their auditory memory, or their ability to remember something they just heard and recall it later on. To make the most of your time together this holiday season, we're giving you singalong tips to keep the listening, learning, and fun going all month long. Join us on social media to see a new singalong activity each week. Here's one to try next time you're out playing in the leaves -- your little one will love jumping and singing along to this catchy "Jump Up, Jump In" tune!

 

 

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You Don''t Want To Miss This

New! On-Demand Learning Opportunity For Families

If you've chosen Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) for your child, our newest online learning opportunity for families features helpful resources and strategies that give you endless ideas for creative ways to grow your child's brain through reading. The holidays are the perfect time to start a new tradition that makes learning fun, so be sure to check it out today!

 

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Just For You

New! Entrain the Brain Whitepaper

Last month, we celebrated five years of partnering with you to ensure children with hearing loss continue to reach their full potential through LSL. In the midst of the excitement, you may have missed your party favor, access to our new whitepaper, Entrain the Brain: Optimize Listening and Spoken Language Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss. This whitepaper, written by research scientist and audiologist Dr. Jace Wolfe, shares groundbreaking studies that explore the neuroscience behind LSL and so much more.

Whether you''re a professional, a family member of a child with hearing loss, or you have hearing loss yourself, you''ll find something inspiring inside.

 

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Don''t Forget

Have a project or idea that will make a difference in the lives of families and children with hearing loss? The Oberkotter Foundation is inviting grant applications for projects to improve families' access to coordinated LSL intervention and audiology services for children 0-3 who are deaf or hard of hearing. Letter of intent forms open December 1 and are due on December 31.

 

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Mark Your Calendar

Thanksgiving (November 26) ?? 
Thanksgiving looks different this year for many families. However you gather, the holidays can be a busy time -- and loud! Here are some ways to make listening easier for your child this holiday season.

National Day of Listening (November 27) ??
Get your whole family involved on National Day of Listening this year as you tell stories together in person or on Zoom. After you tell your story, be sure to share your family's LSL story through the StoryCorps "Great Thanksgiving Listen" as well!

What To Know This Month

We're well into the second half of summer but there's still plenty of time for outdoor play and LSL learning! Whether you've been following along since summer began or you're just joining in on the fun, our Passport to Fun is your one-stop guide for affordable and easily achievable LSL activities to enjoy from home. Last month, we explored our backyards, hit the sandbox, and made music to expand our LSL learning. Here's a quick refresher on how to play along this month to enjoy even more activities: 

• Screenshot the image above and save it to your phone. Talk with your child about each summer destination and the different activities each brings to mind.  
• Follow along on Facebook and Instagram with the #PassportToFun hashtag.
• Each week, we'll share a list of simple activities you can do either inside or outside. Be sure to follow along to collect your "stamp!"

By the end of the month, you'll be able to look back on your Passport to Fun stamps and all the fun times you had along the way!

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You Don''t Want To Miss

Whether you're a seasoned professional or learning virtually for the very first time, we've got upcoming opportunities for every learner!

• Child Development 18 - 36 Months in LSL Intervention
• Focuses on areas of typical development for ages 18 - 36 months and answers important questions such as, "What's happening in the brain during this critical time period?" and "What has the biggest impact on developing brains?" 
• Speech Acoustics: Detective Work
• Reviews the basics of speech acoustics, its relationship to the audiogram, and how speech acoustics are applied in LSL intervention. 
• Parent Guidance and Coaching in LSL Intervention
• Through videotape excerpts and interaction, learners will examine and discuss tools and strategies designed to build highly effective parent-professional partnerships and expand the family's abilities to promote their child's LSL skills throughout their daily, play, and social routines.

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Quick Tip!

Use these quick tips while reading together to make the most of your child's LSL learning: 

• Use a different voice for each character in the story.
• Read a book with flaps to direct your child to listen before seeing the illustrations.
• Share a familiar story or rhyme then make mistakes. Have your child listen and see if they catch your mistake.

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Mark Your Calendar

Book Lovers Day (August 9) ??
Acknowledge the importance of reading by choosing a summer book and downloading the Caribu app so your kids can read books with family who are far away!

 

National Tell A Joke Day (August 16) ??
Besides making us laugh, telling jokes is a great way to connect with your child who is deaf or hard of hearing while developing their social and communication skills. Learn how!

What''s Happening This Month

A new year means new opportunities! Whether it's high hopes, big goals, or new plans, it's a great time to reset and map out your goals. Use this time to think about the LSL habits you and your child practice each and every day. Adding in new LSL techniques or even freshening up old strategies that have worked in the past is the perfect way to help your child build their listening and spoken language skills this year. Ready to recommit to LSL habits? We've got 10 quick and easy ideas to get you started.

 

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You Don''t Want To Miss This

To celebrate the start of 2021, let's get back to the basics with LSL 101! The Fundamentals of LSL learning series offers 12 online courses that will teach you everything you need to know about LSL early intervention, starting with Language Development and Assessment in LSL Intervention. 

Registration for our first course of the year closes tomorrow, Tuesday, January 5, so sign up today! 

 

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Quick Tip!

Looking for a fun DIY project with your kids? Experience books are a great way to get creative, practice storytelling skills, and bond with your little one! These homemade books are put together by a parent and child to capture what is important to your child. Experience books feature your child as the main character and help them practice conversational skills, memory building, and storytelling. These books can help your child to move beyond talking about the here and now to talking about past events. 

Tip: Make a book all about how your family celebrated the holidays this year. Your child will be excited to relive the magic of the season. 

 

What Will Your Book Look Like? 

• Experience books can be as simple as paper folded into a book, photographs collected and attached with ring binder clips or placed in a photo album, or objects placed in a baggie and taped to a page. 
• Books can be drawn by pencil or crayon, or favorite objects can be glued or stapled on the pages.
• Don't forget about all the cute photos you have on your phone! You can either print them out or try using an app to make the book digitally. 

 

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Don''t Forget

Reading aloud to your child is one of the best ways you can help their listening and language develop. Set a goal to read together every day. Make a calendar for the month and keep it handy. Each day add the book you read together and at the end of the month you can look back to see your reading progress! Reading creates meaningful connections in your child's brain that will help them become a lifelong learner. For more ideas and strategies to help keep reading exciting this year, check out our online learning page for families.

 

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Mark Your Calendar

National Winnie the Pooh Day (January 18) ??

Did you know that Winnie the Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood are great at teaching Theory of Mind? They'll help your child understand kindness and empathy so they can build emotional connections with friends and family.

 

National Hot Chocolate Day (January 31) ?

Take advantage of the day to make hot cocoa and get cozy on the couch for some reading! Reading aloud helps your child get closer to hearing 40 million words by age 4. You can also give them a play-by-play as you make the hot cocoa. Use different words to describe it and you'll expand their vocabulary! "This hot chocolate is yummy! I'm adding marshmallows-they're delicious! Hot cocoa is tasty."