Listen, Learn, Speak
2013The Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (Victoria)
45th Annual Report
2 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE8 February 1909 – 5 December 2012
Dame Elisabeth was a founding member of the Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (Victoria) in 1968. Her focus on scholarships and research helped build Victoria’s educational
services for the hearing impaired. As a result, generations of hearing impaired children and their families have benefited from her insight, generosity and advocacy. In 1983 Dame Elisabeth was
recognised with Honorary Life Membership of the Advisory Council.
Dame Elisabeth’s visionary leadership will continue to be an inspiration for Taralye.
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 3
Donors 4
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer’s Report 6
Our 2012 Graduates 9
Early Intervention Program 10
Partnerships and Collaborations 12
Early Childhood Program 14
Audiology and Otology Clinic 15
First Voice: world leaders in listening and spoken language 16
Our Staff 18
Parents and Friends Committee 19
Community Support 20
Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing 22
Highlights• 245 Victorian children supported through early
intervention in 2012/2013
• 86% of children who use English as their first and only language and have no other disability other than hearing loss graduated to school in 2013 with normal or above normal speech and language skills
• 5,700 occasions of service delivered through the audiology and otology clinic in 2012/2013
• A Quality Improvement Plan developed by early childhood staff as part of the National Quality Framework for Early Education and Care
T A R A L Y E A N N U A L R E P O R T2013
4 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
Major DonorsANZ Small Grants Program
ANZ Staff Foundation
ANZ VFPOED
Australian Leisure & Hospitality Group
Bendigo Bank (Blackburn South)
Brian M Davis Charitable Foundation
Catanach’s Jewellers
Collier Charitable Fund
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Countrywide Tolstrup
Court Jester Hotel
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Department of Justice
Eric Ormond Baker Charitable Fund
Esso Australia Pty Ltd
Flora & Frank Leith Charitable Trust
Foundation of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies
LDB Corporate Centre
Lions Club of Nunawading
Lodge of Euclid No. 447
Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation
Macquarie Funds Group
Maddocks Foundation
Order of Eastern Star Nepean Chapter No. 143
PFD Food Services Pty Ltd
Radiata Investments Pty Ltd
Ray White Real Estate (Blackburn)
R M Ansett Trust
Rotary Club of Box Hill Central
Rotary Club of Nunawading
Shying Family Trust
Taralye Foundation
Taralye Parents & Friends
The Baker Foundation
The Bell Charitable Trust
The Chase Hotel
The Feilman Family Foundation
The Freemasons Public Charitable Foundation
The Herald Weekly Times Pty Ltd
The Limb Family Foundation
The Marian & E H Flack Trust
The Miller Foundation Ltd
William Angliss Charitable Fund
Individual DonorsRobert Albert
Norma Bathie
Ian Broadhead
James Calvert-Jones
John and Janet Calvert-Jones
Margaret Castle
Joan Coghlan
Fiona Coviello-Izzard
Fiona Crosbie
Kate Crosbie
Daniel Feller
George & Paula Gholam
Graeme Giddings
Gerrit Horchner
Shuey Lim
G R McKnight
Gavin & Chantel Myers-Hately
John Nolan
Nigel Peck AM
A & A Pellicano
Tony Robinson
Joan Selby Smith
Basil Moss
Don & Sharon Moss
Dr Anthony Siouclis
Richard Smith
Richard Thornton
Greg Weston
Pro Bono BusinessesAlyka
As One Advertising & Marketing
Associated Food Service
Australian Breastfeeding Association
Australian Hearing
Avalde
Benefits Plus
Blackburn Brunch & Lunch
Box Hill TAFE
Carpet Court Kilsyth
Cochlear Ltd
Cummins
Cummins Filtration
Deloitte
Eastlink
Entice by Taste
ExxonMobil Australia
Gina Ralli Photography
Hoath Print
Jimjoca Vineyard
Laurent Patisserie
Leader Newspapers
Lions Club of Blackburn North
Lions Club of Box Hill Central
Lions Club of Nunawading
Mezze Café
MRC
Nunawading SES
Pud for all Seasons
Taralye gratefully acknowledges generous support from a range of philanthropic trusts, foundations, businesses and individuals during the past financial year. This support has enabled the provision of a most valuable service to Victorian children with hearing impairment and their families.
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 5
Ray White Real Estate (Blackburn)
Rotary Club of Mitcham
Sofitel
Taralye Parents & Friends
The Chase Hotel
The Weekly Review Eastern
Treasury Wine Estates
Village Roadshow
Pro Bono IndividualsNaomi Baulch
Jodie Black
Jenny Borg
Sarah Brennan
Andrew Case
Isaac Case
Sarah Case
Marilyn Dann
Elissa Dyson
Valerie Ebdon
Graeme Giddings
Lesley Giddings
Paul Godenzi
Jenny Guala
John Hale
Tara Kessner
Lina Lamont
Rob Malandra
Kaila Manassa
Patrick McNamara
Lisa Meehan
Clare Mielke
Chantel Myers-Hately
Jackie Nathanielsz
Travis Noonan
Tina Pitruzello
Tony Robinson
Dee Ryall
Felicia Somphanpanya
Lisa Staples
Tracy Tau
Jodie Waddingham
Heath’s FamilyOur family came into contact with Taralye when…Heath
was about four months old. At birth he was diagnosed with
a rare syndrome called Goldenhar. One of the attributes of
the syndrome is microtia – atresia resulting in a bilateral
conductive hearing loss. Shortly after leaving Royal
Children’s Hospital, Heath was given a bone conductor
hearing aid. We heard about Taralye from the Royal
Children’s Hospital audiology clinic, Australian Hearing and
then Central Intake for Early Intervention.
The greatest challenges we faced at the time were…all the
unknowns. Was he going to hear? Was he going to speak?
Was he going to swallow? As parents we also wanted to
make sure we were doing everything we could to ensure he
had every opportunity to hear, speak and accomplish early
childhood milestones, and achieve his future goals in life.
Taralye helped us overcome these challenges by…
providing support, guidance and answers to many of our
questions about hearing loss and the challenges it brings to
infants. In addition, the wonderful Taralye team embarked
on educating our family about hearing loss and how we
can support Heath
to listen and speak.
They provided us
with access to some
amazing programs,
including Parent Child
Mother Goose and
the fortnightly playgroup
sessions that have provided
Heath an opportunity to interact and
learn with other children experiencing
hearing loss.
We look forward to the future
because… Taralye has assisted our family by giving us
the support networks, friendships and skills that have
helped Heath connect to the world of hearing and
provided amazing support for him to start building his
communication skills. We look forward to watching
Heath’s language and communication skills grow and
having a conversation without the need for additional
language support.
Jessica, Heath’s mother
AcknowledgementsTaralye is grateful to Scarab Blue Design, Gina Ralli Photography and Research Edit Write for professional assistance in preparing this annual report.
Taralye, a not-for-profit organisation, is endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as a deductible gift recipient (DGR). Donations of $2.00 or more are tax deductible.
T A R A L Y E A N N U A L R E P O R T2013
6 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
It is with pleasure that we present this annual report for
Taralye - the oral language centre for deaf children. The report
provides a summary of Taralye’s operational activities and
audited financial results for 2013 – the 45th anniversary of the
Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing.
Key achievementsThe 2013 operational results demonstrate Taralye’s
commitment to delivering quality, evidenced-based programs
for families. Referrals to Taralye’s early intervention program
remained high with the total number of families being
supported increasing by 13% compared to the previous year.
The audiology clinic provided over 5,000 occasions of service
with 36 infants being diagnosed with a sensorineural hearing
loss. As part of the requirements of the recently introduced
National Quality Framework for Early Education and Care,
our early childhood team spent considerable time drafting a
Quality Improvement Plan that documents philosophy as well
as seven key assessment areas that will be monitored and
evaluated under the national framework.
In keeping with Taralye’s aim to support children to develop
oral language skills and report objective outcomes, our
research, assessment and education team has collated the
speech and language skills of children graduating from Taralye
in 2012. Outcomes for these children are summarised on
page 9 of this report and show that the majority of the cohort
achieved speech and language skills within the normal range
for their age.
In other achievements, the year was marked by the
introduction of a new brand identity with the tag line “Listen,
Learn, Speak”. The new brand aims to garner community
understanding and support for our cause whilst maintaining a
clear focus on Taralye’s social mission. To assist in promoting
the new brand, Taralye also launched a new website,
introduced new signage and increased activity in the social
media domain. Feedback on these initiatives has been positive.
Financial resultsTaralye’s total operating revenue for the year ended 30 June
2013 was $3,394,054. Government subsidies contributed
$1,465,609 and fundraising contributed $1,329,280 to
overall income. Through a combination of cost control and
an increase in philanthropic donations, Taralye registered a
surplus of $257,426 for the 2012/2013 financial year.
In March 2013, Taralye was pleased to be one of 14
community organisations to receive an increase in recurrent
state government funding. This followed a successful tender
which was assessed on evidence-based criteria. The additional
funding through
the Department of Education
and Early Childhood
Development is
approximately $110,000/
year and is part of
the government’s
budget commitment
to supporting children
with disability over five
years.
TributesIt was with great sadness
that Taralye received news
of the passing of founder
and Honorary Life Member
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE in
December 2012. Over the years Dame
Elisabeth gave unstinting moral and financial
support to the Advisory Council with a particular
focus on research and scholarships. It was through
Dame Elisabeth’s generosity that the Advisory Council was
able to establish a perpetual scholarship scheme in 1985
aimed at developing professionals’ skills and knowledge in
audiology and education of the deaf.
Also during the year Taralye learnt of the passing of Arthur
(Neil) Henderson. Neil was appointed administrator by the
Advisory Council in 1979. Neil derived much personal reward
from this position that he held with distinction until his
retirement in 1990.
Advisory Council for Children with Impaired HearingDuring the year Taralye welcomed past staff member Rhonda
DeStefano as a new member of the Advisory Council for
Children with Impaired Hearing. Rhonda brings her personal
perspective as a parent of a hearing impaired child and
her wealth of professional experience to the role. We also
welcomed Naomi Baulch as a new member of our Board.
In November 2012, Professor Melissa Wake and Kim Tsai
resigned from our Board. We especially thank Melissa for her
guidance in research and quality measures and Kim for her
expertise in governance and financial matters.
In March 2013, the Advisory Council for Children with
Impaired Hearing awarded an Elisabeth Murdoch Scholarship
to staff member Hannah Stark. The scholarship is supporting
Hannah’s further study as she undertakes a Postgraduate
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 7
Thank you In 2013 some difficult decisions
were made in response to high demand
for service and changing government directions for funding.
Pleasingly, it was also a year in which Taralye achieved solid
results. We gratefully appreciate the generosity of the many
businesses, service clubs, individuals, trusts and foundations
for supporting our cause. We also acknowledge and sincerely
thank our staff, Parents and Friends Committee, Board and
Foundation for the role that each has played in achieving this
result. As an organisation we look forward to the future and
continuing our shared commitment of supporting children to
listen, learn and speak.
Professor Richard Dowell
Chairman
Therese Kelly
Chief Executive Officer
Diploma in Health
Research Methodology.
Hannah’s research is investigating
how children with hearing loss develop and
use their language skills in situations that incur
greater communicative, cognitive and social demands.
Outlook - individualised funding In July 2013, the first stage of the National Disability Insurance
Scheme commenced for residents living in the Barwon
region. From July 2016 the scheme will progressively roll
out in Victoria and by July 2019 all eligible residents will be
covered. The introduction of this scheme means there will be
a fundamental shift in the way people with disabilities access
services to support their aspirational goals. The scheme aims
to facilitate their inclusion in local communities through
increased opportunities to make their own decisions and
exercise choice and control. By June/July 2014, Victoria’s
Early Childhood Intervention Service in the Barwon region is
expected to be fully transitioned into the National Disability
Insurance Scheme. In preparing for this change, Taralye
registered as a service provider under the National Disability
Insurance Scheme and established a dedicated part-time staff
position in the Barwon region to work closely with families
during the transition phase.
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8 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 9
Taralye familiesA total of 46 children and their families exited Taralye’s early
intervention program over the course of 2012.
• 83% of children exited the program between 5-6 years
of age;
• 43% of families had been engaged with the program for
4-6 years at the time of exit;
• 30% of exiting families use a language other than English
at home including Arabic, Turkish, Italian, Shona, and
Vietnamese;
• 39% of children have a disability in addition to hearing
loss; and
• 37% of children have a hearing loss in the severe-to-
profound range.
Improvements in infant diagnosis and treatment of hearing
loss have resulted in Taralye being able to respond to families
much earlier in their child’s life. Just over 30% of 2012
graduates were referred through the Victorian Infant Hearing
Screening Program and over 40% were diagnosed with
hearing loss before six months of age. Half of the graduates
wear bilateral hearing aids, and just over a quarter are fitted
with bilateral cochlear implants. The remainder are unilaterally
fitted with either a hearing aid and/or cochlear implant and a
small number use another hearing device.
Exit PathwaysThe majority of 2012 graduates transitioned to local schools,
with over half of the children and their families choosing
this pathway.
Speech and Language Taralye is committed to providing an individually tailored
service, in which the needs of each child and their family is
regularly assessed and monitored. Staff undertake annual
communication assessments for each child enrolled in the
program to inform the family and multidisciplinary team about
current and future communication goals.
Of the 46 children who exited the program, a total of 36 were
assessed. The remaining children either exited prior to testing
being undertaken or were enrolled in a lead early intervention
agency other than Taralye. A small number of children were
unable to be assessed due to limited use of spoken English
and/or additional disabilities.
Language skills for the group were assessed using the
Preschool Language Scale (4th edition) which measures how
children use language expressively (verbal use of words and
sentences) as well as receptively (understanding of words
and sentences). The average standard score for children with
normal hearing on this test is 100 with scores between 85 -
115 considered to be within the age appropriate range.
Average standard language scores for the children who exited
Taralye in 2012:
For the 21 children who spoke English as their primary
language and who had no additional disabilities, 86% had
language scores within an age appropriate range, compared
to 84% of children in the general population.
Dr Andrea Simpson
Manager, Research, Assessment and Education
Local School
Independent School
Unit
Other Service
Family Move
Families who speak English as their first language at home
Number Receptive Expressive children language* language*
No additional 21 88 95 disability
Additional 7 84 81 disability
Families from a non-English speaking background
Number Receptive Expressive children language* language*
No additional 4 93 83 disability
Additional 4 76 80 disability
* Scores between 85 - 115 are considered to be within an age appropriate range
T A R A L Y E A N N U A L R E P O R T2013
10 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
Over the past few years, the early intervention team has
worked hard to develop collaborations with other early
intervention agencies and service providers. Whenever
possible we seek to ensure families access local services.
An example is a Shepparton family with a hearing impaired
one-year-old needing physiotherapy. Through collaboration
and contacts we were able to arrange twice-monthly
physiotherapy visits. With our home visits, this has enabled
regular professional contact for this family.
This year we commenced a playgroup along with an Itty
Bitty Book Club for three-year-olds in the Barwon region.
These are both held at Noah’s Ark in Geelong and we are
most appreciative of their support. Also in Barwon is the trial
rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Taralye
welcomes this national legislation and will be closely involved
in supporting families access to the scheme over the next few
years.
We are currently piloting two new programs: the Once Upon
a Time group in Blackburn for four-year-olds, and Make
the Connection for parents of newly diagnosed hearing
impaired children. Once Upon a Time ties to our philosophy
of supporting listening and spoken language skills. Each child
is encouraged and guided to develop a story and at program
conclusion will orally present to peers and parents.
Underlying Make the Connection is attachment theory. This
program recognises babies’ responses and reactions to
interactive, physical and visual cues with parents.
Research shows that positive and confident
early attachments are crucial to children’s
long-term educational, social, health
and behavioural outcomes. Parents
attending this group are finding
it a very positive and extremely
enjoyable experience.
My thanks to the early
intervention team for their
hard work over the past 12
months. It has been a difficult
year, with many changes and
some complex limitations.
As professionals we have
continued to deliver the very
best results for children and
families. We have consolidated
our ongoing work with families
whilst continuing to drive innovation
in our programs.
Ellen Panjari
Manager, Early Intervention
Taralye was called upon to meet an increasing demand for
early intervention services this year without a commensurate
increase in recurrent funding or resources. Indicatively, the
need for our family-centred services (centre-based, home-
based and group programs) has increased 31% over two years
(18% in 2012 and 13% in 2013).
This situation necessitated changes to service delivery, with
a reduction in frequency of individual sessions for many
families. Our team of early intervention specialists - teachers,
speech pathologists, social workers, librarian and psychologist
- worked diligently to minimise impact on children’s speech
and language outcomes, and to ensure priority service
delivery to newly diagnosed children and children with
complex needs.
On a positive note, federal government funding through
the Better Start for Children with Disability initiative enabled
the introduction of a speech pathology service for families
residing in the north-western metropolitan region. This
program is delivered to children in their home environment,
through their local community setting (ie. kindergarten or
school) or from the Gowanbrae Children’s and Community
Centre. We also offer telehealth early intervention services
to regional and remotely located Victorian children through
VidKids - another federal government funded initiative.
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 11
T A R A L Y E A N N U A L R E P O R T2013
12 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
Overcoming the tyranny of distanceThis year Taralye became an alliance partner in VidKids™ - a
pilot telehealth service using technology to support regional
and remotely-located hearing and vision impaired children in
their homes. Using video conferencing, and drawing on the
increasing availability of the National Broadband Network,
VidKids™ offers families and children access to streamed
therapy, counselling, diagnostic services, technological
assistance and educational support.
Funded by the federal Department of Families, Housing,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs through the
Remote Hearing and Vision Services for Children initiative,
the VidKids™ two year pilot will trial telehealth services to a
minimum of 125 children.
According to The Australian Institute of Family Studies,
some 2.6 million Australians live in an outer, remote, or very
remote area. These families commonly experience significant
challenges in accessing specialised services, most commonly
an absence of local service provision, a lack of expertise and
the tyranny of distance.
Taralye is delighted to be providing service in locations where
expertise is scarce, and to be involved in piloting a service
model that will undoubtedly be a flagship for future telehealth
services.
The VidKids™ pilot commenced in
2012 and concludes on 31 December
2014. Alliance members include
Vision Australia, Deaf Children
Australia, Cora Barclay, Hear and Say,
Telethon Speech and Hearing, The
Shepherd Centre, and Taralye.
Giving back In 2012/2013, Cummins sites in
Melbourne’s eastern suburbs saw a values
connection with Taralye whilst searching for a
local community partner. The partnership has seen Cummins
Filtration employees (Kilsyth) and Cummins employees (Box
Hill) volunteer their time and labour, assisting with Market
Day activities, event preparations and mail-outs.
Cummins is a diverse technical leader specialising in the
design, manufacture, sale and service of diesel engines, power
generation equipment and related components. The Taralye
partnership is part of Cummins’ Corporate Responsibility
program and ties to one of their core values of ‘serving and
improving the communities in which we live’.
Cummins is keen to see the relationship evolve from basic
volunteering opportunities to harnessing specific employee
skills which benefit our organisation. A building sustainability
audit project on our Blackburn site has been identified as a
first step. Once a cutting edge educational facility, our 35-year-
old building and almost 2-hectare site provides a range of
immediate and future challenges. Cummins will work with
us to understand and respond to any environmental, energy,
regulatory, or repair issues.
Other areas of the Taralye and Cummins partnership include
fundraising. We are especially appreciative of the efforts of
Paul Godenzi, Cummins Filtration National Sales Manager,
who generously raised funds for Taralye through Run
Melbourne.
We take this opportunity to thank Cummins for their
community mindedness, and we look forward to working
together in 2014.
Smoother transitions into primary schoolIn 2012/2013 Taralye commenced a partnership with the
Victorian Deaf Education Institute and Aurora School to help
children with hearing loss make effective transitions into
primary school. This follows the 2010 Victorian Deaf Education
Review which reiterated parents’ experiences that school
transitions can sometimes be challenging.
The Transition into Primary School (TIPS) project is a logical
step to assist the transition process. Funded by the More
Support for Students with Disabilities National Partnership,
Strengthening Pathways Deaf Education initiative, TIPS will
see development of a resource kit for parents and educators.
Resources include information sheets, a storybook for
“We have had our first video conference session
with Taralye and I ‘linked up’ using the Microsoft Lync attendee. The
software downloaded and installation is all done and was quite easy to navigate
through the VidKids™ website. We are both excited about the future for
VidKids™ and all of the things we can do!”
Jacqui – Parent
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 13
children, materials
for the visiting teachers service
to use in the year the child goes to
school, a PowerPoint presentation and an
electronic digital solution available across all platforms to
facilitate communication between families and schools.
Research shows that children who experience a positive
school transition are more likely to achieve better educational
outcomes in later years. Taralye is proud to be involved in
this pilot program through the secondment of staff member
Jean Moores-Chadwick and representation on the advisory
committee which has been set up to help guide the project’s
progress. In addition to this involvement, some families
accessing Taralye’s early intervention program have been
invited to participate in the transition trial process.
Strengthening parent-child bondsFor almost a decade, the Canadian Parent-Child Mother
Goose program has been a regular, positive oral language
experience at Taralye. Teaching through rhyme and song -
through holding, touching, and attachment - Mother Goose
gives parents the skills to enhance their child’s language
development whilst enriching the parent/child bond.
In 2013, Taralye partnered with Uncle Bobs Child Development
Centre (a subsidiary of the Royal Children’s Hospital) to
offer a Parent-Child Mother Goose program in the western
metropolitan region. Facilitated on Thursday mornings at the
Gowanbrae Community and Children’s Centre, this partnership
sees Taralye provide staff and the venue. Uncle Bobs has
collegially provided mentoring support for our newly trained
Parent-Child Mother Goose facilitator, Kirsten McFadzean.
The collaboration between Taralye and Uncle Bobs brings
together families and children from both organisations with
approximately nine families regularly attending. With the dual
marketing and promotion capabilities of our organisations,
and aided by population growth in Melbourne’s west, we
anticipate increased demand for this program over the
coming year.
James and Lucy’s FamilyOur family came
into contact with Taralye…not long after we found
out about James’ hearing loss in November 2011.
James was nearly four at the time and my wife Tara
was 38 weeks pregnant with our third child Ryan. It
was Tara who did all the ground work and looked
into the options available for children with hearing
impairment. We had an initial visit from Taralye staff
and we knew almost straight away that we would be
a good fit.
The greatest challenges we faced at the time were…
dealing with the news that two of our children have
a severe hearing impairment. About two weeks after
the arrival of Ryan we had our daughter Lucy tested
and she had an identical hearing loss to James. I was
so nervous when they screened Ryan for hearing in
the hospital but thankfully he was OK. Once we got
our heads around it all we started some research to
find out what hearing impairment meant for us and
the kids. It didn’t take long to work out that the kids
would need some extra help with their language
development and that’s when we contacted Taralye.
Taralye helped us overcome these challenges by...
taking the time to explain to us the implications of
a hearing impairment and their approach on how
they could help James and Lucy. They really opened
our eyes up to a new way of thinking and teaching
particularly with the Book Club and Lunch Bunch
activities. As we progressed through the year we could
see how these activities along with the kinder program
has really helped the speech development of our kids.
We look forward to the future because… we
have great kids and can’t wait to see them grow
and develop. We both know the future will have
its challenges particularly given their hearing
impairments but we feel like we are now well-
educated thanks to Taralye, which will hopefully
ensure we make good decisions for them in the future.
Deciding to move to Melbourne from Warrnambool
so that the kids could get the best out of Taralye was
undoubtedly the right decision for us. Both James and
Lucy absolutely love Taralye and always talk about
it. They have come so far. Thanks to all the staff at
Taralye for what they have given our family.
Matthew, James and Lucy’s father
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14 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
Early Learning – Happy settled childrenCatering for children from 18 months to 3 years of age,
Taralye’s Early Learning Program has two core goals: teaching
children to socialise and introducing them to structure. As
an oral language centre our focus is always on language and
visitors to our program have the pleasure of witnessing lots of
chatting, singing, story reading and rhymes and movement.
Due to room and space restrictions arising from the universal
access scheme (a government-mandated 15 hours of Early
Childhood Education for kindergarten children), our Early
Learning Program was offered over three days per week
in 2013. Fortunately the reduction in days did not impact
attendance with 38 hearing children and 12 hearing impaired
children accessing the program. This full-house scenario
is indicative of our early learning program’s reputation
for quality care and a positive reflection of the skill and
commitment of our team. This program regularly carries a
wait-list of community families hoping to access the program.
Our highlight this year was
continuation of the
2012 extended-
hours pilot. By
introducing
a one hour
lunch-time
session,
families
could gain
access to
3½ hours
of morning or
afternoon care. These
longer sessions allow parents
increased flexibility for pick-ups and
drop-offs, and greater convenience in managing
schedules for siblings who may be attending kindergarten or
have other care arrangements.
As a team the early learning program staff contributed to
Taralye’s community and fundraising activities by once again
hosting the ever-popular Devonshire tea on Market Day
in August. Our team also spent many hours and showed
immense patience in creating learning activities that cost
little but keep children engaged. Our aim is ultimately for
happy settled toddlers who feel confident kissing mum or
dad goodbye, with the understanding that they will be safe,
supported and nurtured until mum or dad returns.
Melinda Fry
Coordinator, Early Learning Program
Kindergarten – Universal accessThis year’s major achievement was successful incorporation of
the government-mandated early childhood education policy.
This national policy is the first step towards achieving our
nation’s vision that, ‘by 2020, all children have the best start
in life to create a better future for themselves and for the
nation’.
The key challenge in moving to 15 hours kindergarten per
week was timetabling. After much deliberation and a little
rejigging, we were able to offer three kindergarten groups
catering to the needs of 53 four-year-olds (including eight
hearing impaired children). Additional hours also meant
changes to administration and curriculum. Specifically we
had to ensure enough classroom material and lesson plans
to cater for the additional face-to-face sessions. Collaborative
and creative brainstorming amongst the team has seen the
inclusion of children’s yoga, expanded use of our library and
increased use of the beautiful Taralye grounds.
Following the 2012 implementation of the National Quality
Framework (NQF) for Early Education and Care, each early
childcare provider is required to prepare and maintain a
Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). The plan, which is readily
available to parents and regulatory bodies, contains a service
philosophy as well as information about seven key assessment
areas. With our plan now documented and in place we
eagerly await assessment. One of the key assessment areas
is sustainability - environmental, classroom, playground - and
we have spent much time reflecting, reviewing, and bringing
increased awareness to the way we do things in this domain.
Observation of children’s learning and development was
another key area of focus this year. Co-educators as well as
educators must now undertake observations of children. This
has meant internal training and professional development
but will ultimately lead to the task being shared more
equally. Observation templates are expediting the process
and ensuring consistency in how we report children’s
development.
Our team participated once again in Education Week,
welcoming Parliamentary Secretary for Education Ms Inga
Peulich to launch the week, and opening our doors to
showcase our work to the wider community. We continued
to support professional development of our staff and we
regularly accommodate the needs of local work experience
students.
I take this opportunity to thank our team of dedicated
teachers, inclusion aides and assistants for their exemplary
work and their willingness to give generously of their time.
Deborah Exton
Director, Kindergarten and Early Learning Program
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 15
Taralye’s Audiology and Otology Clinic provided over 5,000
occasions of care for Victorian families in 2013. We also
facilitated 700 occasions of specialist Ear, Nose and Throat
(ENT) services through the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear
Hospital Spoke Clinic based at Taralye.
We continued to be a major provider of diagnostic
audiology services to babies and families who received
a ‘refer’ result through the Victorian Infant Hearing
Screening Program (VIHSP). In the past year we diagnosed
25 children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (VIHSP
and non-VIHSP). Twenty-three of these children required
hearing aid fitting and a further 11 were diagnosed with a
unilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
The full roll-out of the VIHSP has resulted in the age of
diagnosis of hearing loss gradually reducing. In 2012/2013,
more than half the children diagnosed with sensorineural
hearing loss at the clinic were aged less than 1 month.
We are grateful to the Miller Foundation and Baker
Foundation for providing funding to reintroduce our Outreach
Screening Program in 2012/2013. This visiting audiologist
program sees a Taralye audiologist spend one or two sessions
in local kindergartens and schools, providing a hearing
screening test. Approximately one third of all the children
screened have required diagnostic follow up and management
of their hearing loss.
Mild
Mild-moderate
Moderate
Moderate-severe
Severe
Severe-profound
Profound
Number of children diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in 2012/2013
Age of children at diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss (months) in 2012/2013
0 – 1
1 – 3
3 – 6
6 – 12
12 – 24
24 +
Our clinic continued to contribute to the wider audiology
community with professional development sessions for VIHSP
screeners. The purpose of the sessions was to show screeners
the full diagnostic procedure and to give them a holistic
view of what happens to children after they are on-referred.
The audiology team also contributed locally to professional
development by hosting a Diagnosis and Beyond seminar
during Education Week in May. This one-day event was
held to support external audiologists and early intervention
specialists.
Taralye provided regular professional development
opportunities for staff including Auditory Processing Disorders
training with the University of Melbourne’s Dani Tomlin.
Markus Dahm, our consultant ENT specialist, also ensures
that Taralye audiologists stay informed and we are most
appreciative of his collegiality and collaboration.
As the leader of Audiology and Otology I commonly hear
positive and constructive feedback about our service; most
commonly that our audiologists are tremendously patient
with children, especially those presenting with challenging
behaviour. My thanks go to the clinical team for their ongoing
commitment.
A special thank you to Ellen Panjari and members of the
Taralye early intervention team who are available to step in
immediately to support families receiving news of a diagnosis
of deafness if required.
Thank you also to the ENT specialists - Dr Elizabeth Rose,
Markus Dahm, and Vasuki Anpalahan - for their support of
children with hearing loss.
Judy Rogers
Director, Audiology and Otology
T A R A L Y E A N N U A L R E P O R T2013
16 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
The Sound Connections projectTaralye is proud to be a member of First Voice, a national
collaboration of organisations whose primary focus is the
provision of oral-language therapies to children with hearing
impairment. Collectively, First Voice centres service the largest
cohort of children with hearing loss in the world providing
support to over 1,000 children and their families.
Started in 2010, First Voice has members based across
Australia. These consist of Taralye in Victoria, the Cora Barclay
Centre in South Australia, Hear and Say in Queensland,
Telethon Speech and Hearing in Western Australia, the
Shepherd Centre in New South Wales and the Australian
Capital Territory, as well as an international collaboration with
the Hearing House in Auckland.
The consortium provides a national platform for leading and
advocating on evidence-based early intervention practice for
children with hearing loss and their families. First Voice also
actively lobbies government, raises public awareness, and
carries out research in the areas of hearing loss and early
childhood intervention.
First Voice advocates for access to spoken language for
children with hearing impairment (Image source: First Voice
2012 Annual Report).
As part of First Voice’s research efforts, Sound Connections is
a 3-year major research collaboration involving all member
organisations. The project’s aims are twofold: firstly, to
articulate best practice in early intervention for children
with hearing loss by longitudinally tracking and measuring
clinical outcomes, and secondly, to determine the impact of
communication ability on broader social wellbeing.
Together with input from researchers at the Australian
National University, Sound Connections has been working
on the concept of ‘social inclusion’ for children with hearing
loss and what being included means for these children and
their families. A questionnaire was developed from this work
focusing on how children interact within the community in
which they live. Questions included caregiver impressions
of their child’s social resources, acceptance, social networks,
and social participation. Results from the questionnaire will
investigate the relationship between speech, language and
broader social skills.
To date, 127 Taralye families have agreed to participate in the
Sound Connections project. Families of children aged between
4-6 years of age at all centres were invited to participate in the
questionnaire on social inclusion. Over 100 families around
Australia responded, of which 12 were from Taralye.
Sound Connections was funded by the Telstra Foundation.
Further information about First Voice and its activities can be
found at http://www.firstvoice.org.au.
Dr Andrea Simpson
Manager, Research, Assessment and Education
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 17
T A R A L Y E A N N U A L R E P O R T2013
18 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
Chief Executive OfficerTherese Kelly, BSc (Hons) Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP) AAICD CCEO
Chief Financial OfficerNoel Cousins, BBus (Acc) MBus
Development ManagerKevin Gray, BEc (Hons) CA FCIS
Executive StaffDeborah Exton, Dip T (IECD)
Lisa Ockenden, Cert IV (Customer Contact)
Ellen Panjari, Dip T (Prim) Grad Dip Spec Ed (HI)
Margaret Polacska, Ass Dip Arts (Interior Design) Dip Engineering (Technology)
Judy Rogers, BA Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)
Andrea Simpson, BCommPath MSocSc PhD
Medical ConsultantsVasuki Anpalahan, FRACS (Eng) FRACS
Markus Dahm, FRACS PhD MD
Elizabeth Rose, MB BS FRACS
AudiologyRobyn Horner, BSc MClin Aud MAudSA (CCP)
Margaret Howells, BSc Dip Aud Dip Ed Psych
Rosslyn Johnston, BSc (Hons) Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)
Lisa Kennedy, BSc Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)
Jennie Madders, BSc Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP) MBA
Donna Morris, BBSc Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)
Early InterventionJudy Bainbridge, Dip T (Early Childhood) BEd (Early Childhood) Post
Grad Dip Ed Studies (HI)
Jenni Bird, Dip T (IECD) Grad Dip Spec Ed (Early Childhood) BEd (HI)
Beth Brislane, BSpPath MSPAA CPSP
Margaret Charlton, BA Hons (Clin Psych) Dip Soc Studs B Spec Ed MEd Psych MAPS CEDP COHP
Francesca Coles, MSp Path BA (Hons) Linguistics/Russian
Heather Elkhuizen, MEd (LIHI) Dip T (IECD) BEd (Early Childhood)
Sally Fleming, BEd (Prim) B Early Childhood
Martine Henderson, BSW, BSS
Maura McCabe, BEd (Prim), Grad Dip Spec Ed (HI) MEd (HI) Cert AVT
Janice Millard, Ass Dip App Sc BA LIS
Jean Moores-Chadwick, BEd (Science) (Performing Arts) Grad Dip Special Ed (HI)
Trudi Sayers, BOT Grad Dip Ed (Prim) Dip Ed Stud (HI)
Danelle Shuttleworth, BAppSc (Speech Pathology)
Marisa Skok, BSc (Hons) Dip Aud MAudSA MEd Psych MEd (HI) Dip Ed LSLS Cert AVT
Jenny Tuck, BApp Sc (OT)
Rebecca Vanderspek, BSW
Heather Venditti, BSpPath CPSP
Early ChildhoodBronwyn Baker, BA Cert III (Children’s Services)
Robyn Barrow, Cert III (Children’s Services) Dip Children’s Services
Jennifer Borg, Cert III (Children’s Services) Cert Ed (Integration Aide)
Jane Chrystie, BEd (Early Childhood)
Melinda Fry, Ass Dip Social Science and Childcare (Mothercraft Nurse)
Rita Gibb, Cert III (Children’s Services)
Christina Kalkipsakis, BEd (Early Childhood) Dip T(Early Childhood)
Kirsten McFadzean, Cert III (Children’s Services), Ass Dip Bus
Rose Russo, Cert III (Children’s Services)
Elspeth Stanton, Cert III (Children’s Services)
Paula Viola, Cert III (Children’s Services)
Meredith Wilson, Cert III (Children’s Services), RN Div 1 Hospital
Research, Assessment and EducationHannah Stark, BSpPath CPSP
Australian Hearing (Taralye Liaison)Anne Archibald, BSc (Hons) MAudSA (CCP)
Suzi Nottas, BSc (Hons) Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)
Cochlear Implant Clinic (Taralye Liaison)Sandra Lettieri, BSpPath
AdministrationJanine Carroll
Kelly Lavale
Vivienne McCarthy, Cert IV (Bookkeeping)
Alison Sorlie, Adv Dip Bus Man Cert IV (TA)
Building Maintenance Sam Dempster
Geoff Kotz
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 19
The 2013 Parents and Friends Committee
comprised of a very dedicated and
motivated group of parents who
worked tirelessly to facilitate
fundraising and social events
that could be enjoyed by the
Taralye community. This year
the committee raised in excess
of $35,000. This would not be
possible without our committee
members hard work and also
the families who so generously
donated their time over the year.
The committee once again funded the
fabulous incursions for both the three and
four-year-old kindergarten programs and donated
$30,000 to Taralye.
The social events are an opportunity for both
existing and new families to get to know each
other and build a community relationship. This
year we ran three social events, the Teddy Bears’ Picnic,
Dads’ and Kids’ Movie Afternoon and the Christmas Picnic.
The fundraising events this year included a garden bulb
fundraiser, picture plates, hot cross bun fundraiser, Baby
& Kids Market, Community Chest Annual Door Knock
Appeal, pie drive and Ladies Afternoon of High Tea and
Fashion. These fundraising events raised over $7,000.
A fundraiser highlight is the annual Bush Dance, forming
part of the kindergarten program where the children learn
about Australian animals, bush songs and perform a bush
dance for their families. Laburnum Primary School generously
offered the use of their hall and the bush band ‘Blackberry
Jam’ entertained both young and old. There were baked
goods, a BBQ, dancing and a silent auction. Special thanks to
Kylie North and Christine Bertolotti who obtained the auction
items for this event. The afternoon was great fun and raised
approximately $4,200.
The major fundraiser for the year is always Market Day which
is held in August to coincide with Hearing Awareness Week. It
takes a very dedicated team of people months to organise this
event. This year we had many emergency services vehicles,
amusements, entertainment by ‘The Kazoos’ and ‘Hey Dee
Ho Music,’ animals and pony rides for the children to enjoy
as well as stall holders selling their wares. A huge thank you
must go to Taralye staff member Jenny Borg who invested
countless hours to ensure that every last detail of the event
would be a success. Market Day is truly a combined effort with
the volunteers and Taralye community coming together and
families making generous contributions to ensure the success
of the day. Thanks to the involvement of many individuals the
day was an enormous success raising in excess of $24,000.
Finally,
we would like
to take this opportunity to
thank all of the Group Representatives
who helped facilitate our social and
fundraising activities and the businesses that have
generously supported our events. We would also like to thank
our Treasurer Lisa Ireland, Communications Coordinator
Petter Lonnstedt, Minutes Secretary Kylie North, Working Bee
Coordinator Warwick Gee, Christine Bertolotti, Jacqui Berger,
Maria Lyster, Sue Brooks, Suz Russo, Sharon Jones, Anna
Hardy, Rebecca Thomson and Diane Atwell for their hard work
and dedication to Taralye.
Cathy Allan & Chris Stilling
Co-Presidents, Parents and Friends Committee 2013
TARALYE PARENTS AND FRIENDS
Co-Presidents: Cathy Allan and Chris Stilling
Treasurer: Lisa Ireland
T A R A L Y E A N N U A L R E P O R T2013
20 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
and services. The development
team continue to actively research
and source new funding
opportunities from the
philanthropic sector
each year.
Commercial
partnerships
with supportive corporations have opened new prospects for
future growth, while contributing a modest income stream in
2012/2013. This segment is undergoing change, where more
traditional donors are moving on, to be replaced by newer
businesses with more contemporary community relationship
requirements. We are adapting to this changing environment,
not missing out, while always eager to show business how an
association with Taralye can benefit their bottom line.
Passive income streams continue to be developed, again
with long term strategic direction in mind as well as
immediate cash flow. Our small change boxes are
an effective new marketing tool and now feature
on the counters of more than 20 businesses.
This initiative has the potential to significantly
develop brand awareness and to provide
an additional regular income stream in the
future. Our mobile telephone recycling
program continues to provide regular
income while assisting the environment
through the safe recycling of potentially
dangerous obsolete equipment.
Google has generously provided Taralye with
a complimentary subscription to their Adwords
service. Adwords displays our ads first to anybody
making a Google search using any of fifty key words
we nominated, thereby connecting Taralye with potential
supporters looking for our services.
Taralye set itself a goal of improving its brand awareness by
In a year of challenging economic conditions the Taralye
development team adapted well to an increasingly competitive
environment and they continued to achieve success with a
number of fundraising activities during the year.
Loud Shirt Day continues to be our biggest annual fundraising
event realising $53,000, a pleasing result achieved by
employing economies of scale through our national alliance,
First Voice.
Our annual Race Day held at Melbourne Racing Club, Caulfield
in May netted $46,000 while providing a memorable day out
for over 200 guests, many of whom have enjoyed this event
for a number of years now.
Taralye Market Day run in partnership with the Taralye Parents
and Friends was a hugely successful event despite the threat
of dark and cloudy skies on the day. A crowd of more than
3,000 visitors attended the market.
A new initiative, the Community Lottery run by People’s
Choice Credit Union, where all prizes are sourced and supplied
by the Credit Union with Taralye retaining 100% of ticket
sales, was undertaken this year. The future looks bright for
this risk-free activity as we look forward to partnering with
other community groups to assist with promotion and ticket
sales.
Taralye was fortunate to receive continued support from
a loyal group of trusts and foundations, which provided
much needed funds to support a wide range of programs
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 21
Lutz’s FamilyOur family came into contact
with Taralye when…we
moved to Melbourne
after having lived with our
son Lutz in the UK and Germany. At that time, Lutz was
aged 18 months and had already been through diagnosis,
hearing aid fitting, testing, intervention support, and had
started learning two languages. As a result, we had clear
ideas about what kind of support might be desirable for
him, but no idea about what services might be available
locally, and how we might best equip Lutz for his growing
engagement in a social world and eventually school.
The greatest challenges we faced at the time were…
settling our family in a new country again and finding
out just what kinds of support were available for Lutz’s
hearing impairment and how to actually access them.
While we have all learnt a lot in the last four years, this
remains a challenge. We had to decide if and how Lutz
would develop competence in spoken English, German,
and/or sign language - which is also different in different
countries. We also had to decide which intervention
agency to engage with, and we met with staff from
several organisations. Taralye suited us best because we
decided we wanted to focus on Lutz becoming orally
bilingual. As we live in the northern suburbs, we’ve rarely
had the opportunity to access Taralye’s excellent facilities
and services in Blackburn, and we were glad of their
expanding support at Gowanbrae. But by far the most
valued part of our support was regular home visits by
Sally from Taralye. Sally has been tremendously helpful
in providing advice and moral support and she always
offers to engage directly with staff at Australian Hearing,
childcare and school to ensure Lutz’s needs are met. She is
one of Lutz’s best friends.
We look forward to the future because…Lutz has
developed excellent listening and speaking skills in two
languages. He is a great conversationalist and most
people wouldn’t realise he has a severe hearing loss.
People often ask us how often Lutz wears his hearing
aids, and are surprised to hear the answer is ‘always’. At
age four he is now skilled at putting his hearing aids on,
turning them on, and telling us when the batteries need
changing. His ‘ear buddies’ are a natural part of who he is.
Taralye’s assistance in getting Lutz an FM system while he
was still in childcare has helped him become comfortable
with this system before using it regularly at school. Lutz
attends a local kindergarten and gym classes. We are
looking forward to seeing him go on to school and to
continue developing as a confident and happy individual.
Quentin and Dagmar, Lutz’s parents
obtaining at least one
media story every month,
this year we achieved twenty.
Making ourselves known to the wider
community has also been advanced via social media. Our
daily Facebook posts are seen by over 720 friends while our
regular tweets through Twitter are attracting increasing
numbers of followers.
Looking to the future, Taralye is committed to an electronic
media strategy with a newly developed website and
newsletter, significantly increasing email prospects and
developing social media channels as a means of providing a
more economical way of engaging with potential donors and
sharing our good news stories.
Many trusts, foundations, corporations and individuals
generously supported Taralye during the year enabling the
provision of a range of programs and services to numerous
children with a hearing loss. For that support we sincerely
say, thank you one and all.
Noel Cousins
Chief Financial Officer
T A R A L Y E A N N U A L R E P O R T2013
22 Taralye 2013 Annual Report
Board MembersChairman: Prof Richard Dowell, BSc MSc Dip Aud PhD FAudSA(CC)
Ms Naomi Baulch, BEd(Sec) MEd (Sc, Health & EnvEd) Post Grad Dip Ed St (Student Welfare) Grad Cert (ICT Ed) MEd (LIHI) Post Grad Cert Ed St (Specific Learning Difficulties) Level III Auslan Cert Rept Care VDEI MACE MACEL
Ms Ariane Barker, BA Econ & Mathematics CAICD
Ms Marilyn Dann, MEd BA TTCTD TPTC OAM
Mrs Joan Hale
Mr Paul Hockridge, BBus LLM FCA FCPA FTIA
Mr Nicholas Morrison, BSc MAcc CPA CIA MIIA (Aust)
Mrs Chantel Myers-Hately, Dip (Children’s Services)
Finance and Risk Committee MembersTreasurer: Mr Nicholas Morrison, BSc MAcc CPA CIA MIIA (Aust)
Ms Ariane Barker, BA Econ & Mathematics CAICD
Mr Paul Hockridge, BBus LLM FCA FCPA FTIA
Ms Jennifer Lang, BBus (Acc) FCPA CFTP (Senior)
Honorary Life MembersMr Quentin Bailey, MA MB FRACS DLO
Mrs Pam Bunney, BSc (Hons) Dip Ed
Mrs Janet Calvert-Jones, AM
Mrs Joan Hale
Council MembersAssoc Prof Peter Blamey, BSc (Hons) AIA PhD
Mr James Calvert-Jones
Mr John Calvert-Jones, AM
Prof Graeme Clark, AO FAA FTSE MBBS MS PhD Hon MD FRCS FRACS
Assoc Prof Robert Cowan, BS(Hons) MSc MBA PhD DipAud Grad Dip (Tech Mgt) Grad Cert (Hlth Econ) FAudSA (CCP)
Mrs Rhonda DeStefano, Dip Technology in Renewable Energy, Cert IV Training and Assessment
Mr Bayne Floyd
Ms Michelle Frazer
Mrs Annie Grindrod, BA Grad Dip Child Lit
Mr Robert Jones, BBus MTax ASA
Ms Donna O’Mara, BBus DipEd
Mr Matthew Pearce
Mrs Anne Pringle, BEd (SpEd) MEd St
Assoc Prof Brian Pyman, MB FRACS DLO
Prof Field W Rickards, BSc (Hons) MEd PhD
Dr Julia Sarant, BSc Dip Aud PhD
Mrs Christina Stripp, BA (Hons)
Mr Andrew Sypkes, B Comm Grad Dip Finance MBA
Ms Kim Tsai, B.Comm Dip Ed CA
Prof Melissa Wake, MBChB FRACP Grad Dip Epi & Biostats MD
Mr David Wilson, BA Grad Dip Bus AAIBF
AffiliationsAG Bell Association
Audiology Australia
Australian Hearing
Bionic Ear Institute
Clarke School for the Deaf
Cochlear Implant Clinic
Deafness Foundation (Victoria)
Early Childhood Intervention Association (Victorian Chapter)
First Voice
Gowanbrae Community and Children’s Centre
HEARing Cooperative Research Centre
Kindergarten Parents Victoria
Monash University
National Acoustic Laboratories
National Disability Insurance Agency
Noah’s Ark
Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
University of Birmingham
University of Melbourne
Victorian Committee for the Promotion of Oral Education of the Deaf
Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program
Taralye 2013 Annual Report 23
About TaralyeIn 1968 a group of families and early childhood education professionals formed The
Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (ACCIH).
This group—consisting of Mrs Nancy John MBE, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE,
Mrs Frances Derham MBE, Mrs. Ethleen King CBE, Mr and Mrs Worrall Jones, Mr John
Calvert-Jones AM, and Mrs Janet Calvert-Jones AM—believed deaf children should have
access to the same educational opportunities as hearing children.
Taralye refers to the centre in Blackburn opened by the Advisory Council in 1979. It is
now an internationally recognised early intervention centre providing inclusive oral
language programs for deaf children and their families.
The Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing continues to advocate for oral
education services for deaf children throughout Victoria.
Our VisionTo be the leading model for oral language development in deaf children.
Our MissionIn partnership with families, other providers and the community to improve the
linguistic, educational and social outcomes of deaf children by promoting early
diagnosis and response to hearing loss through innovative early childhood intervention
services, research and advocacy.
137 Blackburn Road Blackburn, Victoria 3130 (Melways 62 A1)Postal address: PO Box 113, Blackburn, Victoria 3130Phone: +613 9877 1300 Facsimile: +613 9877 1922Email: [email protected] Website: www.taralye.vic.edu.au