LISTEN UP!Early Intervention Newsletter

Term 1, 2015

Therapy is offered to families throughout the school terms and also in the first week of each school holiday break.

Group programs do not take place in the school holidays.

MONDAY 20 JANUARY TO FRIDAY 10 APRIL Term 1

MONDAY 27 APRIL TO FRIDAY 3 JULY Term 2

MONDAY 20 JULY TO FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER Term 3

MONDAY 12 OCTOBER TO FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER Term 4

Term dates 2015

In this edition

PAGE 4 Parenting styles

What’s New

PAGE 5 Introducing LENA

PAGE 6 Team Blue

Student placements at the Centre

PAGE 7

Early Intervention Team Changes Book of the month: Boom Bah!

PAGE 9 Volunteers needed

PAGE 10 The Big Question: How can I create a learning-friendly environment?

PAGE 11 Family Spotlight: Lola

THURSDAY 16 APRIL 20159.00AM -1.30PM

Breaking down the jargon — what parents need to understand about audiology behaviour management.

RSVP required by Wednesday 8 April 2015 Ph 8267 9200 E reception@corabarclay.com.au

Parent information sessions

MONDAY 30 MARCH Boardroom luncheon

SUNDAY 19 APRIL Bay to City Run

FRIDAY 24 APRIL Fridays Uncorked at the National Wine Centre (Torbreck Wines)

MONDAY 11 MAY David Roche Foundation Gallery Event

SATURDAY 4 JULY Giveability Day Westfield

SUNDAY 2 AUGUST Port Adelaide vs St Kilda Collection

SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER City to Bay Fun Run

SUNDAY 15 NOVEMBER Marble Hill picnic

Would you like to help, volunteer or donate, then please call the Development Team or email development@corabarclay.com.au

Fundraising event dates

PAGE 3

Parenting or caring for a child brings with it immense joy as well as immense challenges. Each day the pendulum can swing from one side to the other many times!

Increasingly, parenting ‘styles’ and

models of behaviour management

are being researched, as more is

understood by child development

experts about the role of brain

development and growth for

babies and young children, and

how this growth is influenced by

our caregivers. There is a wealth

of information in books and on the

internet about these topics. It can

be extremely confusing and even

overwhelming to sift through the

information available.

Parenting styles generally fall

into four broad categories:

Authoritarian, Supportive,

Permissive and Disengaged. These categories are defined

by the amount of nurturing and

responsiveness vs demand and

control balanced in each. For

example, Authoritarian parenting has a high level of control with low

level nurturing (children should

do as they are instructed without

question); Supportive parenting is a balance of both (there are

clear boundaries that are open

to compromise); Permissive parenting is often child-led

with a lack of set or enforced

boundaries or consequences;

and Disengaged parenting is

highly uncommunicative and

unresponsive. Our parenting style

is influenced by our beliefs about

children and it guides our approach

to behaviour management. It is

common for individual parents

to differ in their approach.

Most child development experts

in Australia favour the Supportive

approach as it provides a positive

and secure framework for children

to benefit from. It has structure

and rules for the child, but they are

valued and listened to with respect.

If you are interested in further

topics regarding parenting,

behaviour management, and what

to consider when making parenting

decisions, I recommend the Child

and Youth Health (CYH) Parent

Easy Guides, available online or

in hard copy via CYH Centres or

from the Cora Barclay Centre

Family Counsellor.

www.cyh.com

Belinda Dunne Family Counsellor

Parenting styles

PAGE 4

Both Cochlear and MED-EL are launching new products in March.

Cochlear is introducing a line

of wireless accessories for the

Nucleus 6. This includes the

new wireless phone clip, mini

microphone and TV streamer.

These devices are only compatible

with the Nucleus 6 speech

processor (CP910 or CP920).

MED-EL has a new implant called

the Synchrony and a new speech

processor called the Sonnet.

The new speech processor is

lightweight and water resistant,

has a dual-microphone and

automatic sound management

as well as data logging.

If you would like to know more

please visit their websites at

www.cochlear.com and

ww.medel.com or speak with

Cindy Marples on 8267 9200

What’s new

PAGE 4

In 2001, philanthropist inventor, Terrance D Paul’s life changed after reading a book called ‘Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children.’ The book by Todd and Risley described their painstaking research project in which they measured how many words were spoken to children aged between 7 and 36 months. They found that children in families of high socioeconomic status (SES) had had 30 million more words spoken to them by the age of 3 than children of low SES. Essentially, they discovered that the amount parents talked to their children between 0 and 3 predicted the children’s later success in school.

Terrance’s response to this

information was to develop the

LENA (Language Environment

Analysis). The LENA system

includes a Digital Language

Processor (DLP) which records all

of the spoken language, electronic

media, background noise and

conversation exchanges a child

wearing the DLP is exposed to in

a normal day, as well as their own

vocal responses. The recordings

in the DLP are then uploaded and

analysed by a computer containing

LENA software. The LENA software

produces simple graphs which

allow parents to readily see how

much their own talk with their child

compares with the recommended

averages needed to optimise their

children’s literacy and academic

potential. It is that simple!

We are very excited to have

acquired the LENA system, it has

incredible potential here at the

Cora Barclay Centre to improve

the language outcomes for

children with hearing loss. Parents

often tell me that the annual

formalised assessments do not

always accurately represent their

child’s true abilities. When put in

the spot light many children will

simply not ‘perform’. LENA will

be used alongside standardised

assessments to allow us to get a

sample of children’s language in

their natural environment of the

home. This tool is so empowering

for parents as they can look at

the graphs of their child’s DLP

recordings and know whether

their everyday conversational

interactions with their child are

optimal in terms of maximising

their child’s language, literacy and

academic opportunities. If not, they

can change the amount they talk

with their children overnight!

Please be assured that the Cora

Barclay Centre clinicians will

only have access to the data and

will not be listening to the audio

recording. Once the information

has been uploaded and analysed

the recording itself will be deleted.

A few families have generously

offered to trial the system in Term 1

and we will be asking other families

if they would like to participate in

Term 2. If you have any questions

please come and see me or speak

to your therapist.

Rachael Ward Early Intervention Manager

Introducing LENA

PAGE 5

Cora Barclay Centre audiologist, Cindy Marples, was invited by the Audiology Team at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) into the operating theatre to watch Cora Barclay Centre student, Shun-Nga Hui, have surgery for her second implant. Cindy joined the team at WCH to undertake an inter-operative Neural Response Telemetry (NRT) test during surgery.

An NRT test is used to check the

electrodes once the array has been

inserted into the patient’s cochlea.

It measures the impedance as

well as neural responses on each

electrode. Shun-Nga’s implant

impendence measures were

good and there were good neural

responses on each electrode.

The NRT response will be used to

shape Shun-Nga’s MAP and guide

the audiologists with initial mapping.

“I enjoyed being part of the team.

It was a great opportunity to see

first-hand the amazing work

Team Blue

The Cora Barclay Centre is

committed to supporting student

placements in the fields of Speech

Pathology, Audiology and Deaf

Education Teaching in order to:

Prepare students for entry into

the profession

Provide a range of clinical

experiences

Enable the development of

professional skills

Inspire potential future therapists/

audiologists/teachers of the deaf

The benefits from our support of students include:

Student contributions to projects

and programs

Ability to deploy someone onto

minor projects

Opportunity to assess prospective

employees

Contribution to community

engagement goals of

the organisation

The student placements we

offer range from single day

introductions, to term long

integration. Students come with

a range of required competencies

and are expected to learn and

Student placements at the Centre

“I enjoyed being part of the team. It was a great opportunity to see first-hand

the work undertaken at the WCH and to be so hands-on myself.”

Photo: WCH Audiology Team and Cindy

(Left to right) Megan Walsh, Katie Nuttall, Cindy Marples, Tony Marciano

undertaken at the WCH and to

be so hands-on myself” said Cindy.

I really felt a part of the team,

especially once we were all in

our blue theatre suits.”

Cindy also attended Shun-Nga’s

initial switch-on at WCH two

weeks after surgery.

Shun-Nga will soon be resuming

her cochlear implant appointments

at the Cora Barclay Centre

with Cindy. Congratulations

Shun-Nga on her second implant!

Cindy MarplesAudiologist, Allied Health Team Manager

develop their skills. Students

have national police clearances,

first aid training and appropriate

immunisations.

Student observations and

involvement in your child’s

therapy sessions is entirely at

your discretion. Your permission

will be sought prior to the session

and you are under no obligation

to agree. Student involvement

can be a wonderfully enriching

experience, where you can share

and consolidate your knowledge

and skills as your child’s primary

language facilitator. Any and all

involvement you permit is

greatly appreciated.

Bronwyn O’Sullivan Listening and Spoken Language Specialist

PAGE 6

Book of the month: Boom Bah

Please welcome Kathryn Anderson to the Cora Barclay Centre Early Intervention team. Kathryn is a Speech and Language Pathologist who has been working in early intervention for the past three years with children who are deaf. Kathryn will be working with the Centre towards her formal

Early Intervention Team Changes

qualification as a Listening and Spoken Language certified Auditory Verbal Therapist (LSLS Cert. AVT)

Please also say farewell to Bronwyn

O’Sullivan, who will be commencing

maternity leave at the beginning of

Term 2. Best wishes to Bronwyn on

her impending joyful arrival!

PAGE 7

Here is the story...

Boom Bah! is a story of a group of

farm animals that decide to start

up a band using everyday house

hold items as instruments. The

story begins with a mouse banging

a wooden spoon on a cup to make

a sound (Ting). This prompts other

animals to make a sound and a

cat responds with a ‘Tong!’ by

hitting a canned item with a spoon.

The reader is prompted to listen

and hear what other sounds the

animals are making with their new

instruments. Soon a pig, a chicken

and a goat join in and march

around the farm using a bowl, a

box, a cup, some sticks and a bell

as instruments. Each instrument

makes their own ‘Learning to

Listen’ sound (Tap Tap, Clickety

Click!). More and more animals join

in and they all start to dance to

the music. As they are dancing to

the music, they discover another

band of farm animals approaching

making their own music with real

musical instruments such as a tuba,

a drum, a trombone and cymbals.

They all decide to play music,

dance around together and make

a loud noise – BOOM BAH! At the

end, they decide to play ‘follow

the leader’ who marches to the

farmer’s front door where they

pose and say TAH DAH!

This story was a great way to start

the year as it prompted children to

listen to the sounds around them.

In the book, the mouse prompted

the reader and other animals to

‘Listen… What’s that sound?’

Activities you can do...

You can point to your ear and say

‘Listen... What can you hear now?’

Maybe your child can hear the

birds outside, some traffic going

by, the dishwasher running in the

kitchen, pets scurrying on the

floor, dogs barking, cats meowing,

or even... silence.

Try experimenting with different

sounds around the house by going

on your own listening walk using

a wooden spoon. See what other

items make a sound. What kind

of noise does it make? What

does a cup vs. a can sound like?

What does a bowl vs. a box

sound like? What other objects

make noise when you hit them

with a wooden spoon?

Encourage your child to make their

own instruments with everyday

items. I remember as a child using

pots and pans as drums and lids

as cymbals. It is also easy to make

your own instruments at home

using empty bottles and tins and

filling them up with rice, lentils,

pebbles, salt etc.

Line up different sized bins as

drums to make different tones, or

use large and small lids as cymbals.

Dance to a rhythm of the beat and

sing your favourite song!

Shake your shakers fast and then

slow, up high and then down low

using a high and low tone. Contrast

loud sounds vs. soft sounds and

then STOP!

Imitate a rhythm and see if your

child can imitate it back and vice

versa.

There are so many fun ways to

make music around the house and

it doesn’t involve spending lots

of money on instruments or even

leaving your own home. Above all,

enjoy this time you have with your

child, and remember to listen...

Sarah Lacanilao Listening and Spoken Language Specialist

PAGE 8

By becoming an event volunteer

you will receive regular emails

with details of upcoming events

at which the Centre needs support,

and you can choose the ones at

which you’d like to lend a hand.

It really is that easy.

We have a number of events

already this year for which we will

be looking for volunteer support.

These include:

APRIL

National Wine Centre Uncorked Selling raffle tickets at the

Torbreck Winery Uncorked event.

JULY

Westfield Give Ability Day

Taking donations at one of the

three Westfield centres; Marion,

West Lakes and Tea Tree Plaza.

AUGUST

Port Adelaide vs. St Kilda football match

Taking donations at Adelaide Oval.

SEPTEMBER

Sunday Mail City to Bay

Helping to set up our marquee

and cooking the BBQ for

runners and walkers.

OCTOBER

Loud Shirt Day Barbecues

Cooking and selling sausages at

Bunnings stores across SA on

Loud Shirt Day.

NOVEMBER

Picnic at Marble Hill Selling strawberries and cream

and promoting the raffle.

Westfield Tea Tree Plaza Melbourne Cup Event Selling sweeps and raffle tickets.

As you can see there are already

some great opportunities to

support the Cora Barclay Centre

this year. We know when you have

children it can be tricky to get a

babysitter, therefore, why not bring

the kids along! It’s a great way to

introduce them to supporting their

local community!

To be part of our volunteering list

call, email or drop by the office and

see Louise.

8267 9200 lbaida@corabarclay.com.au

Louise Baida Campaigns & Events Coordinator

Volunteers needed

The Cora Barclay Centre needs

volunteers to support our events

throughout the year. Whether you volunteer once a week, once a month or once a year,

we’d love to hear from you.

PAGE 9

Those of you who have been on service at the Cora Barclay Centre might think the answer to this question is quite simple as it has likely been drilled into you by your therapist several times: minimise background noise, speak to the better ear and get down on your child’s level… right? While this is all correct, there is much more that can be taught about how to create a really great learning environment that involves more than just acoustic-based alterations.

Turn off your phone.

Turn off your phone while

playing with your child not just

to reduce chances of noise but

also to minimise distractions for

yourself and interruptions to your

play routine. In today’s high tech

world we are constantly glued to

our mobiles and tablets for text

messaging, emails, Facebook,

etc., not just talking on the phone.

Although this has been immensely

convenient for us, it has created

a culture of detachment from the

here and now and has provided

us with an endless stream of

distractions from daily life, which

includes in-depth play with our

children. Set aside some mobile/

technology free time to play

with your child, it will lessen the

likelihood that you will be drawn

away from play to answer to dings

and beeps and increase the quality

of one-on-one interaction.

Control the toys.

While we do want you to follow

your child’s lead, if there are

countless toys that are easily

accessible to your child, you will

find yourself just trying to keep

up from one activity to the next.

Limiting the amount of toys is

more likely to increase your child’s

attention span to a particular item

as there will be less distraction

and clutter. Put most of the toys

somewhere that is not accessible or

that requires your child to ask for

their toys. Alternatively, just have

a maximum of 3 or 4 toys that are

accessible and allow your child to

choose between these. Rotating

these toys every day or every

couple days will help to keep things

fresh and interesting. How often

you rotate them might depend on

your child’s level of interest in the

toys. Not only will this help increase

attention, it will create motivation

for your child to speak up.

Create a theme.

Make crafts and select toys and

books based on a specific theme

for the week. You can decide the

theme, or if your child is older and

is in child care or kindergarten, ask

the carers/teachers for a list of

themes that they will be using that

term and reinforce these themes at

home (e.g. garden, insects, body

parts, ocean, etc.). Children love

and need repetition to learn, and

creating a theme is a great way

to reinforce new vocabulary in a

variety of contexts.

Be an OWL parent. Observe. Wait. Listen.

With a lot of focus on teaching

our children in Auditory-Verbal

Therapy, it is one of the most

important things that parents

often forget to do. We need to be

active observers and also allow

ample processing time for children

to respond to our statements,

requests, and questions. Take a

step back from doing all the

talking and remember that we are

also learning about our children.

By observing, waiting and listening

we allow processing time and

an opportunity to be part of a

conversation. Participation rather

than intrusion on play will help

to promote a more positive play

environment for your child as it

allows them to explore and learn

about their surroundings freely.

In summary, while it is important

to create a good acoustic

environment for your child, it is

equally important that we are

aware of how our own actions can

influence this environment and how

we can change our behaviours to

maximise child learning.

Lia Hardy Listening and Spoken Language Specialist Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist

The Big Question: How can I create a learning-friendly environment?

Put most of the toys somewhere that is not

accessible or that requires your child to ask for their

toys. Not only will this help increase attention, it will create

motivation for your child to

speak up.

PAGE 10

Family Spotlight: Lola

My partner Ryan and I welcomed our beautiful baby Lola Taih Cuell into the world on the 29th May 2013 at 3:16am.

Lola was a tiny 2600gms and after

a week her feeding was very poor

so she began to lose weight and

had also developed a rash all over

her body.

The doctors checked her and

we were rushed straight to the

Women’s and Children’s Hospital

where they would continue to do

more tests.

After a night in hospital where

my tiny little baby had a large

needle inserted into her bladder

the paediatrician came around

and gave us the news. Lola had a

virus called Cytomegalovirus or

congenital CMV. Ryan and I had

never heard of it and so didn’t

really think much of it because we

thought to ourselves “It’s just a

virus and she will get better right?”

The doctors then explained to us

that CMV is passed to an unborn

child if the mother gets a primary

infection and it passes through the

placenta to the foetus. We were

then told that the range of side

effects that CMV can have on the

unborn child are:

Cerebral Palsy, blindness, deafness,

seizures, respiration issues, inability

to thrive, tube feeding, enlarged

organs, brain damage and in some

cases even still birth.

The heartbreak we then felt was

unimaginable, that something

so horrible could happen to our

precious baby girl.

All the testing began, firstly she had

ultrasounds and they discovered

she had enlarged organs. They then

tested her eyesight, and thankfully

it was pristine. CT scans on Lola

had revealed some calcification

on her brain, and she then had her

hearing test.

As the ABR test was being done

we were told which sounds Lola

wasn’t responding to, as we got

to the end of the test the lady

explained very nicely to us that

Lola wasn’t responding to any

of the sounds and that Lola was

profoundly deaf.

I took it on the chin and after five

minutes I needed some time to

myself to ‘grieve’ if you will, and

adjust to the fact my baby couldn’t

hear. She would never be able to

hear us tell her we love her, hear us

sing to her, hear the birds chirp or

water splashing. Our hearts were

breaking for her but we wouldn’t

love her any less and we would get

through this together.

We had to play the waiting game

to see what the future held for Lola.

After three weeks in hospital we

were finally allowed to go home

with a feeding tube and oxygen,

but as we were about to leave got

a call to say Lola was going to have

some hearing aid moulds done.

“Lola was ‘switched on’ and was able to hear us for the first time.

It was MAGICAL

and we felt so blessed she

was finally able to hear us.”

PAGE 11

After months of hospital trips and

more hearing tests it was decided

at about 6 months that the hearing

aids weren’t suitable for Lola to

learn speech and that she was

a candidate for Cochlear implants.

Lola received her bilateral Cochlear

implants at only 9 months of age

and was switched on almost a

month later aged 10 months. On

Wednesday 26th March 2014 Lola

was ‘switched on’ and was able to

hear us for the first time.

It was MAGICAL and we felt so

blessed she was finally able to

hear us.

Lola is a natural communicator and

happily accepted wearing the CI

processors. Within weeks she was

trying to imitate sounds she heard

and we could say “Lola where, are

the fish, shh-shh-shh?” And she

would look at the fish tank.

Now it is only 11 months since

she was ‘switched on’ and she

“Now it is only 11 months since she was ‘switched on’ and she understands so many things and is trying to say new words everyday mixed up with her constant chattering.“

understands so many things

and is trying to say new words

everyday mixed up with her

constant chattering.

We were also told that Lola may

never be able to walk but she

reached this milestone at Christmas

time 2014 and is continuing to

grow into a beautiful little person

with a wonderful personality and

is now thriving.

A huge thank you to her

therapist Chris!

PAGE 12

Family CONNECT

In response to family requests FamilyCONNECT has been developed to help families connect with other

families receiving services at the Cora Barclay Centre.

The Family CONNECT folder will be available in the Rainbow Room for access by families.

We encourage you to submit contact information you are happy to share by completing the form available from your therapist or at reception.

To find out more you can email reception@corabarclay.com.au.

PAGE 13

185 Melbourne Street North Adelaide 5006

08 8267 9200

reception@corabarclay.com.au

corabarclay.com.au