Here, you will discover valuable information about childhood hearing loss. Whether you are a caregiver, parent, teacher or healthcare professional, you have come to the right place.
Perhaps you are concerned about your child’s hearing or your child has been diagnosed with hearing loss. Our Centre has specialized care to support you and your family on this journey.
The first few days, weeks and months of parenthood can be overwhelming. So much to learn, so much information and so much worry! All infants should undergo a hearing screening ideally before 3 months of age. Your baby’s brain development depends on their hearing. Hearing you talk, sing and read to them builds connections in their brain so they can understand and learn about their world. Look out for these early responses to sound:
By 4 months of age babies being cooing vowel sounds like “ah”.
Babies with hearing loss will struggle to learn to talk. If your baby is not cooing, babbling or attempting their first words, do not wait. Waiting could delay your baby’s brain development. The earlier you act, the sooner your baby’s brain will learn to communicate. Communication is key to learning and reading later in life.
Some babies are at higher risk for hearing loss. Risks for hearing loss are:
Don’t try to test your baby at home, they should have their hearing tested regularly by an audiologist in the first 3 years.
CHAT stands for Children Hear and Talk. Our program specializes in Listening and Spoken Language. If you enroll at our Centre, you will participate in parent guidance along with your child and any family members or caregivers involved in your family’s life.
Your team at CHAT will walk this journey with your family – to support and provide information for you to make an informed choice for your child’s future.
If you have an appointment with us, read up on what to expect and what you need to bring (Also see: First evaluation docs required; CHAT Map). If you would like an appointment at CHAT, speak to your audiologist or Contact the Centre.
Early intervention refers to providing support as young as possible to babies and children who are at risk of poor developmental outcomes. The Carel du Toit and CHAT Centre specialize in early intervention for babies and children who are diagnosed with hearing loss and their families have chosen the listening and spoken language approach for their communication development.
Often families cannot imagine what intervention looks like with a baby. Your early interventionist will share information with you and your family with regards to your child’s hearing technology use; listening, speech and language development as well as other concerns you may want to prioritize. Remember, you are the most important member of your child’s team! Here are some helpful resources on listening and spoke language for new listeners.
Playing peek-a-boo
Eyes or Ears
The Skills we need before words
Moving to words
Joining words together
Are you working with children with hearing loss? We look forward to sharing information about paediatric audiology and the listening and spoken language approach
Our school caters for over 100 children who have hearing loss or are deaf.
All the children in our Centre have learnt to listen and speak through early intervention and parent guidance.
Hearing technology is essential in their journey, but with that comes challenges.
(Supporting Learners with hearing loss in the classroom) to find out more about how you can help the child with hearing loss in your class.
We’ve also developed a summary of classroom tips: view pdf
Here is how teachers can support Hearing Impaired learners in the classroom: watch video
