Effects of auditory-verbal therapy for school-aged children with hearing loss: An exploratory study

With modern improvements to hearing aids and cochlear implant (CI) technology, and consequently improved access to speech, there has been greater emphasis on listening-based therapies for children with hearing loss, such as auditory-verbal therapy (AVT). Speech and language, speech perception in noise, and reading were evaluated before and after 20 weeks of weekly speech and language therapy (SLT) based on AVT principles. Participants were 7 children (ages 5-17 years) with sensorineural hearing loss. Five participants had profound, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and used 1 or 2 CIs. The remaining 2 had moderate-to-severe and severe-to-profound losses, respectively, and used hearing aids. Significant improvements were seen in speech perception and production, and in one measure of receptive language. The challenge for future research is to conduct controlled studies using a wider range of sensitive assessment tools in order to establish the real benefits of AVT-based SLT interventions to improve outcomes.