One tool in the toolkit is not enough: making the case for using multisensory approaches in aural habilitation of children with reduced hearing

Purpose: This article proposes modifications to current rehabilitation methods for infants and children who are deaf or have reduced hearing. The widespread implementation of newborn hearing screening has resulted in numerous benefits to infants with reduced hearing and their families. Collectively, despite the enormous audiologic benefit that many children receive from both hearing assistive technologies and the provision of direct services aimed to support their development, numerous children with reduced hearing continue to perform below the levels of their counterparts with typical hearing in their ability to demonstrate age-appropriate functional use of language skills.

Conclusions: Studies suggest that the brains of all infants and children (including those who are deaf, who have reduced hearing, and/or who utilize hearing assistance technology) benefit from the input of multiple senses. Cognitive neuroscience and hearing science suggest a significant benefit to engaging multiple modalities for communication and increasing the amount of information that is accessible to infants and young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. By using brain science to inform the rehabilitation of children with reduced hearing, this article concludes that therapy should be multimodal while minimizing use of discrete skills, thinking of language and communication opportunities as a continuum. Further recommendations for rehabilitation are provided.