May Newsletter

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM)

May is Better Hearing & Speech Month (BHSM) which provides an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and the therapist that help provide life-altering treatment.

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Signs of hearing loss in children

Some possible signs of hearing loss in a school-age child:

• Does not follow simple commands, such as “get your shoes,” or understand simple direction

• Is easily frustrated or experiences communication breakdowns

• Is falling behind with speech and communication skills

• Cannot understand what you are saying unless they are looking directly at you

• Cannot identify where sounds are coming from

• Is exhausted at the end of school from concentrating to understand speech

• Shows signs of behavioral problems or social difficulties

• Experiences problems keeping up at school or grades slipping

Some possible signs of hearing loss in an infant or toddler:

• Does not react to loud sounds

• Does not seek out or detect where sound is coming from

• Has stopped babbling and experimenting with making sounds

• Still babbles but is not moving to more understandable speech

• Does not react to voices, even when being held

• Ear is missing or malformed at birth

If your child has hearing loss, acting as early as possible is important. Research shows that children who are implanted early can learn to speak faster than those implanted later in life. In fact, performance scores in children implanted younger are closer to scores of normal hearing children.

New evidence shows that early treatment could put your child’s development on par with their hearing peers – giving them the opportunity to excel in life.

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Speech Activity for your Little One