Auditory-Verbal Therapy in Practice
The 10 Principles of Auditory-Verbal
Therapy
Translating the Principles Into Best
Practice
Guiding Principles of AVT
1.
Promote early diagnosis of hearing loss in newborns, infants,
toddlers, and young children, followed by immediate
audiologic management and Auditory-Verbal Therapy.
Guiding Principles of AVT
1. Best Practice
Newborn hearing screening
 Quick referral from diagnosis to early intervention
 Knowledgeable audiologists
 Access to counselling services

In depth understanding of auditory development
 Therapist-audiologist partnership

Guiding Principles of AVT
2.
Recommend immediate assessment and use of appropriate,
state-of-the-art hearing technology to obtain maximum
benefits of auditory stimulation.
Guiding Principles of AVT
2. Best Practice
Newborn hearing screening
 Immediate referral
 Knowledgeable audiologists

Understanding of the urgency
 Therapist-audiologist partnership
 Consistent device wear
 Importance of excellent counselling services

Guiding Principles of AVT
3.
Guide and coach parents to help their child use hearing as the
primary sensory modality in developing listening and spoken
language.
Guiding Principles of AVT
3. Best Practice
 AVT
 Understanding
of the benefits and outcomes from AVT
from the top down and all stages in between
 Skilled, certified therapists
Working partnerships with parents
 Parents as active, enabled service users
 Genuine provision of what parents want
 The IFSP process

Guiding Principles of AVT
4.
Guide and coach parents to become the primary facilitators of
their child’s listening and spoken language development
through active consistent participation in individualized
Auditory-Verbal Therapy.
Guiding Principles of AVT
4. Best Practice
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AVT
Understanding of the benefits and outcomes from AVT from the top
down and all stages in between
Skilled, certified therapists
Provision for participation
Individualized therapy-individualized to
individualized to child’s learning styles
 =understanding of child’s current level
 =diagnostic teaching
 =clinical goal setting
parents’
learning
styles,
Guiding Principles of AVT
5.
Guide and coach parents to create environments that support
listening for the acquisition of spoken language throughout the
child’s daily activities.
Guiding Principles of AVT
5. Best Practice
AVT is not about what happens at the table
 It is about the approximately 83 other hours during the
week!
 Strategies for parents are the end point of therapy
 =child’s current level
 =try things out in therapy to see what works
 =parent go away and practise for the next week

Guiding Principles of AVT
6.
Guide and coach parents to help their child integrate listening
and spoken language into all aspects of the child’s life.
Guiding Principles of AVT
6. Best Practice
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Clarity of purpose
The Individual Family Service Plan
All member of the team working towards the same goals in the
same way
Joined up expectations
Generalization of strategies and skills
Therapy outside the therapy table?
Therapy at home?
Guiding Principles of AVT
7.
Guide and coach parents to use natural developmental
patterns of audition, speech, language, cognition and
communication.
Guiding Principles of AVT
7. Best Practice
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Why natural developmental patterns?
Because we can’t cheat
Catching up for lost hours
Excellent knowledge of typical development
Goal setting auditory development and age
Special populations
Use of appropriate tools-Integrated Scales of Development,
St.Gabriels’ Curriculum
Guiding Principles of AVT
8.
Guide and coach parents to help their child self-monitor
spoken language through listening.
Guiding Principles of AVT
8. Best Practice

The auditory feedback loop

Listening to yourself is the key!
Guide and Coach Parents…
Guiding Principles of AVT
10.
Promote education in regular schools with peers who have
typical hearing and with appropriate services from early
childhood onwards.
Guiding Principles of AVT
10. Best Practice
Equipping the child to succeed in regular environments
 Exposing the child to regular environments
 Collaboration with local services
 Parents who are skilled in knowing their child’s needs
 How?
 IFSPs
 Constant contact
 Visiting services

Auditory-Verbal Therapy
Embraces the New Paradigm
Exposure in quality and quantity √
To an accessible language √
While engaged in meaningful activity √
With capable users of the language √