LISTEN UP!
Early Intervention Newsletter
Term 1, 2015
In this edition
PAGE 4
Parenting styles
What’s New
PAGE 5
Introducing LENA
PAGE 6
Team Blue
Student placements at the Centre
PAGE 7
Early Intervention Team Changes
Book of the month: Boom Bah!
PAGE 9
Volunteers needed
PAGE 10
The Big Question: How can I create a learning-friendly environment?
PAGE 11
Family Spotlight: Lola
Term dates 2015
Therapy is offered to families throughout the school terms
and also in the first week of each school holiday break.
Group programs do not take place in the school holidays.
MONDAY 20 JANUARY TO FRIDAY 10 APRIL
Term 1
MONDAY 27 APRIL TO FRIDAY 3 JULY
Term 2
MONDAY 20 JULY TO FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER
Term 3
MONDAY 12 OCTOBER TO FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER
Term 4
Parent information sessions
THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2015
9.00AM -1.30PM
Breaking down the jargon — what parents need to understand about audiology
behaviour management.
RSVP required by Wednesday 8 April 2015
Ph 8267 9200 E [email protected]
Fundraising event dates
MONDAY 30 MARCH
Boardroom luncheon
SUNDAY 19 APRIL
Bay to City Run
FRIDAY 24 APRIL
Fridays Uncorked at the National Wine Centre (Torbreck Wines)
MONDAY 11 MAY
David Roche Foundation Gallery Event
SATURDAY 4 JULY
Giveability Day Westfield
SUNDAY 2 AUGUST
Port Adelaide vs St Kilda Collection
SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER
City to Bay Fun Run
SUNDAY 15 NOVEMBER
Marble Hill picnic
Would you like to help, volunteer or donate, then please call
the Development Team or email [email protected]
PAGE 3
Parenting styles
Parenting or caring for a child
brings with it immense joy as well
as immense challenges. Each day
the pendulum can swing from
one side to the other many times!
Increasingly, parenting ‘styles’ and
models of behaviour management
are being researched, as more is
understood by child development
experts about the role of brain
development and growth for
babies and young children, and
how this growth is influenced by
our caregivers. There is a wealth
of information in books and on the
internet about these topics. It can
be extremely confusing and even
overwhelming to sift through the
information available.
Parenting styles generally fall
into four broad categories:
Authoritarian, Supportive,
Permissive and Disengaged.
These categories are defined
by the amount of nurturing and
responsiveness vs demand and
control balanced in each. For
example, Authoritarian parenting
has a high level of control with low
level nurturing (children should
do as they are instructed without
question); Supportive parenting
is a balance of both (there are
clear boundaries that are open
to compromise); Permissive
parenting is often child-led
with a lack of set or enforced
boundaries or consequences;
and Disengaged parenting is
highly uncommunicative and
unresponsive. Our parenting style
is influenced by our beliefs about
children and it guides our approach
to behaviour management. It is
common for individual parents
What’s new
Both Cochlear and MED-EL are
launching new products in March.
Cochlear is introducing a line
of wireless accessories for the
Nucleus 6. This includes the
new wireless phone clip, mini
microphone and TV streamer.
These devices are only compatible
with the Nucleus 6 speech
processor (CP910 or CP920).
MED-EL has a new implant called
the Synchrony and a new speech
processor called the Sonnet.
The new speech processor is
lightweight and water resistant,
has a dual-microphone and
automatic sound management
as well as data logging.
If you would like to know more
please visit their websites at
www.cochlear.com and
ww.medel.com or speak with
Cindy Marples on 8267 9200
PAGE 4
to differ in their approach.
Most child development experts
in Australia favour the Supportive
approach as it provides a positive
and secure framework for children
to benefit from. It has structure
and rules for the child, but they are
valued and listened to with respect.
If you are interested in further
topics regarding parenting,
behaviour management, and what
to consider when making parenting
decisions, I recommend the Child
and Youth Health (CYH) Parent
Easy Guides, available online or
in hard copy via CYH Centres or
from the Cora Barclay Centre
Family Counsellor.
www.cyh.com
Belinda Dunne
Family Counsellor
Introducing LENA
In 2001, philanthropist inventor,
Terrance D Paul’s life changed
after reading a book called
‘Meaningful Differences in the
Everyday Experience of Young
American Children.’ The book by
Todd and Risley described their
painstaking research project in
which they measured how many
words were spoken to children
aged between 7 and 36 months.
They found that children in
families of high socioeconomic
status (SES) had had 30 million
more words spoken to them by
the age of 3 than children of low
SES. Essentially, they discovered
that the amount parents talked
to their children between 0 and
3 predicted the children’s later
success in school.
Terrance’s response to this
information was to develop the
LENA (Language Environment
Analysis). The LENA system
includes a Digital Language
Processor (DLP) which records all
of the spoken language, electronic
media, background noise and
conversation exchanges a child
wearing the DLP is exposed to in
a normal day, as well as their own
vocal responses. The recordings
in the DLP are then uploaded and
analysed by a computer containing
LENA software. The LENA software
produces simple graphs which
allow parents to readily see how
much their own talk with their child
compares with the recommended
averages needed to optimise their
children’s literacy and academic
potential. It is that simple!
We are very excited to have
acquired the LENA system, it has
incredible potential here at the
Cora Barclay Centre to improve
the language outcomes for
children with hearing loss. Parents
often tell me that the annual
formalised assessments do not
always accurately represent their
child’s true abilities. When put in
the spot light many children will
simply not ‘perform’. LENA will
be used alongside standardised
assessments to allow us to get a
sample of children’s language in
PAGE 5
their natural environment of the
home. This tool is so empowering
for parents as they can look at
the graphs of their child’s DLP
recordings and know whether
their everyday conversational
interactions with their child are
optimal in terms of maximising
their child’s language, literacy and
academic opportunities. If not, they
can change the amount they talk
with their children overnight!
Please be assured that the Cora
Barclay Centre clinicians will
only have access to the data and
will not be listening to the audio
recording. Once the information
has been uploaded and analysed
the recording itself will be deleted.
A few families have generously
offered to trial the system in Term 1
and we will be asking other families
if they would like to participate in
Term 2. If you have any questions
please come and see me or speak
to your therapist.
Rachael Ward
Early Intervention Manager
Team Blue
Cora Barclay Centre audiologist,
Cindy Marples, was invited by the
Audiology Team at the Women’s
and Children’s Hospital (WCH)
into the operating theatre to
watch Cora Barclay Centre
student, Shun-Nga Hui, have
surgery for her second implant.
Cindy joined the team at WCH
to undertake an inter-operative
Neural Response Telemetry
(NRT) test during surgery.
An NRT test is used to check the
electrodes once the array has been
inserted into the patient’s cochlea.
It measures the impedance as
well as neural responses on each
electrode. Shun-Nga’s implant
impendence measures were
good and there were good neural
responses on each electrode.
The NRT response will be used to
shape Shun-Nga’s MAP and guide
the audiologists with initial mapping.
“I enjoyed being part of the team.
It was a great opportunity to see
first-hand the amazing work
undertaken at the WCH and to
be so hands-on myself” said Cindy.
I really felt a part of the team,
especially once we were all in
our blue theatre suits.”
Cindy also attended Shun-Nga’s
initial switch-on at WCH two
weeks after surgery.
Shun-Nga will soon be resuming
her cochlear implant appointments
at the Cora Barclay Centre
with Cindy. Congratulations
Shun-Nga on her second implant!
Photo: WCH Audiology Team and Cindy
Cindy Marples
Audiologist, Allied Health Team Manager
(Left to right) Megan Walsh, Katie
Nuttall, Cindy Marples, Tony Marciano
“I enjoyed being part of the team. It was
a great opportunity to see first-hand
the work undertaken at the WCH
and to be so hands-on myself.”
Student placements at the Centre
The Cora Barclay Centre is
committed to supporting student
placements in the fields of Speech
Pathology, Audiology and Deaf
Education Teaching in order to:
The benefits from our support of
students include:
Prepare students for entry into
the profession
Ability to deploy someone onto
minor projects
Provide a range of clinical
experiences
Opportunity to assess prospective
employees
Enable the development of
professional skills
Contribution to community
engagement goals of
the organisation
Inspire potential future therapists/
audiologists/teachers of the deaf
Student contributions to projects
and programs
The student placements we
offer range from single day
introductions, to term long
integration. Students come with
a range of required competencies
and are expected to learn and
PAGE 6
develop their skills. Students
have national police clearances,
first aid training and appropriate
immunisations.
Student observations and
involvement in your child’s
therapy sessions is entirely at
your discretion. Your permission
will be sought prior to the session
and you are under no obligation
to agree. Student involvement
can be a wonderfully enriching
experience, where you can share
and consolidate your knowledge
and skills as your child’s primary
language facilitator. Any and all
involvement you permit is
greatly appreciated.
Bronwyn O’Sullivan
Listening and Spoken
Language Specialist
Early Intervention Team Changes
Please welcome Kathryn Anderson
to the Cora Barclay Centre Early
Intervention team. Kathryn is a
Speech and Language Pathologist
who has been working in early
intervention for the past three
years with children who are deaf.
Kathryn will be working with
the Centre towards her formal
qualification as a Listening and
Spoken Language certified
Auditory Verbal Therapist
(LSLS Cert. AVT)
Please also say farewell to Bronwyn
O’Sullivan, who will be commencing
maternity leave at the beginning of
Term 2. Best wishes to Bronwyn on
her impending joyful arrival!
Book of the month: Boom Bah
PAGE 7
Here is the story...
Boom Bah! is a story of a group of
farm animals that decide to start
up a band using everyday house
hold items as instruments. The
story begins with a mouse banging
a wooden spoon on a cup to make
a sound (Ting). This prompts other
animals to make a sound and a
cat responds with a ‘Tong!’ by
hitting a canned item with a spoon.
The reader is prompted to listen
and hear what other sounds the
animals are making with their new
instruments. Soon a pig, a chicken
and a goat join in and march
around the farm using a bowl, a
box, a cup, some sticks and a bell
as instruments. Each instrument
makes their own ‘Learning to
Listen’ sound (Tap Tap, Clickety
Click!). More and more animals join
in and they all start to dance to
the music. As they are dancing to
the music, they discover another
band of farm animals approaching
making their own music with real
musical instruments such as a tuba,
a drum, a trombone and cymbals.
They all decide to play music,
dance around together and make
a loud noise – BOOM BAH! At the
end, they decide to play ‘follow
the leader’ who marches to the
farmer’s front door where they
pose and say TAH DAH!
This story was a great way to start
the year as it prompted children to
listen to the sounds around them.
In the book, the mouse prompted
the reader and other animals to
‘Listen… What’s that sound?’
Activities you can do...
You can point to your ear and say
‘Listen... What can you hear now?’
Maybe your child can hear the
birds outside, some traffic going
by, the dishwasher running in the
kitchen, pets scurrying on the
floor, dogs barking, cats meowing,
or even... silence.
Try experimenting with different
sounds around the house by going
on your own listening walk using
a wooden spoon. See what other
items make a sound. What kind
of noise does it make? What
does a cup vs. a can sound like?
What does a bowl vs. a box
sound like? What other objects
make noise when you hit them
with a wooden spoon?
Encourage your child to make their
own instruments with everyday
items. I remember as a child using
pots and pans as drums and lids
as cymbals. It is also easy to make
your own instruments at home
using empty bottles and tins and
filling them up with rice, lentils,
pebbles, salt etc.
Line up different sized bins as
drums to make different tones, or
use large and small lids as cymbals.
Dance to a rhythm of the beat and
sing your favourite song!
PAGE 8
Shake your shakers fast and then
slow, up high and then down low
using a high and low tone. Contrast
loud sounds vs. soft sounds and
then STOP!
Imitate a rhythm and see if your
child can imitate it back and vice
versa.
There are so many fun ways to
make music around the house and
it doesn’t involve spending lots
of money on instruments or even
leaving your own home. Above all,
enjoy this time you have with your
child, and remember to listen...
Sarah Lacanilao
Listening and Spoken
Language Specialist
Volunteers needed
The Cora Barclay
Centre needs
volunteers
to support
our events
throughout the
year. Whether
you volunteer
once a week,
once a month
or once a year,
we’d love to
hear from you.
By becoming an event volunteer
you will receive regular emails
with details of upcoming events
at which the Centre needs support,
and you can choose the ones at
which you’d like to lend a hand.
It really is that easy.
We have a number of events
already this year for which we will
be looking for volunteer support.
OCTOBER
Loud Shirt Day Barbecues
Cooking and selling sausages at
Bunnings stores across SA on
Loud Shirt Day.
NOVEMBER
Picnic at Marble Hill
Selling strawberries and cream
and promoting the raffle.
These include:
APRIL
National Wine Centre Uncorked
Selling raffle tickets at the
Torbreck Winery Uncorked event.
JULY
Westfield Give Ability Day
Taking donations at one of the
three Westfield centres; Marion,
West Lakes and Tea Tree Plaza.
AUGUST
Port Adelaide vs. St Kilda
football match
Taking donations at Adelaide Oval.
SEPTEMBER
Sunday Mail City to Bay
Helping to set up our marquee
and cooking the BBQ for
runners and walkers.
PAGE 9
Westfield Tea Tree Plaza
Melbourne Cup Event
Selling sweeps and raffle tickets.
As you can see there are already
some great opportunities to
support the Cora Barclay Centre
this year. We know when you have
children it can be tricky to get a
babysitter, therefore, why not bring
the kids along! It’s a great way to
introduce them to supporting their
local community!
To be part of our volunteering list
call, email or drop by the office and
see Louise.
8267 9200
[email protected]
Louise Baida
Campaigns & Events Coordinator
The Big Question: How can I create a
learning-friendly environment?
Those of you who have been
on service at the Cora Barclay
Centre might think the answer
to this question is quite simple as
it has likely been drilled into you
by your therapist several times:
minimise background noise,
speak to the better ear and get
down on your child’s level… right?
While this is all correct, there is
much more that can be taught
about how to create a really
great learning environment
that involves more than just
acoustic-based alterations.
Turn off your phone.
Turn off your phone while
playing with your child not just
to reduce chances of noise but
also to minimise distractions for
yourself and interruptions to your
play routine. In today’s high tech
world we are constantly glued to
our mobiles and tablets for text
messaging, emails, Facebook,
etc., not just talking on the phone.
Although this has been immensely
convenient for us, it has created
a culture of detachment from the
here and now and has provided
us with an endless stream of
distractions from daily life, which
includes in-depth play with our
children. Set aside some mobile/
technology free time to play
with your child, it will lessen the
likelihood that you will be drawn
away from play to answer to dings
and beeps and increase the quality
of one-on-one interaction.
Control the toys.
While we do want you to follow
your child’s lead, if there are
countless toys that are easily
accessible to your child, you will
find yourself just trying to keep
up from one activity to the next.
Limiting the amount of toys is
more likely to increase your child’s
attention span to a particular item
as there will be less distraction
and clutter. Put most of the toys
somewhere that is not accessible or
that requires your child to ask for
their toys. Alternatively, just have
a maximum of 3 or 4 toys that are
accessible and allow your child to
choose between these. Rotating
these toys every day or every
couple days will help to keep things
fresh and interesting. How often
you rotate them might depend on
your child’s level of interest in the
toys. Not only will this help increase
attention, it will create motivation
for your child to speak up.
Create a theme.
Make crafts and select toys and
books based on a specific theme
for the week. You can decide the
theme, or if your child is older and
is in child care or kindergarten, ask
the carers/teachers for a list of
themes that they will be using that
term and reinforce these themes at
home (e.g. garden, insects, body
parts, ocean, etc.). Children love
and need repetition to learn, and
creating a theme is a great way
to reinforce new vocabulary in a
variety of contexts.
Be an OWL parent.
Observe. Wait. Listen.
With a lot of focus on teaching
our children in Auditory-Verbal
Therapy, it is one of the most
important things that parents
often forget to do. We need to be
active observers and also allow
ample processing time for children
to respond to our statements,
requests, and questions. Take a
step back from doing all the
talking and remember that we are
also learning about our children.
By observing, waiting and listening
we allow processing time and
an opportunity to be part of a
conversation. Participation rather
than intrusion on play will help
to promote a more positive play
environment for your child as it
allows them to explore and learn
about their surroundings freely.
PAGE 10
Put most
of the toys
somewhere
that is not
accessible or
that requires
your child to
ask for their
toys. Not
only will this
help increase
attention, it
will create
motivation for
your child to
speak up.
In summary, while it is important
to create a good acoustic
environment for your child, it is
equally important that we are
aware of how our own actions can
influence this environment and how
we can change our behaviours to
maximise child learning.
Lia Hardy
Listening and Spoken
Language Specialist
Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist
Family Spotlight: Lola
“Lola was
‘switched on’
and was able
to hear us for
the first time.
It was
MAGICAL
and we felt so
blessed she
was finally able
to hear us.”
My partner Ryan and I welcomed
our beautiful baby Lola Taih Cuell
into the world on the 29th May
2013 at 3:16am.
Lola was a tiny 2600gms and after
a week her feeding was very poor
so she began to lose weight and
had also developed a rash all over
her body.
The doctors checked her and
we were rushed straight to the
Women’s and Children’s Hospital
where they would continue to do
more tests.
After a night in hospital where
my tiny little baby had a large
needle inserted into her bladder
the paediatrician came around
and gave us the news. Lola had a
virus called Cytomegalovirus or
congenital CMV. Ryan and I had
never heard of it and so didn’t
really think much of it because we
thought to ourselves “It’s just a
virus and she will get better right?”
The doctors then explained to us
that CMV is passed to an unborn
child if the mother gets a primary
infection and it passes through the
placenta to the foetus. We were
then told that the range of side
effects that CMV can have on the
unborn child are:
As the ABR test was being done
we were told which sounds Lola
wasn’t responding to, as we got
to the end of the test the lady
explained very nicely to us that
Lola wasn’t responding to any
of the sounds and that Lola was
profoundly deaf.
Cerebral Palsy, blindness, deafness,
seizures, respiration issues, inability
to thrive, tube feeding, enlarged
organs, brain damage and in some
cases even still birth.
I took it on the chin and after five
minutes I needed some time to
myself to ‘grieve’ if you will, and
adjust to the fact my baby couldn’t
hear. She would never be able to
hear us tell her we love her, hear us
sing to her, hear the birds chirp or
water splashing. Our hearts were
breaking for her but we wouldn’t
love her any less and we would get
through this together.
The heartbreak we then felt was
unimaginable, that something
so horrible could happen to our
precious baby girl.
All the testing began, firstly she had
ultrasounds and they discovered
she had enlarged organs. They then
tested her eyesight, and thankfully
it was pristine. CT scans on Lola
had revealed some calcification
on her brain, and she then had her
hearing test.
PAGE 11
We had to play the waiting game
to see what the future held for Lola.
After three weeks in hospital we
were finally allowed to go home
with a feeding tube and oxygen,
but as we were about to leave got
a call to say Lola was going to have
some hearing aid moulds done.
After months of hospital trips and
more hearing tests it was decided
at about 6 months that the hearing
aids weren’t suitable for Lola to
learn speech and that she was
a candidate for Cochlear implants.
Lola received her bilateral Cochlear
implants at only 9 months of age
and was switched on almost a
month later aged 10 months. On
Wednesday 26th March 2014 Lola
was ‘switched on’ and was able to
hear us for the first time.
It was MAGICAL and we felt so
blessed she was finally able to
hear us.
Lola is a natural communicator and
happily accepted wearing the CI
processors. Within weeks she was
trying to imitate sounds she heard
and we could say “Lola where, are
the fish, shh-shh-shh?” And she
would look at the fish tank.
Now it is only 11 months since
she was ‘switched on’ and she
understands so many things
and is trying to say new words
everyday mixed up with her
constant chattering.
We were also told that Lola may
never be able to walk but she
reached this milestone at Christmas
time 2014 and is continuing to
grow into a beautiful little person
with a wonderful personality and
is now thriving.
A huge thank you to her
therapist Chris!
“Now it is only 11 months since she was ‘switched on’ and
she understands so many things and is trying to say new
words everyday mixed up with her constant chattering.“
PAGE 12
Family CONNECT
In response to family requests FamilyCONNECT has
been developed to help families connect with other
families receiving services at the Cora Barclay Centre.
The Family CONNECT folder will
be available in the Rainbow Room
for access by families.
We encourage you to submit
contact information you are
happy to share by completing
the form available from your
therapist or at reception.
To find out more you can email
[email protected].
PAGE 13
185 Melbourne Street
North Adelaide 5006
08 8267 9200
[email protected]
corabarclay.com.au