We were thrilled to collaborate with the Ear Foundation, AG Bell Association and a number of other organisations to deliver Early Intervention Conference: Getting it right 0-5 years.

On Friday 20^th and Saturday 21^st October world-leading audiologists, teachers of the deaf, speech and language therapists and other early years practitioners came together at the Wellcome Collection in London to collaborate and share ideas on how we can all work together to make a difference to the lives of deaf children.

Auditory Verbal UK’s Louise Ashton, Frances Clark, Noel Kenely and Catherine White all presented at the conference (more information on these talks below).

We were also delighted to have seven of our graduates introducing the keynote speakers: Hope (7), Leah (11), James (17), Bobby (7), Khush (6). Dhyana (13), and Aimee (10). All  spoke brilliantly and with confidence to an audience of nearly 200 people, demonstrating the importance of getting it right in the early years.

It was an excellent opportunity to connect with colleagues from around the world. Thank you to everyone who came to our stand to discuss how we can work together to  to create a sound future for deaf children. We look forward to continuing our conversations with you .  We were delighted to represent AG Bell at the event and thank everyone who came to the AG Bell stand to talk about the Listening and Spoken Language Certification and find out more about the work of the organisation worldwide. 

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Auditory Verbal UK presentations at the conference:

Theory of Mind and everyday talk

Frances Clark LSLS Cert AVT joined Elizabeth Tyszkiewicz LSLS Cert AVT who now works in private practice after many years at the Midlands Implant Programme in Birmingham.

Frances and Elizabeth’s workshop introduced the idea of “mind-mindedness” and had participants identify language that support children’s ability to think about others’ minds, and signposted some assessment/planning tools.

From soft toys to fantasy: a look at play through different ages and stages

Louise Ashton LSLS Cert AVT and Noel Kenely LSLS Cert AVT

In this workshop, Noel and Louise looked at the different ways that practitioners and parents can “push in” to enhance their child’s play in a purposeful way within the zone of proximal development to support thinking, listening, motivation attention and conversation.

Supporting parents from initial diagnosis to self-advocacy where their child has additional and often complex needs

Louise Ashton, LSLS Cert AVT and Catherine White LSLS Cert AVT

Louise and Catherine’s talk explored the need for practitioners to help guide parents effectively on their journey from the initial stage of not knowing what is possible, to ultimately achieving the family’s goal of their child reaching their potential in listening and communicating. It looked at the questions that should be asked in each stage to equip parents to understand their child’s hearing loss alongside their additional challenges and the different strategies they can use to accelerate progress and advance opportunities.