Katherine Bartrop, Trustee Expand Katherine is an experienced leader in the charity sector, with her most recent role as Head of Regional Fundraising at Parkinson’s UK, where she doubled their fundraised income and developed a series of products including fundraising walks across the UK. Her professional interests include mentoring, learning and development, building and delivering a strategy and managing remote teams. Katherine joined the AVUK trustee board in 2022 and is excited to bring her strategic skills to the role at a time of ambitious growth for the charity. She has two young sons, Joseph and Robin. Robin is profoundly deaf with cochlear implants and joined the AVUK programme at nine months old. Outside of work, Katherine enjoys the theatre, sewing and making the most of the outdoors with her young family.
Paul Clifford, Treasurer Expand Paul is a former Company Director. An Oxford graduate, he spent most of his working life in publishing, the last 15 years as MD of Lion Hudson plc, the UK’s largest independent Christian publisher. He also had a spell of 8 years, mid-career, working for Oxfam in marketing and general management and promoting fair trade. In addition, he has been a lay minister in the Church of England for more than 25 years. Now retired, he is vice-chair of the board of governors of his local primary school. He is married with two adult daughters and two grandchildren. Paul joined the board as the Treasurer in October 2016.
What does a child need for Auditory Verbal therapy to be effective? Expand The foremost pre-requisite for AVT to be effective is that the child has supportive and encouraging parents or carers who will celebrate their child’s achievements. The people who know their child best are the parents or carer and they must be able to share their expertise of their child with their Auditory Verbal Therapist and incorporate the Auditory Verbal strategies into their everyday life, each and every day. An accurate diagnosis of the hearing loss together with the most appropriate and optimally programmed hearing technology (hearing aids or implantable devices such as a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA), cochlear implant (CI) or auditory brainstem implant (ABI)) are also essential components to get right at the start of the Auditory Verbal programme. Each parent must be confident with their child’s hearing technology and the child must be happy to wear their hearing technology consistently. Lastly, early intervention is vital if a child is to develop the language and communication skills they need to be ready to start schools alongside their hearing peers.
We cannot afford your fees. Do you offer financial support? Expand With little to no provision of Auditory Verbal therapy currently available through the NHS or publicly funded services, Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) is the only UK-wide charity that provides this support directly to deaf children and their families. We provide a programme of support for deaf children across the UK whose families want them to learn to listen and talk. As a not-for-profit organisation, we fundraise to cover the costs of providing this support to families. We ask families to make a contribution to this cost based on household income, with the remaining balance funded by donations from our generous supporters. We receive no funding from central government. Nearly 80% of families on our programme receive financial support through the bursary scheme. Should you not qualify for a bursary or require further financial help, we offer support to find other financial options you can apply for. Some families have been able to secure partial or full funding to join the programme from other charitable trusts and organisations, for example the Moondance Foundation has supported families in Wales, and the Birkdale Trust has also supported families with grants. Other families have secured funding based on, for example, their employment, geographic location or specific circumstances of their child. Some families have received support with funding from their local authority through their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Click here to find out more. We have a dedicated team who can provide support and answer any questions you might have about the bursary scheme or other financial options. Contact us on [email protected] or call 01869 325 000.
Have you worked with families where the parent(s) also have hearing loss? Expand Yes, we have worked with families where the parent(s) also have a hearing loss. If you have any specific questions or concerns please do get in touch with one of the clinical team.
We live overseas for a significant part of the year. Can we still do AVT? Expand We have experience of working with families who live or spend frequent periods of time out of the country. For example, we have worked with families in the Forces, families caring for relatives overseas and families who have needed to relocate for work. In each of these cases we have been able to offer a package that overcomes the obstacle of distance. This can include Skype sessions and telephone consultations where necessary, or a more intensive block of appointments during time spent in the UK. Please speak to one of our therapists about the options available to you.
My baby can’t hear so why bother with hearing aids? Expand If your baby has a profound hearing loss and you haven’t seen any responses to sound yet, this doesn’t always mean he/she can’t hear at all. It is actually more common for children with a profound hearing loss to have some useful hearing still. The important thing is to make sure that your baby’s hearing aids are set so that she can use his/her hearing well. This happens by working together with your local audiologist. The sessions with your auditory verbal therapist will then focus on teaching your baby to learn that sound is meaningful. See our YouTube channel to find out what babies with a profound hearing loss can do!
Help! My baby keeps pulling his/her aids out. Expand Don’t panic, this is a familiar situation for many parents and can be very frustrating at times. When a baby consistently pulls his/her hearing aids out, this can be an indication that there is an issue either with the way the hearing aids have been programmed or the hearing aid itself is uncomfortable. This is important information that you should share with your local audiologist to help them set your baby’s hearing aids appropriately. Our experience is that if a baby is getting auditory benefit from their hearing aids and they are comfortable to wear, they will not pull them out.
How effective is AVT for children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD)? Expand Auditory Verbal therapy is especially useful for children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD) as it equips you with the tools you need to be able to check your child’s listening at home whenever you feel your child’s hearing levels have changed. This enables you to make adjustments to your input and environment and these techniques can be used in the home as well as by staff in nursery or school. With the changeable nature of ANSD, it is really important that as much information is gathered as possible so that you can make a decision and a plan about how best to manage your child’s hearing loss as soon as possible. For children with ANSD we offer a diagnostic period for three months to look specifically at what your child is hearing day to day and what they can functionally do with their listening and we train you as the parent/carer to be the best observer of your child so that you can confidently judge when he or she is or isn’t hearing you and how well he or she is hearing you. We have a large number of children on our caseload with ANSD who are showing, with the appropriate amplification, that they have the ability to learn to listen and talk. For further information, see https://alicesears.com – a blog written for parents of children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD). Alice graduated from Auditory VerbalUK in 2013 with age-appropriate language.
Milly Ehren, Trustee Expand Milly joined the Board of Trustees in 2021. Milly is an experienced strategy professional, with a passion for creating social value and lasting impact. She is currently working at the City of London Corporation as Strategic Project Lead for Bridge House Estates (an ancient charitable trust). Milly brings her skills in articulating organisation-wide thinking on strategic issues and implementing transformational projects to support AVUK as it embarks on its major investment programme. Milly will act as Board lead for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and will support AVUK to further develop and implement its DEI policies and plans. Milly is a strong advocate for people with disabilities and brings her personal experience of living with a chronic invisible illness. Milly’s lived experience affords her a natural insight and empathy that will help support families in their journeys through Auditory Verbal therapy.
Vinay Purwaha, Trustee Expand Vinay is an accomplished programme manager specialist with over a decade of successful experience in delivering global projects on time and within budget. His experience is spread across various industries such as retail, biopharmaceutical, public sector (NHS and local government) and premium fashion retail. He has extensive experience in introducing global customer-centric initiatives, implementing cutting-edge strategies and managing change within large global organisations. Auditory Verbal UK's aspirations to provide children with hearing loss the opportunity to lead enriched lives inspired Vinay to become a Trustee in September 2021. He is passionate about contributing to a worthwhile cause and to support AVUK’s growth plans. He is keen to promote diversity and inclusion in his role, which is in keeping with his well roundedness as an individual. He holds a bachelors in mathematics and he received his MBA from Warwick Business School. Vinay is a service user of AVUK and has two young children. Outside of work, he is also a Member at a local academy school, enjoys road cycling and can sometimes be found binge watching documentaries on Netflix.
Gillian Smith, Trustee Expand Gillian Smith FCIPD Having spent most of her career in the Civil Service, Gillian leads on People and Culture aspects of Accelerated Service Transformation in HMRC. She has led Equality, Diversity and Inclusion functions in several Government Departments and in a voluntary capacity has worked extensively with disadvantaged young people, coaching and supporting them to flourish in life and work. Joining the AVUK Trustee Board in 2022, Gillian brings experience of having held Trustee roles in other organisations and having been a Governor at Great Ormond Street Hospital. She also brings her professional experience in Human Resources, business transformation and public policy making. As a mother of a child who became seriously unwell and needed access to additional services, she has first-hand experience of navigating the health and education systems and understands the challenges for parents faced with similar challenges. She is driven by a determination to help build a fairer world with good access to provision, removing barriers that create disadvantage.
Susan Ronson Expand Susan and her family have supported Auditory Verbal UK for many years since she attended sessions with her young grandson. Susan has generously volunteered time to advise us on our Legacy fundraising drawing on her experience from working with other charities.
Alexandra Woolgar Expand Alexandra is one three daughters of of Auditory Verbal UK's Founding Director, Jacqueline Stokes. Alex has volunteered her time and professional expertise to the charity over the past 10 years. She is co-author of the report ‘An evaluation of Auditory Verbal Therapy using rate of early language development as an outcome measure’. She developed the charity’s first website and has provided support over the past 10 years despite moving to Australia in September 2011. Alex hopes to build further links with sister organisations in Sydney.
Elizabeth Mills OBE Expand Elizabeth Mills runs public affairs consultancy, Éminence Grise, which provides strategic development, research and fundraising support, and event and conference management for a range of voluntary sector organisations. Clients have included The Campaign to End Loneliness, Age UK Oxfordshire, Norwood, DISCS Foundation, Friends of the Elderly, BUPA Care Services, the UK Age Research Forum. She is on the advisory board for apetito, the company providing wholesome meals for older people in receipt of domiciliary or residential care. She was Director, Research into Ageing (the UK national medical research charity) from 1990 until 2001 when she led the charity into full merger with Help the Aged (now Age UK). In 2000, she was awarded the British Society for Research on Ageing “Lord Cohen of Birkenhead Medal for Services to Gerontology” and in 2002 she was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Honours for services to ageing research. In 2013 she received the award of Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Brighton and in 2016 a similar Honorary Doctorate from the University of Aston. Her voluntary activities include chairing the board of Creative Dementia Arts Network. She is also Honorary Director of Homeshare International, promoting the exchange of accommodation for companionship around the world and is actively involved with the Catholic church of St Aloysius, the Oxford Oratory, where she serves as Parish Registrar. Elizabeth was an early trustee of AVUK from May 2003 until June 2016.
Jim & Becky Shearer - East Staffordshire Expand Jim and Becky's son Louie was diagnosed with a high-frequency moderate sensorineural hearing loss at his newborn hearing screening; he was born prematurely at 34 weeks. He attended Auditory Verbal UK from six months of age and went from strength to strength with each session he attended. He is now thriving at mainstream school. Becky said: "AVUK showed me that having a hearing impaired child did not mean he should be held back in any way. They provided me, as Louie's mother, with strength and positivity and I can honestly say that I do not know what we would have done without AVUK." The Shearer's are based East Staffordshire. If you would like to speak with Jim and Becky about their experience, please email [email protected]
What happens if the AV approach doesn’t work for our family? Expand The Auditory Verbal approach is diagnostic – this means that within each session, the AV therapist will be listening and watching with you as the child’s parent/carer, to evaluate the goals and expectations that were set for you and your child. Therapy goals are then tailored based on the needs of the family and the child. When a family first join the programme, they are advised that there will be a diagnostic period when the questions above can be addressed in detail. If, after this period, the joint conclusions of the family and the therapist is that the approach is enabling the child to listen and learn, then the child’s individualised programme will continue with on-going monitoring and review. If the programme is not working for you and your child, we think with you about the possible reasons and make a plan for what needs to happen next. We actively support families to find the most appropriate communication approach for their child and the best means of supporting your child’s learning at the earliest possible time.
Dhyana Gopal Expand My name is Dhyana, and I was born profoundly deaf. However, I was only diagnosed when I was 5 months old. My parents were scared for my future, and with no prior experience of deafness, they faced many options and difficult decisions. At this challenging time, they met the inspirational late Jacqueline Stokes, founder of AVUK, who gave them hope that using Auditory Verbal therapy, there was an expectation that young deaf children could learn to listen and speak using optimally working hearing technology, and that they could attend mainstream education and become independent participating citizens in mainstream society. On the strength of this vision, our journey with AVUK began, and I graduated when I was 5 years old, with listening and language skills equivalent to that of a 7-year-old. 7 years later when my brother Khush was born profoundly deaf, my parents did not hesitate in contacting AVUK immediately and starting a new journey with him. AVUK has become an integral part of our lives and has impacted me in the most positive way. Because of AVUK I am more confident and independent today. I attended a mainstream grammar school, and after successfully completing my GCSEs, I went on to study the International Baccalaureate, taking English Literature, Biology and Chemistry as my Higher Level subjects. I will now be going to the University of East Anglia to study medicine. I am able to appreciate and enjoy music and dance, and I am a grade 5 violinist. I have also completed the Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards, and I have travelled internationally on my own. Most importantly, I believe that AVUK has given me the chance to be an outgoing young adult who can embrace the same opportunities as my hearing peers, and who can believe in my dreams. For this, I will always be grateful to AVUK. I have raised money for AVUK by having Loud Shirt Days at school, as well as successfully nominating AVUK as the main school charity for the whole academic year. I have spoken about deafness and AVUK at general school assemblies and at the Founders Day Service to an audience of over 1000 people. I have also been invited to introduce important speakers at AVUK conventions. In 2017, I took part in a film for the Centre of Social Justice who awarded Auditory Verbal UK the Model of Excellence Award. I have also participated in general promotional videos to create awareness of AVUK. Additionally, in 2021, I was an interviewer on the panel in an event for fundraisers, who attended to find out more about Auditory Verbal Therapy. I also attended an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting with members of Parliament and attendees from interested organisations (e.g. the British Deaf Association, RNID, NDCS), in a meeting to discuss the impact of early support on outcomes for deaf children, and what AVUK strives to achieve. In both these events, I talked about my personal experiences and contributed to the discussions on the role of AVUK. I am proud to be a Young Ambassador, and I would like more deaf children to benefit from the amazing and truly life changing work that AVUK does.
Khush Gopal Expand My name is Khush and like my sister Dhyana, I was born profoundly deaf. I graduated from Auditory Verbal UK when I was 3 years old. I think AVUK is incredible because I can do all the things my hearing friends can do. I attended a mainstream primary school where I took part in all activities including nativity plays and residential trips. I also took on leadership roles such as class vice-captain, prefect and being a member of the school council. I successfully passed my 11+ tests and will be going to a mainstream grammar school – I am really excited for all the different opportunities I will get there! I enjoy sports, especially tennis, cricket, football (I support Manchester United!), and table tennis, and play competitively for both my school and club. My other hobbies include playing the piano, reading, and playing video games, especially FIFA 22! At my school I have spoken in assembly about deafness and raised money for AVUK by having a Loud Shirt Day. I have introduced important speakers at AVUK conventions. In 2017, I took part in a film for the Centre of Social Justice who awarded Auditory Verbal UK the Model of Excellence Award. I have also taken part in general promotional videos to create awareness of AVUK, as well as specific videos for Loud Shirt Day and Christmas. In 2022 I was an AVUK Power of Speech winner, and attended an event at the Houses of Parliament where I got to read out the story I had written: “The Sorcerer’s Ruby”. I am proud to be a Young Ambassador. AVUK has given me amazing listening and speaking skills, and I would like other deaf children to be able to have the same opportunities as me!
Khrystal Adams, Operations Executive Expand Khrystal has joined AVUK’s operations team recently. Supporting the Operations Manager, Khrystal assists with a wide variety of tasks within each part of AVUK. Khrystal works Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, remotely and in our London office. Email: [email protected]
Antonia Aldous, Auditory Verbal Therapist Expand Antonia’s first degree was in Biomedical Science from Kings College London. After a few years in medical research, she retrained as a Speech and Language Therapist at City University in London, qualifying in 2002. She worked at Hounslow Primary Care Trust for 5 years, working with preschool and primary aged children with hearing loss as well as in a language unit. Antonia then moved to the Speech Language and Hearing Centre at Christopher Place in London where she worked as a Highly Specialised Speech and Language Therapist with preschool children with hearing loss and their families. As part of her role, she was the Speech and Language Therapist on the Cochlear Implant Team at St Georges Hospital where she worked for 5 years. It was whilst at St Georges Hospital that she was first introduced to Auditory Verbal Therapy. She was so enthused and excited by it, that she started her training as and Auditory Verbal Therapist at AVUK, qualifying as an LSLS Cert. AVT in 2016. Antonia is passionate about helping children meet their auditory potential, empowering and skilling parents and carers. She believes that therapy should be fun and enjoyable for everybody! Antonia works part-time remotely and at the London Centre on Mondays and Wednesdays from home, 9.45am to 13.45. E mail: [email protected]
Lyndsey Allen, Auditory Verbal Therapist Expand Graduating as a Speech and Language Therapist in 1998, Lyndsey’s spent 25 years learning about child development and supporting families to get better outcomes for their children. She’s worked across public, private, and charitable sectors in both clinical and leadership roles, cementing an international reputation as a speaker and trainer. A LSLS Certified Auditory Verbal Therapist since 2008 and PRINCE 2 qualified project manager, she has a distinctive skill set of clinical and business skills. She’s currently working across 3 different organisations. As conference director for ASLTIP (Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice), as clinician and consultant for her independent practice THINK TALK and LEARN, and with AVUK across both training and clinical teams. When she’s not working you might find her pulling some shapes on a yoga mat or hanging out with kids at the park. Publications Hutchins., T. Allen., L & Schefer., M (2017) Using the Theory of Mind Inventory to Detect a Broad Range of Theory of Mind Challenges in Children with Hearing Loss: A Pilot Study Deafness & Education International (Published online 2017.01.23) Allen, L. & Simpson Allen, J (2012) What can a parent and professional do in a home-based program when they do not have a lot of “therapy” toys? In W. Estabrooks (Ed.), 101 Frequently Asked Questions About Auditory-Verbal Practice (pp.93-97). Washington DC: The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Plus numerous articles for professional and parent publications such as Bulletin (SLT magazine) and BATOD (Teacher of the Deaf magazine). Lyndsey works Wednesday between 10am-12pm. Email: [email protected]
Caroline Armstrong, Senior Partnerships Manager Expand Caroline joined AVUK in April 2023 as Senior Partnerships Manager (maternity cover). She has lived experience of how Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) helps deaf children with listening and speaking skills. Her nephew in Australia was born deaf and with the support of AVT he has communication skills on par with his peers and aspires to be an actor. See Ryan’s story. She has a wealth of experience working with global and national brands and their CSR and corporate communication teams. Her passion and focus are to build strong funding partnerships with corporates, individuals, and the government here in the UK enabling AVUK to achieve their 10-year target of life-changing unrestricted access to AVT for all deaf children 0-5 years, their families, and carers. A model that is already available in many other countries like Australia. Email: [email protected] Telephone: 020 3763 6492 Pronouns: She/Her
Louise Ashton, Training Lead and Senior Auditory Verbal Therapist Expand MA Communication Pathology, MRCSLT, PgDip Auditory Verbal Therapy, LSLS Cert. AVT® Louise is a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, Certified Auditory Verbal Therapist. She is dually trained as a Speech-Language Therapist and Audiologist and obtained her masters degree at the University of Pretoria, South Africa in 2004. Louise relocated to the UK and specialised in delivering audiology and speech and language therapy to various client groups working for the National Health Service (NHS) and Local Authorities (LA) in Scotland, London and Bristol. She undertook training whilst working for the NHS to become a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in children with hearing loss. She completed her postgraduate diploma in Auditory Verbal Therapy with distinction at Aston University in 2011. She was mentored towards LSLS CertAVT® whilst working at AVUK. Louise also trained in the assessment and treatment of oro-motor speech production difficulties using the PROMPT approach (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Target). Louise leads on Auditory Verbal UK’s online AGBell and RCSLT accredited Foundation and Advanced training programs, supports the clinical team, mentor in-house trainees, provide intervention services using telepractice, and regularly travels internationally to give lectures or train professionals. She supports a small caseload of families who received technology from the Johannesburg Implant program. in her private practise in South Africa. Louise works remotely from South Africa and in our London centre Working hours: Monday -Thursday core hours 08:00-12:00 and remainder flexible (Nov-April). Monday-Thursday core hours 07:00-11:00 and remainder flexible (April-Nov). Publications: Clark, F., Ashton, L., Kenely, N., Hogan, S. (2021). International Telepractice for therapy and training – Auditory Verbal UK’s Perspective. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups Quayle, R.E., Ashton, L. & Estabrooks, W. (2020). The Development of Play and Auditory-Verbal Therapy. IN Estabrooks, W., McCaffrey Morrison, H. & Maclver-Lux, K. Auditory-Verbal Therapy Science, Research and practice. Plural Publishing Inc. Estabrooks, W., Maclver-Lux, K., Ashton, L. & Quayle, R.E, (2020). The Auditory-Verbal Session: Planning, Delivery and Evaluation. IN Estabrooks, W., McCaffrey Morrison, H. & Maclver-Lux, K. Auditory-Verbal Therapy Science, Research and practice. Plural Publishing Inc. Ashton, L. & Clark, F. (2017). Turning Pages Through the Ages: Acceleration progress through interactive book sharing. British Association of Teachers of the Deaf Association Magazine, September 2017. ISSN 1336-0799. Ashton, L. & Gazeley, K. (2017). The Parent Journey. British Association of Teachers of the Deaf Association Magazine, May 2017. ISSN 1336-0799. MacIver-Lux, Lim, S.R., Rhoades, E.A., Robertson, L., Quayle. R. & Honck. (2016). Milestones in Auditory-Verbal Development: Auditory Processing Speech, Language, Emergent Literacy , Play and Theory of Mind in Estabrooks, W., MacIver-Lux, K. & Rhoades, E.A. (Ed), Auditory Verbal Therapy For Young Children with Hearing loss and Their Families and the Practitioners Who Guide Them (pp219-262). Plural Publishing Inc. Estabrooks, W., MacIver-Lux, K., Honck, L. & Quayle. R. (2016). Blueprint of and Auditory-Verbal Therapy Session in Estabrooks, W., MacIver-Lux, K. & Rhoades, E.A. (Ed), Auditory Verbal Therapy For Young Children with Hearing loss and Their Families and the Practitioners Who Guide Them (pp 341-350). Plural Publishing Inc. Estabrooks, W., Honck, L., Tannebaum-Katsaggelos, S., de Melo, M.E., Clem, B.C., Sindrey, D., Katz, L., MacIver-Lux, K & Steacie, P. (2016). Auditory Verbal Therapy in Action: Step-by-Step Session Plans in Estabrooks, W., MacIver-Lux, K. & Rhoades, E.A. (Ed), Auditory Verbal Therapy For Young Children with Hearing loss and Their Families and the Practitioners Who Guide Them (pp 351-472). Plural Publishing Inc. Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: Louise Honck Facebook: Louise Avuk
Victoria Bishop-Rowe, Head of Communications and Engagement Expand Victoria, known as Tori, joined AVUK in August 2022 bringing with her almost 10 years of strategic communications experience working across the public and charity sectors. Tori is passionate about integrated, agile and effective communications having previously developed and led national campaigns that create positive change, build profile and deliver measurable outcomes at organisations including Terrance Higgins Trust, The Electoral Commission and The National Lottery Community Fund. Heading up the communications team which covers digital comms, PR, marketing and public affairs, Tori is helping deliver the ambitious and exciting 10-year strategy and create a groundswell for support for AV therapy to ensure all deaf children have the same opportunities in life as their hearing peers. Tori works from Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm. Email: [email protected] Pronouns: She/Her
Alicja Boryn, Volunteer Expand Alicja completed her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences, then spent a year on the project management graduate scheme at Rolls-Royce. She left this to complete an MSc Environment and Development, before joining the Civil Service Project Delivery Fast Stream in 2020. So far, Alicja has completed postings in the Department of Transport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Alicja joined AVUK on a six-month secondment, where her main focus was leading on the hybrid working policy. Alicja now volunteers for AVUK and supports the fundraising team. Email: [email protected] Pronouns: She/Her
Test Expand As a response to school closures, National Literacy Trust have developed a comprehensive web portal for parents, to support you during this time. Visit National Literacy Trust Family Zone National Society for Deaf Children are working hard to provide as much support as they can to deaf children and their families.Visit the National Society for Deaf Children website
Jennifer B. Boyd, Auditory Verbal Therapist Expand M.A. Speech-Language Pathology, LSLS Cert. AVT Jennifer is a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, certified Auditory Verbal therapist. She currently works across AVUK's clinical, training, and outreach teams remotely from Edinburgh. Jennifer trained to be a speech and language therapist at Baylor University and received her master’s degree from the University of Kansas. She began providing auditory-verbal therapy to families at Hearts for Hearing, a comprehensive hearing healthcare center in Oklahoma City in 2012. She qualified as a certified Auditory Verbal therapist in 2015 and continued her full-time, clinical role at Hearts for Hearing until relocating to Scotland. In 2020, Jennifer accepted a position at Hearing First, an online learning community supporting families and professionals pursuing listening and spoken language outcomes for children with hearing loss. Jennifer joined the team at AVUK in December 2021. In addition to her roles at AVUK, Jennifer continues as a consultant and mentor for professionals pursuing certification as listening and spoken language specialists at Hearts for Hearing and Hearing First. Jennifer works Thursday 8-12 and Friday 13:00-16:00, but is currently on maternity leave. Email: [email protected]