In Australia, many clinics will have a short break over summer during the holiday period. When we start seeing children and families again, it is lovely to see their smiling faces, hear the new words they’re saying and see the inches they’ve grown!
It is also a time that we meet new families whose children were diagnosed with a hearing loss during the summer break. It is a time for families to take a deep inhale as they learn what this means for their family. Talk Together Listening Foundations is the very best place for families to learn in a safe supportive and informative parent group. The Talk Together course was designed to allow parents to connect with other families with the common experience of caring for a child with hearing loss, to learn and feel supported as they navigate their child’s hearing loss diagnosis and listening journey. Through accessing Talk Together Listening Foundations, families have the opportunity to connect with each other, share experiences, perspectives and learn from one another. Strong foundations of connection can be made, and lifelong support networks gained.
Our Listening Spoken Language therapists, Audiologists and/or Counsellors prepare for the new families in their group using the online learning course and ready made resources available in HearHub. They use the Talk Together Listening Foundations content to consider the individual needs of the group and to meet families where they are. They will decide if their group should be delivered online or in person within the clinic. Typically, new families start with the Talk Together program before they embark upon their individual therapy sessions in the clinic. Since adopting this method, clinicians have found that families are more empowered and engaged. Some families have goals in mind for their child and have started to put strategies in place at home that they have learnt in Talk Together Listening Foundations to support their child as they begin their listening and spoken language journey.
At The Shepherd Centre, the Talk Together Listening Foundations course is also used as part of the team induction process. All new employees complete the course to provide them with foundational knowledge of hearing loss. A number of our HearHub subscribers have adopted a similar approach in their practice as they have found the content invaluable, particularly with professionals that are new to working with children with hearing loss.
Hear what one of our HearHub users had to say about Talk Together Listening Foundations:
“As teachers who are often time poor, having these ready-made resources and data systems allows us to more effectively support the students we teach”.
Suse Folley, Teacher of the Deaf Assistant Principal Hearing, Bathurst & Lithgow Regions NSW Government Education
Hear what one of our parents had to say about Talk Together after finishing their program:
“Thank-you for offering this program. It strikes the right balance of information and support, without being overwhelming for parents whom this is all new. Through this program we have developed new skills, learnt practical strategies for our future journey and importantly connected with other families so our baby can begin to create friendships with other little people who are just like her”
“Reaffirming that we weren’t alone on this journey and that there are specialists to guide us and other parents/families with shared experiences.”
Anonymous
Talk Together draws from learnings across the fields of early childhood education, counselling, audiology and listening and spoken language development in order to provide families with a truly comprehensive and holistic experience.
Interested to learn more? Click here.
