CANADIAN ELK ÉLANS CANADIEN - Elks of Canada

This past year, the Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) Program
provided services to over 100 children:
25 preschoolers through the Provincial
Infant Hearing Program, 25 school age
students in areas where AVT is not available
as a funded option and 57 schoolage
students’ programs are being overseen
by VOICE therapists through the
mentorship program.
Other Projects:
• VOICE co-presented two workshops
at the International AGBell Conference
1. Supporting Families: A Core
principle of AVT which feature the
VOICE organization
2. Ling’s Legacy: Speech in the 21st Century
• Research projects:
1. Student outcomes as a result of the mentorship
program
2. Social Emotional Development of students with
hearing loss who are listening and speaking
• Member of the International Ling Consortium
• Board Member – AGBell Academy for Listening and
Spoken Language
• Providing practicum site for professionals in training
• Providing information on training possibilities on the AV
approach
Professional Development Opportunities
Three VOICE programs were offered in 2012 to the professional
community:
1. Workshop for the French Language School Boards on the
needs of today’s students with hearing loss who are learning
to listen and speak and strategies to maximize success in
mainstream settings.
2. Karen L. Anderson, PhD presented on “Supporting Success
for Children with Hearing Loss”. It was attended by 85
professionals from across Ontario, Montreal and Maritime
provinces.
3. VOICE Conference “I Believe” – May 2012.
The Auditory-Verbal (AV) Training and Mentoring Program is
progressing as projected: Boards are scheduled to complete
the program as follows: 9 by June 2012, one by December
2012 and the remaining seven boards will complete their program
by May 31st, 2013.
Certification Exam
Six professionals in the AV Mentorship Program sat the certification
exam in the fall of 2012. VOICE partnered with The
AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language to provide
a testing site at the Toronto VOICE offices.
VOICE Auditory-Verbal Therapy Program
A
By Anita Bernstein, M.Sc., LSLS Cert AVT,
VOICE Director of Therapy and Training Programs
39
Training in French Language Boards
In the past year, VOICE developed its AV Training
and Mentoring program to support French
Language Boards. The AV Mentorship program
is currently underway in the Conseil des
écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE).
French Consultation services were provided
to the Conseil scolaire de district catholique
Centre-Sud (CSDCCS) which included assessment,
program recommendations and
consultation. This Board is interested in the
AV training program.
A workshop, aimed at the French Language
School Boards, designed to provide information
on the needs of today’s students with hearing loss who
are learning to listen and speak and strategies to maximize
success for these students in mainstream settings took place
in Guelph on May 3rd, 2012. It was attended by 35 professionals
representing 8 francophone institutions. The presentation
was well received and there have been requests for
yearly workshops and interest in the mentorship program.
VOICE and University of Ottawa partner to offer
field placement
VOICE continues to work in collaboration with the University
of Ottawa (U of O) to ensure graduates will be highly qualified
with both theoretical knowledge and practical/field experience.
Teachers training through the VOICE mentorship
program and registered in the U of O certificate in Auditory-
Verbal studies will receive university course credit for their
VOICE mentorship hours.
Student Outcomes
A crucial aspect of the AV training program is improved student
outcomes in the areas of audition, speech, language
and literacy skills. These areas are being tracked for all students
participating in
the program and preliminary
results point
to a minimum of one
year’s progress, in at
least the areas of audition
and language
comprehension. Pam
Millet, professor at
York University will be
collating the results
for this project.
1987-2012 History 39