Chattering Children
Programs
Chattering Children currently has two centers and serves over 30 children at its centers in Richmond, VA, and McLean, VA (DC Metro area). The NoVA Center provides auditory-verbal services to families, while the Richmond Center provides auditory-verbal therapy in addition to SPEAK UP – our auditory-oral program. The children range from birth to 10 years of age. Most have a severe-to-profound hearing loss, and have received a cochlear implant (electrodes surgically implanted in the inner ear, to substitute for the defective hearing mechanism). The families come from all parts of Virginia and the DC Metro area.
In our auditory-verbal program, mother and child typically attend a weekly, two-hour intensive therapy session, and continue working on the skills at home. This process occupies all waking hours of the child, using daily activities such as eating, bathing, and playing. This is a long-term therapy (4-5 years) and by the time the child reaches kindergarten age, he/she usually has nearly age-appropriate literacy and language skills, and is ready to attend a regular classroom alongside his/her normal-hearing peers with minimal support services.
In SPEAK UP, children attend preschool five days a week and also receive individual therapy as needed. The SPEAK UP program is a specially tailored environment to develop academic skills in conjunction with learning to listen and speak.
In addition to direct services (i.e., therapy or educational program), Chattering Children provides consultative services to school systems and early intervention programs to help them manage the special needs of children with hearing loss effectively. Chattering Children also works actively to create awareness among healthcare professionals (ENTs, audiologists, pediatricians, neonatal nurses, etc.), public policy makers and the general public about the choice of spoken communication for hearing-impaired children.
Our objective is to enable hearing-impaired infants and preschoolers reach age-appropriate levels in their language, speech, and literacy skills by the time they are ready to enter school and attend regular classroom. In cases where the children receive identification and/or intervention later in their childhood, our objective is to narrow the literacy and communication skills gap and enable them to perform to their potential.
In our auditory-verbal program, mother and child typically attend a weekly, two-hour intensive therapy session, and continue working on the skills at home. This process occupies all waking hours of the child, using daily activities such as eating, bathing, and playing. This is a long-term therapy (4-5 years) and by the time the child reaches kindergarten age, he/she usually has nearly age-appropriate literacy and language skills, and is ready to attend a regular classroom alongside his/her normal-hearing peers with minimal support services.
In SPEAK UP, children attend preschool five days a week and also receive individual therapy as needed. The SPEAK UP program is a specially tailored environment to develop academic skills in conjunction with learning to listen and speak.
In addition to direct services (i.e., therapy or educational program), Chattering Children provides consultative services to school systems and early intervention programs to help them manage the special needs of children with hearing loss effectively. Chattering Children also works actively to create awareness among healthcare professionals (ENTs, audiologists, pediatricians, neonatal nurses, etc.), public policy makers and the general public about the choice of spoken communication for hearing-impaired children.
Our objective is to enable hearing-impaired infants and preschoolers reach age-appropriate levels in their language, speech, and literacy skills by the time they are ready to enter school and attend regular classroom. In cases where the children receive identification and/or intervention later in their childhood, our objective is to narrow the literacy and communication skills gap and enable them to perform to their potential.