Listening First is a powerful technique in Auditory-Verbal Therapy that helps orient the deaf child to understand that listening signals an event. This means that the speaker draws the deaf child’s attention to an auditory event (eg. conversation /a story/ a daily routine/) by talking about it before it occurs. This makes the young hearing impaired child curious and so s/he listens, positively re-inforcing the experience that listening is fun!

How do I use it in my daily inter-action?

1.Use spoken language to describe or explain an event .

e.g Talk about what you are going to do before you do it. “You need to put on your jacket, it’s time to go home now.” And then hand your child his/her jacket.

“Oh dear! That doesn’t fit. Why don’t you try and look for another piece that will fit? See the elephant’s trunk? Let’s look for another piece that has the trunk.” Then guide your child’s gaze to identify the piece of the puzzle.

2.Use spoken language to explain procedure in your everyday routine.

Eg. Talk to your child about how to put on his/her jacket instead of putting it on for him/her,

“Hold still!” (smiling) “Put your arm into the sleeve.” Then hand your child the jacket and guide his or her arm.

“And now, put your other arm into the sleeve.” (Guide the other arm.) “There you go! And now let me zip you up….. zip, zip, zip!”

3.Talk about the picture/ page before you show your child the page when reading aloud.

Hold the book such that your voice is clearly audible and not covered by the book.Describe what’s about to unfold on the page. Wait for your child to show some sign of comprehension (it may be a smile or a questioning look at the question you posed) and then share the page with your child.

“Ooo! Look at that crocodile!...”

How does Listening First help my child?

Listening First builds anticipation and therefore arouses your child’s curiosity.

The curious child remains attentive.

Improved attention helps build comprehension.

The more your child understands, the more confident s/he is.

The confident child is secure.

Secure, confident children meet with success.

Success accelerates the pace of learning.

Listening First is an effective Auditory-Verbal technique that makes your child a listener.