CHC Leads Innovation in Care for Kids with Hearing Loss and APD

FOR RELEASE:
12:00 p.m. EDT, December 5, 2011

CONTACT:
Lois Kam Heymann, Director, Auditory Processing Center
Center for Hearing and Communication
(917) 305-7860
lheymann@CHChearing.org

Fara Ditkowsky, M.A., CCC-SLP
Center for Hearing and Communication
(917) 305-7832
fditkowsky@CHChearing.org

CHC Pioneers New Approaches in Care for Children with Hearing Loss and Listening Issues

Lois Kam Heymann, M.A., CCC-SLPSpeech-language pathologists Lois Kam Heymann and Fara Ditkowsky of the Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC) are spearheading new techniques in the diagnosis and treatment of children with hearing loss and listening issues. Each presented findings and recommendations at the 2011 ASHA convention in San Diego, a prestigious gathering of leaders in the field of speech-language pathology and audiology committed to improving outcomes for people with hearing and listening issues.

Lois Kam Heymann, Director of CHC’s Auditory Processing Center presented A New Paradigm for APD: Speech-Language Pathologist and Audiologist Working Together with collaborative partner Rebecca Kooper, Au.D. The session focused on the opportunities to leverage cross-disciplinary findings in the evaluation of children with auditory issues so that more individualized and meaningful courses of therapy can be developed. It’s a philosophy successfully practiced at CHC’s Auditory Processing Center and one that is gaining traction elsewhere in the industry.

Fara Ditkowsky, M.A., CCC-SLPFara Ditkowsky presented Peer-to-Peer Conversational Independence for Children with Hearing Loss with collaborative partner Nancy Geller, M.A., CCC-SLP. The research study examined the social development of preschoolers with hearing loss and provided compelling validation for the effectiveness of group therapy as a means of improving social skills. In a span of 6 months, children participating in group auditory, speech, and language therapy at CHC showed marked improvement in (1) the rate at which they initiated interactions with peers, (2) how they spoke to one another, and (3) what they talked about (among other indicators of social development). CHC is a longtime proponent of group communication therapy for children with hearing loss and currently is the only hearing healthcare center in New York City offering this service for preschoolers.

Parents, educators, hearing healthcare professionals and representatives of the media are encouraged to contact Heymann and Ditkowsky to learn more about these and other proven innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of hearing and auditory issues available at the Center for Hearing and Communication.     

The Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC) is a New York-based nonprofit organization renowned for unsurpassed hearing healthcare services for people of all ages with hearing loss as well as expertise in the evaluation and treatment of children with listening, learning, and auditory challenges. Learn more about CHC’s extraordinary impact on the lives of infants, children, and adults at www.CHChearing.org.
 
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