15: Firing Imagination Through Play in Your Deaf or Hard of Hearing Child

16: Reading: Moving Beyond Words with Your Deaf or Hard of Hearing Child

Your six month old infant is ready to be read to! In this delightful sixteenth episode, Shefali Shah is joined by Simi Rughani and Rashi Sanghi to experience the joy of reading aloud to their toddler. Follow Shefali’s practical guidance on how to choose developmentally appropriate books, to harness your child’s wholehearted participation. Books open up new worlds. The research shows that early reading is a strong predictor of lifelong academic success. Enjoy listening to mothers reading to their toddlers, moving beyond mere labelling to unlock the subtle messages of the story. Witness an emerging Theory of Mind(ToM), as the toddler demonstrates his emerging appreciation of perspective. Reading is fun! Share the fun of reading with your child!  This is The Sound Steps Podcast. 🎧 Top Tips from Episode 16 * Babies are ready to be read to by the age of 6 months. Prop your baby up against large cushions as guided by your professional, if she is able to sit independently. * Choose books wisely. Select books that are appropriate to your child’s stage of development. * Move beyond labelling. Use books as opportunities to expand your child’s vocabulary, expressive language and thinking skills. * Understanding perspective. Help your child notice that the reader often knows more than the story characters, laying the foundation for Theory of Mind (ToM). Time Stamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:28 Introducing our guests in this episode: Simi Rughani and Rashi Sanghi  00:02:00 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents 00:02:10 Choosing Auditory-Verbal Therapy for your deaf or hard of hearing child 00:02:49 AVT facilitates age-appropriate development 00:03:12 Abundant choices open up through AVT 00:03:37 Early identification and the fitting of early and optimal amplification. 00:03:44 A life free of limitations 00:03:53 Show notes, Top tips and Time Stamps 00:04:03 Links and contact details 00:04:11 Resources 00:04:42 Suggested reading for young children 00:04:50 Reading score is a reliable predictor of lifelong academic achievement  00:05:24 Reading to infants 00:06:41 Move away from mère labelling as you read to your infant 00:07:00 Making each page come alive 00:08:27 Reading to toddlers 00:09:08 Transitioning to books with involved plots 00:10:58 Comprehending the subtleties of the storyline 00:11:10 Understanding Perspective 00:11:39 Emerging Theory of Mind 00:17:07 Reflection 00:17:21 Our next episode: Self-monitoring Resources: * 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ [https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/] * 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk [https://soundsteps.uk] * 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com [https://avtdirect.com] * 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com [https://learnavt.com] * 📧 Contact Shefali directly: shefalishah@soundsteps.uk [shefalishah@soundsteps.uk] Resources For Professionals & Parents * A simple map of typical Theory of Mind development. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiT7HFj2gv4 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiT7HFj2gv4] * Astington, J. W., & Edward, M. J. (2010). The development of theory of mind in early childhood. In The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Cognitive Development (pp. 258–284). Wiley-Blackwell. Books For Infants & Toddlers: * Browne E., (2004) Handa’s Surprise * Buckingham, M., (2007), Peek-a-boo Penguins * Hoose, P and H., ( 1998), Hey, little Ant * Rathmann, P., (2012), Goodnight Gorilla * Sheneman, D, ( 2017), Nope! A Story of First Flight!

15: Firing Imagination Through Play in Your Deaf or Hard of Hearing Child

Play offers children a safe and imaginative space to explore, express emotions, experiment, and fail, all without consequence. It is the perfect stage on which your deaf or hard of hearing child can practice talking, thinking, problem-solving and learning. In this fifteenth episode, Shefali Shah shares a delightful conversation with a young couple from her online AVT practice: parents of a cochlear implanted toddler, as they reflect on how their play epiodes have evolved. Through real-life play sequences, Shefali coaches them to move beyond factual exchanges, to expand play themes, embrace unpredictability, and fuel their child’s imagination. By modelling new ideas, introducing “Sabotage” to disrupt predictable patterns, and allowing space for their child to resolve play scenarios, the family discovers how imagination and language take flight together. They laugh, learn, and marvel at how creative their child has become! Move away from realistic routine and take flights of fantasy! Once you open up those doors you’ll be amazed by how quickly your child grabs these opportunities and flies with them, so that you can fly together! This is The Sound Steps Podcast. 🎧 Top Tips from Episode 15 * Play sets the stage. Play provides a secure, low pressure environment to grow your child’s expressive and cognitive skills * Talk as you play. Extend conversations as you describe events, express emotions and explore feelings. * Move away from predictable play patterns. Play does not have to be realistic: go beyond the routine!. * Keep play going. Use open ended responses to extend both the game and conversation. * Use Sabotage to introduce disruptions. Disrupt predictable play to provoke problem-solving and invite creative responses. *  Wait for resolution. Give your child the space she needs to propose solutions and direct next steps. * ·The unexpected fuels imagination and higher thinking. These moments foster inventiveness. Time Stamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:17 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents 00:01:26 Choosing Auditory-Verbal Therapy for your deaf or hard of hearing child 00:01:58 AVT facilitates age-appropriate development 00:02:28 Abundant choices open up through AVT 00:02:54 Early identification and the fitting of early and optimal amplification. 00:03:01 A life free of limitations 00:03:11 Show notes, Top tips and Time Stamps 00:03:20 Links and contact details 00:03:28 Resources 00:03:34 Auditory-Verbal Techniques 00:03:50 Auditory-Verbal Techniques: Sabotage 00:04:15 Auditory-Verbal Techniques: Modelling 00:04:47 Engaging your child in play 00:05:16 Introducing our guests in this episode 00:05:44 Pretend Play 00:06:05 Keeping Conversation alive through play 00:07:35 Firing imagination 00:09:05 Young children playing together 00:10:00 Exploring non-factual themes 00:10:53 Pure imagination in play 00:14:12 Sabotage: Disrupting play with a disaster 00:14:38 Variations in the same play theme 00:20:24 Play out play sequences in dreams 00:21:47 Reflection 00:22:15 Our next episode: Reading: Beyond Words Resources: * 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ [https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/] * 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk [https://soundsteps.uk] * 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com [https://avtdirect.com] * 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com [https://learnavt.com] * 📧 Contact Shefali directly: shefalishah@soundsteps.uk [shefalishah@soundsteps.uk] 📚 Resources * Elkind, D., (2006)The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activitites Lead to Happier and Healthier Children, Perseus Books * Estabrooks, D., Morrison, M., & MacIver-Lux, K. (2020). Auditory-Verbal Therapy: For Young Children with Hearing Loss and Their Families, and the Practitioners Who Guide Them (2nd ed.). Plural Publishing. * Schwartz, S. (2004). The New Language of Toys: Teaching Communication Skills to Children With Special Needs, a Guide for Parents and Teachers. Woodbine House. * Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University. (n.d.). Serve and Return Interaction Shapes Brain Architecture.  https://developingchild.harvard.edu [https://developingchild.harvard.edu]

14: Keeping up with your child

The uphill climb of the early days is now behind you. As new vistas open up, you’ll find that  the gradient has eased and the pace of your child’s learning has gained considerable momentum. As comforting as it may be to linger in the familiar, growth thrives in novelty. By balancing observation with intuition, you can stretch and challenge your deaf or hard of hearing child without overwhelming her. Let go of repeating the same routines the same way. Instead, favour fresh turns of phrase, richer vocabulary, and more complex thinking. This fluidity makes your child nimble minded. Plan and marvel at how your child embraces this change of pace: staying attentive, curious, and receptive to every new idea that she discovers! This is The Sound Steps Podcast. 🎧 Top Tips from Episode 14 * Eye gaze and engagement matter. Your child’s gaze and attention tell you she is processing what you say. * Pacing is key. Observation tells  you when to move on. * Managing the developmental gap. Stimulate your child without overwhelming her. * Moving on: Explore using new ways to convey familiar meaning. * Match your child’s pace. This keeps your child wanting to listen. * Staying an enthusiastic listener. Your child learns that paying attention brings new discoveries. Time Stamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:42 Introducing our guests in this episode 00:02:00 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents 00:02:10 Choosing Auditory-Verbal Therapy for your deaf or hard of hearing child 00:02:38 AVT facilitates age-appropriate development 00:03:10 Abundant choices open up through AVT 00:03:38 Early identification and the fitting of early and optimal amplification. 00:03:46 A life free of limitations 00:03:56 Show notes, Top tips and Time Stamps 00:04:05 Links and contact details 00:04:13 Resources 00L04:36 Trust that your child is listening with optimal amplification 00:05:08 Subtle signs of comprehension 00:05:15 Pacing is key 00:05:30 Move forward 00:08:11 Stay intuitive 00:08:38 Keep changing the manner in which you convey familiar content 00:11:00 Stretch and challenge 00:15:41  Learning in session 00:16:40 An enthusiastic listener 00:17:58 Reflection 00:18:44 Our next episode: Firing imagination through play Resources: * 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ [https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/] * 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk [https://soundsteps.uk] * 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com [https://avtdirect.com] * 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com [https://learnavt.com] * 📧 Contact Shefali directly: shefalishah@soundsteps.uk [shefalishah@soundsteps.uk] 📚 Resources * Estabrooks, D., Morrison, M., & MacIver-Lux, K. (2020). Auditory-Verbal Therapy: For Young Children with Hearing Loss and Their Families, and the Practitioners Who Guide Them (2nd ed.). Plural Publishing. * National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2004, updated 2011). Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function. Harvard University. Center on the Developing Child – Harvard

13: Is my deaf child progressing?

Progress is at the heart of effective early intervention.  The only way to determine whether a child is progressing is to measure development objectively: with data. Auditory-Verbal Therapy recommends administering internationally standardised assessments annually, to quantify developmental progress and track age-equivalent performance in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. In this thirteenth episode, Shefali Shah is joined by Rashi Sanghi in an honest, penetrating conversation on how to plan for progress. Through coaching and guidance, Rashi has evolved into a confident, discerning, and responsive parent who now leads her child’s intervention journey with insight and purpose. Her transformation, from being dismissive to deeply appreciative of her child’s perspective, is a testament to what becomes possible when parents drive AVT. Children with congenital hearing loss often begin life at a developmental disadvantage, as hearing begins in utero by 20 weeks. That means we need more than 12 months of developmental progress in 12 months of time to close this gap. Auditory-Verbal Therapy facilitates this through an active, intentional, and responsive process. It places parents at the centre of services, providing a structured framework and treatment plan that evolves continuously to meet the child’s changing developmental needs. Auditory-Verbal Therapy centres the parent. And when parents take the wheel, children thrive. This is The Sound Steps Podcast. 🎧 Top Tips from Episode 13  Absorb                                                                                                                              Consolidate                                                                                                              Demonstrate * Measure progress. Use internationally standardised assessments to track your child’s development objectively. * Parents drive AV Therapy. With coaching and support, parents plan, implement, and adapt intervention goals. * Close the developmental gap. Deliver more than 12 months’ progress in 12 month’s time. * Use data to plan: Use the data from assessments to plan systematically and on an on-going basis. * Intervention must be dynamic. Auditory-Verbal Therapy AVT is a responsive, evolving process that adapts as your child’s needs and skills grow. Time Stamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:1:10 Introduction to this episode  00:02:10 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents 00:02:20  Choosing Auditory-Verbal Therapy for your deaf or hard of hearing child 00:02:49  AVT facilitates age-appropriate development 00:03:16 Abundant choices open up through AVT 00:03:48 Early identification and the fitting of early and optimal amplification. 00:03:55 A life free of limitations 00:04:04 Show notes, Top tips and Time Stamps 00:04:15 Links and contact details 00:04:22 Resources 00:04:43 Measuring progress with data 00:05:54 Standardised assessments 00:07:40 Congenital hearing loss has an inherent developmental delay 00:09:12 Closing the developmental gap 00:09:46 Systematic and on-going planning 00:10:38 The Auditory-Verbal Treatment Plan 00:11:25 Demonstration of mastery 00:12:21 Introducing our guests on this episode 00:13:05 Transitioning caregivers to driving therapy 00:15:03 Confident parenting 00:15:30 Appreciating your child’s perspective 00:16:22 Inviting parent participation in planning 00:20:22 Delivering at least 12 months’ progress in 12 months’ time 00:20:53 Pace of progress 00:21:54 Reflection 00:22:40 Our next episode: Keeping up with my child Resources: * 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ [https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/] * 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk [https://soundsteps.uk] * 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com [https://avtdirect.com] * 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com [https://learnavt.com] * 📧 Contact Shefali directly: shefalishah@soundsteps.uk [shefalishah@soundsteps.uk] Resources — Understanding and Measuring Progress * Estabrooks, W., Morrison, H. M., & MacIver-Lux, K. (2020). Auditory-Verbal Therapy: For Young Children with Hearing Loss and Their Families, and the Practitioners Who Guide Them. Plural Publishing. * Madell, J., & Hewitt, L. (2013). Why Can’t My Child Hear? Plural Publishing. * Moeller, M. P. (2000). Early intervention and language development in children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Pediatrics, 106(3), e43. * The LOCHI Study: The Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment https://www.outcomes.nal.gov.au/key-findings [https://www.outcomes.nal.gov.au/key-findings]  (2018)              www.nal.gov.au [http://www.nal.gov.au]                                                                                          www.outcomes.nal.gov.au [http://www.outcomes.nal.gov.au]

12: My Child Isnt Talking

Do you worry that your deaf or hard of hearing child is not talking as yet or that she is not talking enough? Listen to this episode: My deaf child isn’t talking which directly addresses your concerns and guides you through them. Shefali Shah's conversation with Sheena Kurian in this twelfth episode, guides listeners through the natural developmental sequence of language acquisition, emphasising that comprehension precedes expression. Just like children with typical hearing, your deaf or hard of hearing child will speak, with optimal amplification, once she has built a sufficiently strong foundation of listening and understanding.   With clear examples and practical insights, Shefali constantly reminds the listener that expressive communication is built on the bedrock of enriched family conversations.  AV Techniques such as Modelling, Waiting, and Sabotage create opportunities that invite spoken responses, sparking and fulfilling your child’s communicative intent. Perceptive observation offers the insight you need to support your child’s expressive language development.   Most importantly, this episode reframes the AV Technique of Waiting, not as weakness, but as a stage, onto which to invite your child to talk. This is The Sound Steps Podcast. 🎧 Top Tips from Episode 12  * Optimal amplification. Provide your child with sufficient and clear access to the speech signal. * Spark Communicative Intent. Harness your child’s desire to communicate. * Understand typical speech development. Children learn to understand before they talk.  * The foundation for talking is comprehension. Receptive language lays the foundation for expressive language development. * Practice the Wait cue. Invite your child’s participation by waiting.Use Sabotage. Provoke a spoken response from your child. * Modelling. Provide the blue-print, especially if your child falters or looks to you for help to express herself. * Observe your child. She will cue you in to her communicative needs. * Embed your exchanges in Conversation to raise a fluent speaker. Time Stamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:09 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents 00:01:18 Choosing Auditory-Verbal Therapy for your deaf or hard of hearing child 00:01:50AVT facilitates age-appropriate development 00:02:21 Abundant choices open up through AVT 00:02:48 Early identification and the fitting of early and optimal amplification. 00:02:54 A life free of limitations 00:03:05 Show notes, Top tips and Time Stamps 00:03:12 Links and contact details 00:03:18 Auditory-Verbal Techniques 00:03:36 AV Technique: Sabotage 00:04:00 AV Technique: Modelling 00:04:33 Introduction to this episode 00:05:08 Does your child have sufficient access to the speech signal? 00:05:57 Optimal amplification 00:06:44 Timely intervention  00:07:31 Aided audiogram 00:08:00 CI assisted audiogram 00:08:27 Amplification to facilitate clear imitation 00:08:59 The Pragmatics of spoken language communication 00:09:24 Introducing our guests on this episode: Sheena Kurian 00:09:43 The human brain wants to learn 00:09:58 Communicative Intent 00:11:32 Typical patterns of speech development 00:13:42 The AV Technique: the Wait Cue  00:16:08 The AV Technique: Sabotage 00:16:53 The AV Technique: Modelling 00:19:12 Embed in Conversation 00:22:09 Reflection 00:22:49Our next episode: Is my deaf child progressing? Resources: * 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ [https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/] * 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk [https://soundsteps.uk] * 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com [https://avtdirect.com] * 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com [https://learnavt.com] * 📧 Contact Shefali directly: shefalishah@soundsteps.uk [shefalishah@soundsteps.uk]