SOUND BEGINNINGS

Sound Beginnings is an early intervention program designed for families with infants or children birth to 3 years who have been newly diagnosed with any degree or type of hearing loss.

In our Sound Beginnings Program we provide

Language, listening, and speech therapy for individual families
- (English and/or Spanish)
On-site audiology services

In our Language, Listening, and Speech Therapy Sessions, a bilingual LSL-certified speech-language pathologist meets with families each week. Parents and family members learn through demonstrations and hands-on participation how to create a language-rich environment in their own homes. We invite all family members and caretakers who have routine contact with the child to come, learn, and participate. These experiences help families discover how to turn every day routines into listening and language learning experiences. Participants in Sound Beginnings receive an educational foundation to prepare them for success. Weekly sessions are focused on training the parent to be the child’s first teacher. Parents will learn the impact hearing loss can have on the development of their child’s social, cognitive, and language skills, and the importance of amplification. Coaching will give them the tools and techniques to enhance their child’s learning.

The staff who provide on-site audiology services know that the more access a child has to sound, the sooner and better they will talk. MOSD has two audiologists whose experience and talent in working with infants and toddlers are a major factor in our children learning faster and talking better. Our audiologists are skilled in programming cochlear implants and fitting all types of hearing aids, even on children who are only a few months old. They are on-site and are immediately available to troubleshoot whatever devices the children are wearing. For children with hearing loss, getting access to sound through well-fitted hearing aids and cochlear implants has a huge impact on their learning.

If you have any questions about the Sound Beginnings family training program at MOSD or have concerns about your child's newly diagnosed hearing loss, please contact:

Katie McLeod, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT
Speech-Language Pathologist (901) 531-6732
kmcleod@mosdkids.org

Se habla español aquí. Llame a este número (901) 531-6732 para hablar con una terapista bilingüe.