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Each professional who works with a child with a cochlear implant wants the best possible outcomes for that child. Audiologists, speech language pathologists, teachers and auditory verbal therapists all work to develop the listening skills that will support oral language and speech goals. Best practice would suggest that when the activities of these professionals are closely aligned in the pursuit of a common goal, success of the child, greater benefits will be realized.

In 2007, an estimated 95% of babies born in the United States were screened for hearing loss as part of newborn hearing screening programs (National Center for Hearing Assessment 2007). Such programs have paved the way for earlier identification of hearing loss with the average age having dropped from 2 to 3 years to 3 to 4 months (Karl White, Volta Voices, Vol. 14 No. 3, 2007).

It’s that time of year again; school is out and the kids are home. For children with cochlear implants, each day is packed with summer camp, vacation bible school, sports clinics, swim lessons and… auditory learning. While all involved can agree that auditory learning can’t stop during the summer, it can be difficult to maintain momentum with the distraction of so many other fun activities.

It would be impossible to say too much about the role of the family in the success of a child who uses a cochlear implants. While classroom teachers and individual therapists are often responsible for setting the game plan for a particular child, it is the duty of the child's family to make sure that those objectives are targeted on a day-to-day basis during the hours that the child is not in school.