Oral Deaf Education

http://www.oraldeafed.org/

What is oral deaf education?

The diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of childhood hearing loss have changed dramatically in recent years. Today, many childen who are screened at birth and are diagnosed and treated appropriately, can develop speech and language at the same rate as their hearing peers.

Oral deaf education is a collaborative, family-centered educational approach that develops a child's speech and listening abilities along with confidence and life skills to meet the challenges of the greater world. This means that parents and family play a key role right from the start. Oral deaf education integrates the earliest and most natural intervention, the most current and inclusive education along with today's sophisticated hearing technologies, to enable children with a hearing loss to learn to listen and talk.

Ensuring the best outcomes for your child

The children in the videos you are viewing on this site were diagnosed with hearing losses ranging from severe to profound. Yet today they are all mainstreamed in neighborhood and/or private schools and universities and perform academically on level with their hearing peers. How is this possible? Oral deaf education offers a pathway - early identification and oral deaf education intervention, the family and appropriate technologies: each supports a child's desire to know the joy of sound and to speak for himself or herself.