2018.07.22
Summary:
In 2007, China Rehabilitation Research Center for Hearing and Speech Impairment (the Center) reached out to Children’s Hearing Foundation (CHF) to seek cooperation. In 2009, two organizations held the first Mandarin Chinese auditory-verbal (AV) training session in China. Since then, CHF has been continuously training seed teachers, who then introduce AV approach throughout Mainland China. In 10 years, more than 100 seed teachers have helped numerous children with hearing loss in China learn to listen and speak.
Through auditory-verbal tele-practice sessions, CHF is also helping children with hearing loss in China directly. A great example is Chun-Chun, a boy from China who began participating in one-to-one AV sessions at CHF after he received cochlear implantation in Taiwan in 2012. CHF Director of Teaching and Research Department and auditory-verbal specialist, Fiona Chiu, has served as the teacher for Chun-Chun’s since then. Soon, he demonstrated obvious progress on his auditory and verbal ability. However, Chun-Chun and his mother had to leave Taiwan after six months. Fiona continuously teaches him via auditory-vebal tele-practice sessions after he went back to China. Chun-Chun’s mother expressed her gratitude for CHF. “My son still has a long way to go and will encounter difficulties. However, every time I realize that there are so many people thousands of miles away work so hard for Chun-Chun, I feel motivated to move forward together”, said Chun-Chun’s mother.
CHF and the Center have also collaborated to organize cross-strait exchange events to enable children with hearing loss and their families to interact and share information. Wendy Lai, CHF Vice- Director of Teaching and Research Department, said that parents encourage each other, developing a good relationaship, which is something that teachers cannot bring for them.
Mr. Kenny Cheng, the founder of CHF, hopes that more and more children with hearing loss in China can benefit from the auditory-verbal approach. “Our vision is to enable children with hearing loss in Chinese-speaking areas to be able to speak. CHF is gladly devoted to helping them”, said Mr. Cheng.
